The regime is testing a two-tier internet where access becomes a vetted privilege. Its economic cost could be staggering.
  • Two-week blackout tests system where web access becomes a vetted privilege.
  • Regime insiders use “white SIM cards” for unrestricted access, while 85 million citizens remain cut off.
  • Irancell’s CEO was fired for delaying the shutdown.

[…]

Following a repressive crackdown on protests, the government is now building a system that grants web access only to security-vetted elites, while locking 90 million citizens inside an intranet.

[…]

This is what makes Iran’s attempt unique: Other authoritarian states built walls before their populations went online. Iran is trying to seal off a connected economy already in freefall.

The system is called Barracks Internet, according to confidential planning documents obtained by Filterwatch. Under this architecture, access to the global web will be granted only through a strict security whitelist.

[…]

The idea of tiered internet access is not new in Iran. Since at least 2013, the regime has quietly issued “white SIM cards,” giving unrestricted global internet access to approximately 16,000 people. The system gained public attention in November 2025 when X’s location feature revealed that certain accounts, including the communications minister, were connecting directly from inside Iran, despite X being blocked since 2009.

[…]

The economic costs of the blackout are staggering. Iran’s deputy communications minister pegged the daily losses at as much as $4.3 million. NetBlocks estimates the true cost exceeds $37 million daily. More than 10 million Iranians depend directly on digital platforms for their livelihoods.

Tipax, one of Iran’s largest private delivery companies handling about 320,000 daily shipments before the protests, now processes fewer than a few hundred, according to Filterwatch. The company operates a nationwide logistics network comparable to FedEx in the U.S. market.

[…]

Technical experts doubt the regime can sustain Barracks Internet without crippling the economy.

[…]

  • dandylion@lemmy.zipEnglish
    551·
    21 hours ago

    I absolutely cannot imagine the hell they’re going through right now.

      • joelfromaus@aussie.zoneEnglish
        3·
        12 hours ago

        Can shortwave be used for things like file transfer? My thoughts are on the amount of times multiple videos of instances (ICE killings are currently the most famous) being indisputable thanks to witnesses providing video that contradicts official statements.

        • MinnesotaGoddamEnglish
          3·
          12 hours ago

          I mean we can probably get an old modem working over it, so yeah? The kind you’d put your phone receiver on. I’m no expert, but em waves are em waves

            • MinnesotaGoddamEnglish
              3·
              11 hours ago

              Uh, the licensing exam is supposedly very easy to pass, and there’s no better time to become a ham operator I hear

              • Rooster326@programming.devEnglish
                3·
                2 hours ago

                If you’re splan is to spread information that is illegal to own then becoming licensed is the exact opposite of what you want.

  • Dogiedog64English
    33·
    21 hours ago

    That won’t save them from the total economic collapse they’re going through. Iran is gonna fall one way or another.

    • VictorEnglish
      19·
      19 hours ago

      Such a sad tale of a beautiful country with a rich culture heritage and wonderful culinary experiences and scientific excellence and etc etc, all going to waste behind closed walls.

      • Dogiedog64English
        13·
        20 hours ago

        Correct. It immediately hampers any and all businesses that even marginally rely on internet to function. Shooting yourself in the foot just to spite the leg.

    • NotMyOldRedditNameEnglish
      16·
      16 hours ago

      Even that could become a risk if they are banned in the country. They can be detected and your location triangulated.

      This would be a set it up somewhere that’s not home, use it quickly, pack it up and go type situation.

  • hector@lemmy.todayEnglish
    422·
    21 hours ago

    If they are in a permanent war with the US and Israel? No shit. Fucking war mongers over here manipulating us.

    • LEM 1689@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      24·
      22 hours ago

      We don’t need no information

      We don’t need no thought control

      No dark web portals full of pornos

      Hey, teachers, leave those kids alone

      All in all those phones are all just bricks in the wall.