Internet is one limitation of bitcoin

[rat03gopoh]

I am facing a real world issue that prevents me from using Bitcoin.

I live in Pakistan and for last three days cellular internet service all across the country is suspended because of prevailing law and order situation. Internet is working on fixed line connection that is reaching homes. So there is still some connectivity available.

If government shut down internet service even on fixed line connection then there will be complete internet blackout in the country and in that situation we cant use bitcoin.

I think this is also one of limitation of bitcoin that we need internet to use it. 

It was only 3 days, not a problem for basically alternative entity use. The intensity of using bitcoin for micro-transactions is still very low especially in developing countries. That doesn't mean you can't pay for something with your local currency at the same time.

Speaking of the internet, the longer an infrastructure is used in all sectors of the country, the higher the level of need, including the internet that must exist to keep up with the era of high accessibility. So I don't believe even the government itself can survive without the internet

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[Kakmakr]

Well, if they shut off the Internet ..then other financial industries are also "down" ..... so it is not just Bitcoin then. The whole economy are run on the Internet, so it is not something that are only targeted at Bitcoin. 

There was some thread on this forum, where people discussion Bitcoin transactions over radio waves and also "offline" solutions that might work as a temporary solution, if the Internet is down. 

[Crypto Library]

I am facing a real world issue that prevents me from using Bitcoin.

I live in Pakistan and for last three days cellular internet service all across the country is suspended because of prevailing law and order situation. Internet is working on fixed line connection that is reaching homes. So there is still some connectivity available.

If government shut down internet service even on fixed line connection then there will be complete internet blackout in the country and in that situation we cant use bitcoin.

I think this is also one of limitation of bitcoin that we need internet to use it.  

Sorry to hear your current condition I saw in the news that the condition of Pakistan is now unstable due to political reasons, hope you can reverse this situation very soon.
My problem is somewhat similar to yours, in my own country here  loadshedding is happening regularly for about 10 to 12 hours a day due to power shortage. And because of this, it has been seen many times that when I enter an investment or it has happened that during day trading I could not sell according to the strategy because of only for the loadshedding. As a result, not only me but many freelancers in our country are in dire straits. In fact, I myself think that electricity and internet is a limitation of Bitcoin. I myself want to adopt an alternative electricity supply which is solar panels, it might be good for common people who can afford electricity but I really doubt if there is ever a situation where the internet fails.  What will be the matter when given?  In other words, if everything in the world is not under the reach of the Internet, it is coming to a limit.

[Hispo]

I would say it is rather a failure of your Republic rather than a weakness of Bitcoin, because two main reasons, in my opinion.

First, Satoshi knew that internet would only continue to grow and become a bigger part of the society, to the point that would be vital to most of the civilized countries and nations. In that sense, the net access to the network can only grow.

Secondly, it is possible to transfer Bitcoin off chain, using private keys or signed transactions as a vehicle to transmit the value. I am aware that this is an option which is not preferred and it should be used only in extraordinary cases, but it is another way.

Anyways, I hope your internet situation gets permanently solved soon.

Take care.

[cydrix]

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[Synchronice]

I am facing a real world issue that prevents me from using Bitcoin.

I live in Pakistan and for last three days cellular internet service all across the country is suspended because of prevailing law and order situation. Internet is working on fixed line connection that is reaching homes. So there is still some connectivity available.

If government shut down internet service even on fixed line connection then there will be complete internet blackout in the country and in that situation we cant use bitcoin.

I think this is also one of limitation of bitcoin that we need internet to use it. 

If government shuts down internet service in your country, then that can probably become a reason of asylum in some countries, I don't know but if it's enough for asylum because sometimes some European countries really accept people for no logical reason, you may escape.
Governments can ban any kind of signal, so, Starlink or even bitcoin-exclusive signal can be blocked and there is no hope in it. You can always do offline transactions but they need to be broadcasted and then confirmed to actually finalize the transaction.

Your only hope is that people will push government to keep internet services active and working because completely shutting it down means that your government wants to totally enslave people, nothing worth more than freedom.

[ormatr]

Internet services now resumed in the country but social media services are still down in the country. But there is a fix to that we are using vpn to sccess Social media.

[mendace]

OP I'm sorry to hear these words but in addition to the ways they have already pointed out to you and certainly starlink is the best solution I can also advise you if there is a provider or service in your country that provides this there is also an internet connection with a simple satellite dish just like starlink but cheaper.  I don't know if it exists but in Italy it was advertised around the 2000s

[blockman]

I already saw how people are sending it from phone to phone wihtout internet

How? Through Bluetooth, GPS, or a satellite connection? I wonder how it happens because the last time that I read something related to this is about the usage of radio waves if there's no internet connection.

Internet services now resumed in the country but social media services are still down in the country. But there is a fix to that we are using vpn to sccess Social media.

As long as you've got access now to the web and you're able to visit social media websites and other types of websites then you can now have access to transact Bitcoin. If using a VPN is going to make you accessible for doing other things and will make you productive, that's not a secret anymore as even in the corporate world, there have been tasks that do requires the usage of VPN.

[The Cryptovator]

Imagine a world without internet connectivity. In such a scenario, our ability to engage in online forums or any form of communication would come to a halt. Furthermore, even the fiat ecosystem, which relies heavily on digital transactions, would collapse without the internet. This reality applies equally to Bitcoin, as it too requires an internet connection to broadcast transactions. After all, Bitcoin is a digital currency that operates in a digital realm.

[Fiatless]

Internet services now resumed in the country but social media services are still down in the country. But there is a fix to that we are using vpn to sccess Social media.

The situation in your country has shown that for now, the government has absolute control over the internet in some countries. This fact portrays that they can control the use of bitcoin within these nations since bitcoin relies on the Internet. This situation will force Bitcoiners to flee the country or seek other means of doing bitcoin transactions.

