Libya Returning To The Internet

Libya's Internet traffic is going back up to normal levels, after a blackout occurred on Feb. 19.

The country has been in the midst of a major uprising and the government has attempted to block satellite signals to prevent outside news agencies from reaching viewers.

Dr, Craig Labovitz, chief scientist at Arbor Networks, a network security company, said after Libya was essentially cut off from the Internet on Feb. 19 and 21, the traffic went back up, and is now at about 60-80 percent of normal.

Arbor Networks looks at total traffic as well as infrastructure. Most of the Internet traffic in Libya goes through Libya Telecom, which itself advertises hosting services. Labovitz noted that much traffic was cut off by the government blocking sites such as Facebook.

Internet consultancy Renesys also reported that while traffic is still down from the levels it was before the blackouts, it is still increasing.

The changes might reflect the changes in control of the country. The second-largest city in Libya, Benghazi, which also houses a good deal of its telecommunications infrastructure, has been taken by rebels opposing the government. Meanwhile to the west of the capitol, Tripoli, the city of Zahwiya also fell to the rebels, leaving the area around the capital as the last in the hands of Libya's dictator, Muammar el-Ghaddafi.

Labovitz also noted that traffic in and out of Benghazi was cut out between Feb. 23 and 24, and since then has increased markedly.