Government Internet Shutdowns Cost $7.69B in 2024 1/24/25, 11:17 AM Bluetooth Mesh Networks Protestors can turn to apps like Bridgefy and FireChat to communicate when governments cut off internet access completely during civil unrest. The apps create local peer-to-peer mesh networks that rely on Bluetooth rather than the internet to exchange messages and data. Roaming SIM card If a government internet shutdown appears likely and getting online is critical, it’s worth preparing ahead of time and acquiring international roaming SIM cards from a neighboring country. Foreign mobile carriers will not be affected by any outage and will allow you to get online, albeit at potentially significantly extra cost. Sneakernet A sneakernet refers to using human movement to physically deliver information between people affected by an internet outage, or even to smuggle data about what’s happening out of the country. Download and store important information on thumb drives or external hard drives, ideally encrypted using software such as Veracrypt, and give it to someone traveling to the location of your intended recipient. Cost of Internet Shutdowns 2023 Report The Cost of Internet Shutdowns 2023 annual report was published on Jan 2 2024. This analysis of every major deliberate internet outage imposed by national governments in 2023 calculated their economic impact to be over $9.13 billion. How Much Did Internet Shutdowns Cost Us in 2023? https://www.top10vpn.com/research/cost-of-internet-shutdowns/ Page 21 of 28