Srinagar, March 4: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday announced its decision to lift ban on access to social media sites which was imposed since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5 last year. Following the development, the people in the newly formed Union Territory would be able to access unrestricted internet access with 2G speed.

Apart from the the mobile internet, the Jammu and Kashmir administration also lifted the restrictions on landline connections. However, for the landline internet, people will have to take special permission after proper verification. Sources have stated that the latest development will be in effect only till March 17, and that too on an experimental basis. The government claims that the this move is a "step towards bringing normalcy in the Kashmir Valley". Internet in Jammu & Kashmir to be Restricted at 2G Speed Till March 17, No Net Services on Unverified Prepaid SIM Cards.

With the reports of lifting the internet restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir, the administration had imposed certain conditions for the people. The orders states, as quoted by India Today:

  • Internet speed shall be restricted to 2G only.

  • People with post-paid SIM will have access to internet services but those with pre-paid SIMs will be able to access internet only after undergoing verification applicable for post-paid SIMs.

  • Internet connectivity will be available on fixed landline connections.

It is to be known that the administration had previously listed close to 1,600 websites that were allowed to be accessed in Jammu and Kashmir. All the websites comprised of education, banking, business and government sector. Meanwhile, on February 16, the administration had the ban the ban on high-speed 3G, 4G Internet services till February 24, while it had kept 2G Internet services working with 1400+ whitelist websites.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 04, 2020 05:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).