According to sources from Cellular Operators Association of india indian telecom operators are losing nearly Rs 2.45 crore for every hour that an internet shutdown is imposed in india, and reportedly an internet shutdown has been one of the government’s snap measures at any point where there are protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. As of saturday, internet has been cut off from kashmir for a period of 146 days imposed on august 4 prior to the abrogation of Article 370.
COAI director Rajan Mathews told "According to our computation at the end of 2019, with the increase in online activities we believe the cost (of internet shutdowns) is close to Rs 2.45 crore for an hour of internet shutdown". Furthermore according to Internet Shutdowns, a tracker by SFLC, india has had 105 internet shutdowns this year, and could even go up in the three days before the year comes to an end.
When speaking to reporters Mathews said that they do not know what inputs the decision of disenfranchising people are based on, or if there is a review process. He said “In fact, we are not aware of any review of the perceived dangers of connectivity and we cannot do any second guessing. The government has to think of the cost and benefits of internet shutdowns instead of using the same shutdown policy for all parts of the country". Moreover as per report he further told the newspaper that there must be minimal use of something such as an internet shutdown as a method to resort to. He told “Surgical tools have to be used for specific targets instead of blunt instruments to disenfranchise people of an entire geographical region".
