A big Libyan rebel victory has been the restoration of the Internet, which had been controlled by the government.
The rebels had set up their own Internet service in other parts of the country but could not be connected to the Tripoli provider, which Muammar Qaddafi’s regime had controlled until Sunday.
A message on the website of Libyan Telecom and Technology (LTT), which controls the country’s Internet connection, was translated by Renesys, a firm that studies Internet traffic flows which said the message congratulated citizens "on emancipation from the rule of the tyrant,” U.S. State Department spokesman PC World reported.
Opposition forces apparently took control of the government-run mobile phone service and sent a congratulatory SMS message.
The rebels managed to briefly restore Internet service Saturday, ending months of lack of connection, but the Internet was again blocked briefly on Sunday.
Renesys said the reason for the on-and-of service may be a dispute with the local telephone company, but another theory is that the government purposely restored service in order to keep people off the streets instead of trying to join rebels to overthrow the Qaddafi regime.
The idea seemed “preposterous,” said TechDirt.com, which reported that "it seems more likely that this was just some sort of screw up or 'solidarity' move by someone at LTT.”
Regardless of the reason, during the time that service was working, thousands of people communicated with friends on Twitter and Skype, often with live gunfire in the background as the rebels continued to take over most of Tripoli.