It's really really simple, as shown by Uganda, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, India and many more countries.
Of course, if you don't have a significant economy to begin with or something else has already disrupted it (riots, uprising, etc - which could also be what prompts you to shut down the internet) then it's not a problem.
In most cases you don't need to completely turn everything off, just shut down the mobile networks, and maybe the big domestic broadband networks, and that's good enough.
There's two ways for internet to be shut down.
One is legal -- the government tells registered ISPs "stop forwarding packets". Doesn't matter how good your connectivity is when you simply have to turn it off. Your protection there are courts etc, but it's not technically difficult.
The other approach is extra-legal -- e.g a terrorist attack.
Just look at the effect from a car bomb in Nashville last month, I quote from a newspaper:
> The immediate repercussions were surprisingly widespread. AT&T customers lost service — phones, internet or video — across large parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. There were 911 centers in the region that couldn't take calls; others didn't receive crucial data associated with callers such as their locations. The Nashville police department's phones and internet failed. Stores went cash-only.
> At some hospitals, electronic medical records, internet service or phones stopped working. The Nashville airport halted flights for about three hours on Christmas. Rival carrier T-Mobile also had service issues as far away as Atlanta, 250 miles away, because the company uses AT&T equipment for moving customer data from towers to the T-Mobile network.
The area effected was about 100,000 square miles, roughly the same size as Uganda. From one carbomb outside one building.
I think there's only one major Internet Exchange point in Uganda (just like it seems there was one in the south east of the US), but there's certainly multiple fibres in and out. If you're in Mbarara and sending traffic to Rwanda it's unlikely to go via Kampala.
Here's a network map of one provider in Uganda: https://bcs-ea.com/service/uganda/
The UK has a few exchanges, but almost everything runs through Docklands in London - various Telehouse buildings within a mile of each other, Telecity etc. Almost all internet traffic in the UK runs through London, and the sites that aren't are owned by Linx (IXLeeds is the only one that isn't). A major flood breaching the Thames Barrier will cause chaos.
This only works as long as people respect the law. It wouldn't surprise me if in many countries they'd keep forwarding packets on the down-low. Black market internet access. At least for extended shutdowns. May not be any incentive if it lasts very short time.
They're good for exfiltrating news.
here 500 days and counting of no high speed mobile internet for 8 million + souls. thats worlds biggest democracy for you /s
honestly i have seen how life crashes without internet, its not fun
I'm curious, what business operates online but can't move? Is it a company with large manufacturing that can't pick up and move?
Mh client base is in the valley itself so my moving wouldnt help as my customers wouldnt reach me anyways
Sadly political mismanagement killed it.
Other than that the valley is too little for huge industries geographically.
We have dams built on either side of LOC but the governments take majority share of produce/revenue and locality is left with almost nothing so yeah
Point is, we dont know when schools will open but students are being prevented from getting some semblance of an education. I have a 4 Yo kid in the extended family and he's been in school for 8 days only. Hits out at anyone who mentions school.
Outside of a rogue president that convinces the military to act in illegal activity or a true government overthrow it won't happen.
No running or existing government in the USA will pull the plug because they know that would end their career. All their fundraising gone. Wall Street RIP. Riots all over the place.