How would you feel about not being able to access the Internet for months? That"s what the people of Libya had to deal with for much of 2011. Thanks to the rebel uprisings against the country"s long time leader Moammar Gadhafi, its citizens haven"t been able to access the Internet for the most part. Now with the rebels apparently taking the upper hand against Gadhafi"s forces, Internet access is now returning to the country.
According to a CNN story, net access began to be restored on Monday. Google"s web site, which tracks where its products are being used, showed a big spike in Libya"s Internet usage on Monday morning (Eastern time). Twitter messages from groups opposing Gadhafi"s rule have also been spotted. These kinds of activities are clues that the rebel forces have indeed been able to capture large parts of Libya long enough that Internet access can be repaired in those locations.
Even with this development, not too many people in Libya can appreciate it. It"s estimated that just 6 percent of Libya"s citizens can access the Internet. This low number of users might actually have slowed the revolution efforts in that country. Earlier this year, when the people of Egypt forced its long time president Hosni Mubarak to depart in a matter of days, about 25 percent of its citizens had access to the Internet. One thing is for sure; having some kind of Internet use has been a key to communicating to the rest of the world the effects of the Arab Spring.