Srinagar, Aug 17 (IANS): People in Central Kashmir's Ganderbal district have welcomed the restoration of high speed 4G internet.

Internet was suspended across Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5 last year. While 2G internet was later restored in a phased manner, the high speed 4G internet continued to remain blocked.

The government on Sunday evening restored 4G internet in two districts of J&K on a trial basis. The two districts are -- Ganderbal in Central Kashmir and Udhampur in Jammu region. However, other parts of Jammu and Kashmir will remain on a low speed 2G network for now.

"High speed internet has started working in Ganderbal since Sunday evening, we welcome it, this will benefit the people," Mudassir Ahmad, a resident of Ganderbal said.

Voicing similar views Bilal Ahmad Shah, a businessman said restoration of high speed internet has come as a big relief to the people of Ganderbal.

"It is a good news," he said. "But it would be really nice if the internet was restored all across Jammu and Kashmir."

Students who could not attend online classes on 2G network during the pandemic are likely to benefit the most due to the restoration of the high speed internet.

"We will get a lot of benefit with the restoration of 4G, we can attend online classes, download and upload study materials without any buffering," said a law student in Ganderbal.

The move for restoration of 4G internet comes after the Supreme Court asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to explore the possibility of restoring 4G services in certain areas.