The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday decided against extending the 4G mobile internet facility outside the two districts of Ganderbal and Udhampur, citing security reasons.
However, it said the high-speed facility, which was restored on a trial basis in central’s Kashmir Ganderbal and
Jammu region’s Udhampur on August 16, would continue till this month-end, as there has been no report of its misuse.
In an order issued this evening, Principal Secretary in the Home Department, Shaleen Kabra said the decision was taken after a fresh review of the situation.
The order said that the law enforcement agencies have furnished credible inputs on militant modules making sustained efforts to provoke sentiments of gullible youths and lure them into militant organisations and “indicated potential misuse of high-speed data services in disturbing public order”.
The agencies have also expressed apprehensions that the high-speed data services can be misused for assisting infiltration attempts by militants.
The 4G mobile internet services in Ganderbal and Udhampur would continue till September 30, unless modified earlier, the order said, adding no report of misuse has been received from the two districts.
In the rest of 18 other districts, the internet speed would continue to be restricted to 2G only, the order said.
The internet services were snapped in Jammu and Kashmir before the Centre’s announcement on August 5 last year that the special status of the state would be abrogated and it would be split into two Union Territories.
However, the 2G internet facility on mobile phones was restored on January 25 this year.
The resumption of 4G internet services in Ganderbal and Udhampur after a gap of one year on August 16 came days after the Centre had informed the Supreme Court that a special committee looking into the matter was considering allowing the facility on a trial basis in two districts of the Union Territory.