Afghanistan faced a second day without internet and mobile phone service on Tuesday, after Taliban authorities cut the fibre optic network. Taliban authorities began shutting down high speed internet connections to some provinces earlier in the month to prevent "vice". On Monday night, mobile phone signal and internet service gradually weakened until connectivity was less than one percent of ordinary levels, according to internet watchdog NetBlocks. In the minutes before it happened, a government official warned AFP that fibre optic would be cut, affecting mobile phone services too. On September 16, Balkh provincial spokesman Attaullah Zaid said fibre optic internet was completely banned in the northern province on the Taliban leader's orders.