The Jammu and Kashmir administration announced on Sunday that 4G services were being restored in Udhampur and Ganderbal districts on trial basis, for postpaid connections, from Sunday to September 8, ANI reported. In other districts, the internet speed will remain restricted to 2G.
On August 11, the Centre had told the Supreme Court that high-speed 4G internet services will be restored on a trial basis in one district each of Jammu and Kashmir after August 15 for two months.
Access to mobile internet had been suspended in Jammu and Kashmir over a year ago, on August 5, when India scrapped the special status of the erstwhile state under Article 370 of the Constitution and converted it into a Union Territory. In October last year, 2G services were restored. In May, the government said that only 2G services would be allowed till June 17. This order was revised and extended in June.
In the past, the government has cited terror attacks and infiltration attempts as reasons to not allow high-speed internet in the region. The administration has also claimed that restrictions on internet speed have not hindered measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic in any way.
In May, the Supreme Court had refused to pass orders to restore 4G internet services in Jammu and Kashmir and instead directed the Centre to form a special committee to examine the petitioners’ demands.
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