Mobile phone users across Dhaka are experiencing disruptions in internet service as the massive quota protests has unfolded.

While mobile phone operators have claimed they were not instructed by the government to reduce internet speed in the protest areas, the Department of Telecommunications has employed special technology to manage the situation.

Amid a tense atmosphere surrounding the anti-quota protest rally in Dhanmondi, Mohakhali, Badda, and Natun Bazar on Tuesday, users in these areas were unable to connect to mobile internet.

According to two mobile phone operators, the government no longer needs to issue shutdown instructions as it did before previous rallies, such as those held by the BNP. Broadband internet speed has been restricted since Tuesday morning too.

An executive from a mobile phone operator, requesting anonymity, told The Mirror Asia that the Department of Telecommunications is now controlling internet services at base stations in areas where students are expected to gather.

Sources indicate that the Department of Telecommunications has acquired special technology to control mobile connections in specific areas. As a result, although the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) typically regulates mobile services, the Department can now directly manage customers' mobile connections.

Mohiuddin Ahmed, President of the Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers Association, told The Mirror Asia that internet access is considered a human right worldwide. He criticised the government for violating human rights by shutting down the internet instead of addressing the movement through political means.