How are Iranians communicating with each other after a 17-day internet blackout?

 How are Iranians communicating with each other after a 17-day internet blackout?

Iran's nationwide internet blackout has entered its 16th day as of Sunday. The disruption is ongoing, according to connectivity monitor Netblox.

Internet access in Iran is currently down to just one percent of normal. But even a complete shutdown is still a significant number in terms of data, according to Netblox's head of research Isik Matar.

Netblox's head of research Isik Matar told AFP that the nature of the internet shutdown suggests it was not the result of US or Israeli airstrikes but a government-imposed ban. Similarly, Amnesty International's Iran researcher Raha Bahreni called it a "deliberate shutdown by the authorities to block the flow of information and suppress dissent."

The internet shutdown has revived an old technology called shortwave radio to deliver information in Iran. Radio Zamaneh, a non-profit organization in Amsterdam, has been broadcasting news in Persian since 11 p.m. “It is very difficult for the regime to block (jam) shortwave radio because it is a long-distance transmission. People can listen to it on cheap and simple radios,” Radio Zamaneh’s executive director, Rienecke van Santen, told AFP.

Experts are surprised that landline phones are still working despite the lack of internet. Mahsa Alimardani of the human rights organization Witness said many people are still receiving landline phone calls. But people are afraid to talk about political issues for fear of being tapped by the authorities.

Amnesty’s Bahreni said it is not possible to discuss sensitive topics over these calls. International calling cards are very expensive, and Van Santen said a 60-minute card runs out in just eight minutes. The calls are only used by family members to say ‘we are still alive.’

VPNs don’t work where there is no internet. But the government is monitoring even where there is little access. The government is said to send warning messages to people it suspects of using VPNs. Toronto-based Psiphon says it has dropped from 6 million daily users in Iran to less than 100,000. According to Keith McManaman, Psiphon’s director of data and insights, only the most technically skilled users are now able to access the network. A similar service, Lantern, is also being used.

Developed by the American non-profit organization NetFreedom Pioneers, Toosheh technology has become popular in Iran. It allows users to download encrypted data using their home satellite TV equipment. Users record data from TV channels onto a pen drive and watch it on a mobile or computer via an app. According to Emilia James, the organization’s project director, it had 3 million users in 2025 and is still being used by thousands. Because it is a broadcast signal, the government cannot track users.

Elon Musk's Starlink service is also in use in Iran. But it is very expensive. According to Alimardani, it costs up to $2,000 on the black market, which is often unaffordable for poorer regions. Amnesty has received reports of raids on the homes of people with Starlinks and their arrests. Raha Bahreni said that if they are found guilty of communicating with the outside world, they risk prison sentences or the death penalty.

A 30-year-old lawyer in Tehran told AFP that she has no access to the information. "Only one in 10 people I know has access to the internet, and that too with great effort. It is driving people crazy," she said.

She said she has to risk her life to go to a friend's house where Starlink or several VPNs are running to use the internet. VPNs in Iran currently cost between $35 and $140.

This complete internet ban has also left international news sites inaccessible. For example, according to Cloudflare's error page, users are being blocked when trying to access foreign sites using a VPN.