The recent internet outage in Bangladesh from July 18 to July 25 has significantly impacted the country's freelancing community, leading to substantial financial losses and severed client relationships.
The internet blackout, which was a result of political unrest, left many freelancers unable to communicate with their clients or complete their projects, causing a ripple effect of lost business and diminished service rankings on various online platforms.
Monir Hasan, a freelancer from Gazipur specializing in search engine marketing, expressed his concerns about the negative impact on his gig rankings in Fiverr, an online marketplace for freelancers.
Gig ranking is an algorithm that ranks freelancers on Fiverr to help buyers choose a suitable service.
“Fiverr removes a gig if the freelancer is inactive for a week,” Monir explained.
His response time deteriorated from one hour to three hours, resulting in lost clients worth $800 to $1,000 over the week. Despite contacting buyers immediately after the internet was restored, Monir said slow internet speed further complicated communication.
However, Fiverr claimed that they do not remove a gig or that a gig does not necessarily lose ranking if a freelancer is inactive for a week.
Similarly, Md Shamim Reza, an expert on the e-commerce store platform Shopify, lost five orders on the online marketplace Upwork totalling $1,200, in addition to $700 from clients outside the marketplace.
Moreover, Reza's five-year international remote contract, which began in 2022, was terminated due to sudden inactivity. This loss translates to a monthly income of $1,200, severely affecting his financial stability. Reza highlighted the challenge of regaining lost clients, saying: “Only a handful can get back their lost clients.”
Rajib Shankhari, a top-rated seller on Fiverr, said: “The situation happened suddenly. Thus, we could not inform our clients. If we had time, then we could be prepared.”
He said: “We build longtime relationships with clients. When I am not responding for a long period, the client will obviously search for an alternative.”
He added that clients have replaced local freelancers with those from other countries, further exacerbating the situation for Bangladeshi freelancers.
Dr Tanjiba Rahman, chairperson of the Bangladesh Freelancers Development Society (BFDS), acknowledged ongoing issues with slow internet speed but mentioned that efforts were made to notify clients about the situation. Despite these efforts, the impact on freelancers has been profound.
While talking on the situation, Md Shamsul Arefin, secretary of the Information and Communication Technology Division, said: “With broadband and mobile internet services restored, recovery is expected.”
However, he said there is a need for a detailed assessment of the situation before any remedial steps can be taken.