A significant number of Telegram users in Kenya have reported that they have been experiencing periodic loss of access to the widely used Telegram chat service since Thursday.
The problem appears to be becoming more prevalent for the second day in a row, affecting a sizeable number of customers all around the country.
Read also: Chapa partners with Telegram to enable digital payments in Ethiopia
Details of the problem
When attempting to log in to the application through a browser, for instance, you can see the error message “web.telegram.org took too long to respond.” The fact that the inaccessibility does not remain constant is an additional mystery that must be solved. It is possible that one of your Telegram accounts may log you in without any problems, while the other will give you an error message when you try to access it.
A further problem that users of Telegram are currently confronted with is a delay in updating channels. Users of the app are, as expected, receiving Telegram notifications on both their mobile and desktop devices. However, when the app is opened, a user may find that the Channel for which they have just received a notification does not have the most recent version. There is no set pattern to the delay that occurs when upgrading channels. In the present situation, it can range anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.
When it comes to sending texts, you’ll experience the same delay. A significantly longer period of time than is typical for a user message to remain unsent on the chat platform. It’s possible that the search bar on the platform may display the word “reconnecting,” leading users to believe that there’s something wrong with their network connection.
The app login itself being unavailable is currently the worst-case situation that has been observed. It is possible that you will find yourself logged out of your Telegram account if you access it from a browser. This takes place in a hurried manner and without prior warning.
Only Telegram in Kenya is likely affected
Telegram has not recognized the problems Kenya is experiencing on any of its official channels. As a result, internet users are left to speculate and even double-check with their internet service providers (ISPs) to determine whether or not the platform has been restricted. As of right now, it appears that the problem is only affecting customers in Kenya, according to reports that have been coming in since November 8th.
The monitoring service Downdetector by Ookla has not identified any significant problems with the platform. It is important to highlight the fact that Downdetector “only reports an incident when the number of problem reports is significantly higher than the typical volume for that time of day.” Because there have been no global reports filed by these platforms or by individual users, it appears that this issue is specific to Kenya.
In response to a question posed by a user, Airtel Kenya provided the following statement in their response: “We are working to resolve the telegram issue as soon as possible, and we will inform you once a permanent fix has been done.”
However, the problem is not exclusive to customers of the Airtel Kenya Network by any means. Additionally, customers who rely on Safaricom have reported having the same issue. According to my own first-hand account, switching from Safaricom Home Fibre to Zuku was ultimately successful in fixing the issue. The root of the problem has not been identified as of yet.
The remedy already utilized
As a workaround for the persisting problem, a significant number of users are now connecting to Telegram over Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). A virtual private network, or VPN, is a set of tools that encrypts your internet connection and replaces your original IP address with a new one that originates in a different part of the world.
Users are able to circumvent any geo-restrictions and access content that may be unavailable in their present location because of this feature. In Kenya, the usage of virtual private networks (VPNs) does not violate any laws.
The speculation
Some people believe that the intermittent interruption of Telegram service is being caused by local internet service providers limiting access to the servers. Even if there is no hard evidence to back up this claim just yet, considering the current state of affairs, it is not out of the realm of possibilities that it may be true.
Airtel Kenya, a local telecommunications provider, is aware of the situation and has issued the following statement in response: “We apologize for the inconvenience, we are working to resolve the telegram issue as soon as possible and we will inform you once a permanent fix has been done, kindly bear with us as we do so. Thank you for your patience.”
In the event that this is the case, it would not be the first time that local providers have restricted access to a messaging application. In the past, occurrences that are quite similar to this one have taken place in numerous regions of the world, frequently as a result of political or regulatory issues.
Another possible explanation for this is that it has something to do with the ongoing national examinations. In the past, Kenyans have been known to utilize the messaging software Telegram as a platform to distribute exam information that has been obtained illegally.