Fiber-optic internet and mobile data services across Afghanistan were down on Tuesday with no immediate explanation from the Taliban government.

However, there is concern that the Taliban are expanding on a partial internet blackout imposed earlier this month in several of Afghanistan's northern provinces.

At the time, a spokesperson for the governor of Balkh province said the internet was cut to "prevent immorality." 

Now, Afghans are waiting for what happens next. 

Afghanistan's private TOLO news channel, quoting an unnamed official, told DW that one possibility in the near future would be for the Taliban to restrict mobile internet access to a slow-speed 2G network, which would make it impossible to send anything other than text.

TOLO also reported that the Taliban have given network operators a one-week deadline to shut down higher speed 3 and 4G mobile internet services.

Taliban internet shutdown could be 'without precedent'

Doug Madory, an network analyst at Kentik Network Intelligence, told DW that data has shown the Taliban gave the shutdown order at 5 p.m. on Monday.

Madory said that although Afghanistan doesn't have a national internet censorship system like the Great Firewall of China, the Taliban are able to order telecom companies to "effectively disconnect the country from the internet."

"We're hearing that maybe this might last for 30 days, which would be an exceptionally long period of time for a total communications shutdown," Madory said.

He added that reports the Taliban plan to revert the mobile network to 2G speed "is not something I think we've seen anywhere."

"To go back to 2G, that would be without precedent," he said.

The Internet Outage Detection and Analysis project, which monitors global internet connectivity, showed nearly all internet connectivity in Afghanistan going down by Monday afternoon.

The move represents the first nationwide shutdown of the internet in Afghanistan and will result in a "comprehensive, total blackout," according to London-based internet and cybersecurity watchdog NetBlocks.

Madory also ruled out the possibility that the shutdown could have been caused by a technical failure. 

"If the whole country relied on a single fiber optic cable that got cut by some accident, then it could explain this. It's just not the case that the infrastructure has that single point of failure," he said. 

Consequences for the economy

"The disruption of the internet marks the beginning of widespread repression across Afghanistan," security expert Bismillah Taban told DW earlier this month during the first shutdown.

"The Taliban could expand their crackdown and evade international oversight. This is a very serious concern."

Traders and business owners warned of severe consequences if mobile internet access is restricted.  Fiber-optic internet is primarily used by companies, banks, and government agencies.

"Currently, 80% of business is conducted online. We are already facing major challenges. Don't widen the gap between the people and the government any further," urged Khan Jan Alokozai, vice president of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce, on X after the first shutdown. 

'Dark days' ahead

Sayed Ahmad Shah Sadaat, who served as Afghanistan's education minister from 2016 to 2018, also warned of the potential consequences.

"The fiber-optic network, which people rely on for online education, commerce, and the banking system, will negatively impact all areas of life. The Taliban have no alternative internet system. If the network is cut off, Afghanistan faces a dark time ahead," she told DW.

"Government agencies and institutions such as passport and registration offices, customs offices, banks, and media houses are particularly affected, as they rely on fiber-optic connections. Their failure puts additional pressure on central administrative structures."

International media organizations are also sounding the alarm.

"Banning broadband internet is an unprecedented escalation of censorship that will undermine journalists' work and the public's right to information," said Beh Lih Yi, regional director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"The Taliban should end their cycle of repression and unconditionally restore internet access, which is an essential tool for news gathering."

End of online education for girls?

For girls and women, the decision could have especially serious consequences. After being banned from attending schools and universities, many turned to online education as their only means of continuing their studies.

"My students had Wi-Fi, but now it no longer works," said Afghan filmmaker Sahraa Karimi, who teaches her students from abroad. "I read in the news that the Taliban have shut down the internet in many cities. I'm heartbroken — how am I supposed to teach the girls now?"

Activists inside Afghanistan are also voicing their concerns.

"Shutting down the internet is the final step toward backwardness, ignorance, and destruction," one woman said in a video message to DW.

Another called it "a direct attack on the dignity, freedom, and future of a nation."

"When the Taliban cut off the internet, it's not just a technical issue," warned Pashtana Durrani, founder of the online school network LEARN Afghanistan. "It's an attack on the country's future."

For many students, she said, the internet is their last link to teachers and lessons. Girls in particular — excluded from schools and universities — lose their only opportunity to continue learning.

"Every blackout," Durrani added, "sets Afghan youth further back, weakens the intellectual foundation of the country, and deepens the despair of the younger generation."

Additional reporting by Helay Asad and Sushmitha Ramakrishnan

This article has been updated from a previous version to include the Taliban's total shutdown of internet services in Afghanistan.

This article was originally published in German.