I am not tech-savvy but I think this is the best time to start researching and seeking other means of connecting to the bitcoin without the internet or bypassing government connections. The Internet is too important to be placed in the hands of self-seeking politicians because they will always seek centralization. And if they observe that they cannot stop Bitcoin, they might result to cutting off the internet.

[josephsonand]

I am not tech-savvy but I think this is the best time to start researching and seeking other means of connecting to the bitcoin without the internet or bypassing government connections. The Internet is too important to be placed in the hands of self-seeking politicians because they will always seek centralization. And if they observe that they cannot stop Bitcoin, they might result to cutting off the internet.

Time to start stocking up on ham radios and learning Morse code, just in case.

[Call_Me_Guru]

As of today, bitcoin transaction can not go through without internet. Not only the internet and without power you can't use internet when there is no power and provision for it with your device and that of the ISP you are using, no transaction can go through. This as it looks like a challenge is not a challenge, bitcoin is internet based network and no transaction can be honored without it, we should respect that.

This is how most systems work these days, banks are not left out of this. Once there internet is down, almost everything is down with it.

[FatFork]

Time to start stocking up on ham radios and learning Morse code, just in case.

Haha, you got that right! Speaking of which, brushing up on those smoke signals sounds like a great idea too. Gotta be prepared for any situation, right? You never know when a solar flare or some other EMP event might decide to wipe out our electronics.

[bayudndy]

This problem is not really widespread and happens depending on the area people live in or the barriers from the government controlling information on the internet. Personally, I have never seen this as a limitation, perhaps I need to reconsider my ability to access that environment instead of blaming the quality of the tool.
Not only the internet but also many other things in our lives, people judge and judge only from a personal perspective without really seeing their own mistakes, some prejudices are formed since you were born. I came from my parents and grandparents who you know, and I know a national proverb that says 'a frog lives in a well, it only sees the world as small as the mouth of the well'.

[Freddie Boyer]

While it is true that Bitcoin requires internet connectivity to function, I think this is a limitation that can disrupt internet services in certain situations such as natural disasters or government-imposed restrictions for one reason or another. But, here's the truth. This is where the government really comes in, if they fully support this adoption, not only that, but satellite-based internet is trying to help make Bitcoin more accessible in areas with limited connectivity, because there are huge benefits that Bitcoin offers, which are still significant.

[traderethereum]

There may be some truth in what @ OP said because if the government turns off internet services in one country, they can't use Bitcoin.
But with the current conditions, the government will not turn off internet services.
Maybe they will only limit internet services and allow citizens to access sites deemed not to endanger the government.
But we know that nowadays, people can still use a VPN to bypass government restrictions to read or know more information.
And maybe that's a Bitcoin limitation that can prevent users from accessing Bitcoin.

[flyingcarpet]

Isn't something that your freedom to use internet? For sure the government announced something regarding to the down of internet services, but if it was permanent and not temporary then I definitely not let it slide since there's a lot of people in a country that are relying on the internet like home-based jobs, communication via internet and also the crypto industry. I couldn't even imagine a world that there's no internet since my money sources are from online. If that's the case you could try the recommendation above mentioned about satellite but it's my first time hearing about it.

I hope that the problem with the Internet is temporary. Read the news: in Pakistan, the government shut down the internet indefinitely due to popular unrest. https://technoblender.com/pakistan-internet-restrictions-could-be-indefinite/
Innocent people are forced to accept government decisions. I don't think the lack of internet will last long.

The absence or partial provision of the Internet is a big problem in today's age. Trying to solve this problem yourself is both costly and difficult. Today, it should not be acceptable for managers to make decisions in this way without a valid reason. There is no gain that can be achieved with prohibitions. How logical would it be to cut off the internet while living in the internet age? I hope such situations never happen anywhere else in the world.

I had heard of the methods mentioned in the comments, but I could not experience it. In such cases, methods that can do business like Starlink should become widespread all over the world and should be accessible without forcing people financially. I'd like something like this to happen, but nowadays there's not much we can use cheaply.

[Outhue]

I am facing a real world issue that prevents me from using Bitcoin.

I live in Pakistan and for last three days cellular internet service all across the country is suspended because of prevailing law and order situation. Internet is working on fixed line connection that is reaching homes. So there is still some connectivity available.

If government shut down internet service even on fixed line connection then there will be complete internet blackout in the country and in that situation we cant use bitcoin.

I think this is also one of limitation of bitcoin that we need internet to use it. 

Get a StarLink and your problem is solved, you don't have to rely on your country's internet service providers, or if you know other satellite 🛰️ network provider you can just buy their dish and subscribe to the network, it won't take much of your time, the only problem is the cost, they are always more costly than normal internet subs that we do on PC and Mobile.

Before you believe that this is a flaw for Bitcoin I think you should understand that Bitcoin was created with using the internet in mind, everything blockchain requires the internet so it was directly created for the use on the internet.

[Aikidoka]

I'm truly sorry that this issue occurred in your country. It's clear that the absence of internet would have a big impact on any country given that people nowadays rely heavily on the internet for multiple services.

I think there are some alternatives to accessing the internet and using Bitcoin in the case of a complete internet blackout. One of these alternatives is Starlink^[1], which is an advanced broadband satellite internet service created by Elon Musk.

However, when looking at the map^[2] provided it appears that Starlink's service does not currently cover all countries in the world. I did notice that Pakistan is listed as "Coming soon" and is "Pending regulatory approval" This suggests that there is a possibility that Starlink's coverage will expand to include almost all countries in the world in the near future. If that happens it could enable anyone to access the internet via satellite in just a couple of years.

[1]: https://www.starlink.com/
[2]: https://www.starlink.com/map