ONI Country Profi le
255
they also have to accept upload speeds that are half the download speeds in each
subscription.
31 In Internet caf é s, Internet speed tends to be slower because connection
lines are shared by multiple computers.
32
Slowdowns in Internet connection speeds are common in Burma. For example, a
prolonged slowdown on the Burmese Internet service provider (ISP) Yatanarpon Teleport began on March 22, 2009, and continued until April 21.
33 Yatanarpon Teleport
had announced that the submarine cable South East Asia – Middle East – Western Europe
3 (SEA-ME-WE 3) would be undergoing maintenance from March 21 to March 25, but
both Yatanarpon Teleport and Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPT) shut
down their service for several hours on the afternoon of March 22. For end users, the
announced network maintenance resulted in frustration with delays (in addition to
those caused by the use of circumvention tools) in accessing popular online services,
while many Internet caf é s were closed while waiting for the resumption of normal
Internet access speeds. A similar slowdown occurred in February 2010.
34
The Burmese government maintains a tight grip on the Internet, particularly during
key moments, and continually strives to improve its means of controlling information.
In April 2008, Mizzima News reported that the government had formulated a sectorbased Internet shutdown strategy to deal with the constitutional referendum scheduled for May 10 so that as soon as information leaks began, Internet caf é s and PACs
would be cut off, followed by the commercial sector (and presumably the hospitality
and tourism sector) if information continued to fl ow out.
35 Authorities planned both
shutdowns of access and signifi cant slowdowns in connection speeds,
36 a strategy that
was made irrelevant in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.
37
The Burmese government aggressively controls online content through fi ltering
Web sites related to pornography, human rights, political reform, and politically sensitive topics. Web sites are fi ltered with technologies from U.S. companies Fortinet and
Bluecoat,
38 despite an embargo that places limits on exports to Burma. Users often use
proxy sites to access banned Web sites and free e-mail services and chat programs such
as Gmail and Gtalk. However, proxy sites are also banned.
Despite the limitations imposed on society in Burma, the Internet has become an
important tool for citizens to challenge the restrictions that are placed on them. For
example, amid escalating tension and protests in September 2007, a small band of
citizen bloggers and journalists fed graphic footage and eyewitness accounts to the
outside world through the Internet.
39 Photographs and videos taken with cellular
telephones and digital cameras were uploaded to the Internet, broadcast over television and radio, and spread across communities in Burma. Citizen journalists helped
many generations of Burmese citizens link to each other through blogs and other
forms of social media.
40 Although this effort was brought to a complete halt on September 29, 2007, when the SPDC completely shut down the country ’ s Internet access
for approximately two weeks, allowing only intermittent periods of connectivity,
41 the
255
they also have to accept upload speeds that are half the download speeds in each
subscription.
31 In Internet caf é s, Internet speed tends to be slower because connection
lines are shared by multiple computers.
32
Slowdowns in Internet connection speeds are common in Burma. For example, a
prolonged slowdown on the Burmese Internet service provider (ISP) Yatanarpon Teleport began on March 22, 2009, and continued until April 21.
33 Yatanarpon Teleport
had announced that the submarine cable South East Asia – Middle East – Western Europe
3 (SEA-ME-WE 3) would be undergoing maintenance from March 21 to March 25, but
both Yatanarpon Teleport and Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPT) shut
down their service for several hours on the afternoon of March 22. For end users, the
announced network maintenance resulted in frustration with delays (in addition to
those caused by the use of circumvention tools) in accessing popular online services,
while many Internet caf é s were closed while waiting for the resumption of normal
Internet access speeds. A similar slowdown occurred in February 2010.
34
The Burmese government maintains a tight grip on the Internet, particularly during
key moments, and continually strives to improve its means of controlling information.
In April 2008, Mizzima News reported that the government had formulated a sectorbased Internet shutdown strategy to deal with the constitutional referendum scheduled for May 10 so that as soon as information leaks began, Internet caf é s and PACs
would be cut off, followed by the commercial sector (and presumably the hospitality
and tourism sector) if information continued to fl ow out.
35 Authorities planned both
shutdowns of access and signifi cant slowdowns in connection speeds,
36 a strategy that
was made irrelevant in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.
37
The Burmese government aggressively controls online content through fi ltering
Web sites related to pornography, human rights, political reform, and politically sensitive topics. Web sites are fi ltered with technologies from U.S. companies Fortinet and
Bluecoat,
38 despite an embargo that places limits on exports to Burma. Users often use
proxy sites to access banned Web sites and free e-mail services and chat programs such
as Gmail and Gtalk. However, proxy sites are also banned.
Despite the limitations imposed on society in Burma, the Internet has become an
important tool for citizens to challenge the restrictions that are placed on them. For
example, amid escalating tension and protests in September 2007, a small band of
citizen bloggers and journalists fed graphic footage and eyewitness accounts to the
outside world through the Internet.
39 Photographs and videos taken with cellular
telephones and digital cameras were uploaded to the Internet, broadcast over television and radio, and spread across communities in Burma. Citizen journalists helped
many generations of Burmese citizens link to each other through blogs and other
forms of social media.
40 Although this effort was brought to a complete halt on September 29, 2007, when the SPDC completely shut down the country ’ s Internet access
for approximately two weeks, allowing only intermittent periods of connectivity,
41 the