Uganda internet drop leaves VPNs unusable ahead of election

Uganda's communications regulator ordered internet access suspended and connectivity fell sharply on Wednesday, making VPNs largely unusable as the country approaches an election.

Internet access in Uganda fell sharply this week after the Uganda Communications Commission ordered service providers to suspend access. The drop in connectivity has made virtual private networks (VPNs) largely unusable, according to a Proton VPN representative. The disruption comes days before a national election and has affected social media, messaging and other online services. Reported facts: - The Uganda Communications Commission ordered internet and mobile network providers to suspend access, according to reports. - Proton VPN said connectivity dropped drastically on Wednesday and that VPNs became unusable for many users. - Cloudflare Radar and other sources indicate internet access in the country is almost completely unavailable. - Access Now reported that roaming services and satellite connections have been blocked and that some people have used peer-to-peer mesh apps in limited cases. Summary: The outage has interrupted usual online communication and privacy tools are currently limited in effect. Undetermined at this time.