New Delhi: As reported by Bloomberg, Iran has started restoring limited internet connectivity to some businesses and individuals. This is being seen as a sign that the country is looking to mitigate the economic damage from the nationwide shutdown that started with the start of its with the US-Israel alliance.
A welcome start
According to digital rights group ASL19, state-backed telecommunications firms are offering a “pro internet” package that businesses can apply for. As many internet monitoring platforms have noted, this has led to a trickle of access to the outside world. “There has been a very modest increase in connectivity,” said Alp Toker, founder of NetBlocks. “It’s not a major restoration and the fact that there is new infrastructure being built around tiered access points to a more extended disruption.”
The move follows comments from an Iranian official that domestic businesses were losing $30 million to $40 million a day due to the internet blackout. Indirect damages are as high as $80 million a day, said Afshin Kolahi, chairman of the Knowledge-Based Economy Commission at the Iran Chamber of Commerce, during a recorded hearing shared on social media.
Slight hope amidst restrictions
The service though for now is only restricted to business operatives and not private individuals, said Fereidoon Bashar, executive director at ASL19. Some can access the internet via Starlink, but a recent government crackdown on sellers of the SpaceX terminals has restricted even this. As a result it is estimated that most of Iran’s 90 million citizens remain disconnected from the internet.
Miaan Group’s Amir Rashidi confirmed that the slight increase in connectivity was due to the “pro internet” packages that were being offered to companies. He said the strict criteria for who gets access is a form of discrimination. “We have entered a new phase in the struggle for the right to internet access,” Rashidi said. “In this period, people’s access to the internet will depend on social class, occupation, age, gender and more.”
Iran is currently facing what experts are calling the longest nationwide internet shutdown ever recorded. The blackout has crossed over a month, cutting off millions from global connectivity. As of April 6, 2026, the shutdown had entered its 38th day and data from Netblocks shows that connectivity has dropped to around one percent of normal levels.