The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday announced the restoration of 4G mobile Internet services across the Union Territory. The services are likely to resume from Friday midnight, reported PTI.
“4G mobile Internet services being restored in entire J&K,” government spokesman Rohit Kansal said in a tweet.
However, prepaid SIM card holders shall be provided access to Internet connectivity only after verification as per norms applicable for postpaid connections, an official notification stated.
Former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah reacted to the news with a tweet saying, «4G Mubarak! For the first time since Aug 2019 all of J&K will have 4G mobile data. Better late than never.”
Mobile telephony and internet services had been suspended in J&K on August 5, 2019, fearing backlash against the Centre’s decision to revoke the special status of J&K, abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcating the erstwhile state to form two Union Territories.
While mobile telephony was restored after five months, the restrictions on internet services were extended. Over the last year, broadband internet and slow mobile data were restored in phases after the Supreme Court called the curbs an assault on free speech and democratic rights.
In August last year, the government had told the Supreme Court that a special committee had been considering allowing 4G internet access in J&K on a trial basis in one district each in Jammu and Kashmir after Independence Day.
At present, only Udhampur in the Jammu division and Ganderbal in the Kashmir division have 4G mobile internet services. The other 18 districts have only 2G services.
While the administration has said that the curbs on internet access in J&K had been put to prevent separatists and terrorists abusing the services and to stop the spread of misinformation, there has been a growing demand for restoring 4G services by businesses, students and professionals.
Critics have called this the world’s longest-running internet shutdown in a democratic country and cited that the restrictions have cost hundreds of thousands of jobs and crores in losses to the economy.