This is the second episode of our series Digital divide, in which we bring stories on how internet unavailability is creating a divide. Jammu and Kashmir had the face the longest internet shutdown  in India’s history lasting 7 months between 4 August 2019 to 4 March 2020.

Internet services have since been restored in a phased manner however only at 2G speeds. The coronavirus pandemic is only making things worse. Essential services — like education and medical consultation — now have to be conducted online, and slow speeds are subpar to meet those demands. Internet connection on 2G offers average speeds of 40 kilobits per second with a theoretical cap of 384 kilobits per second. Not enough speed to access most internet services without interruptions