The Jammu and Kashmir government restored 4G internet services in the districts of Ganderbal (Kashmir) and Udhampur (Jammu) on August 16 at 9 pm on a trial basis, the government of Jammu and Kashmir announced in an order on August 16. The restoration will remain in force until September 8. Internet speed in other districts will remain restricted to 2G. PTI and India Today reported on the order first. This move will bring 4G internet back to more than 8.5 lakh people in the union territory. Post-paid subscribers will have access to the internet as per their district, but pre-paid subscribers will have access to the internet only if they are verified as per post-paid norms which include a police verification. There are no speed-related restrictions on fixed-line internet connectivity which is available with Mac-binding. Mac-binding essentially means that a device’s MAC (Media Access Control) address (a hardware identification number) and its IP address are bound together so that all requests from that IP address can be served only by the computer with the particular MAC address. This order has been issued in accordance with the Central government’s submission to the Supreme Court on August 11 and the subsequent Supreme Court order as per which it said that 4G internet can be provided to one district each in Jammu and Kashmir after August 15 on a trial basis, provided that neither of the chosen districts was adjoining the international border or Line of Control (LoC). This decision was taken in…
