It’s a network of networks. If every connected device suddenly went offline, yeah, there’d be turmoil and a lot of deaths before things stabilized.
But if you really mean “all the backbone cables went offline” or “all the ISPs shut down” or “all the CDNs crashed” or “the top 20 services vanished” then the answers would be different.
The internet can technically run over carrier pigeon, after all. And some countries have already had “no Internet” days without collapsing.
Define what you mean by “blackout.”
It’s a network of networks. If every connected device suddenly went offline, yeah, there’d be turmoil and a lot of deaths before things stabilized.
But if you really mean “all the backbone cables went offline” or “all the ISPs shut down” or “all the CDNs crashed” or “the top 20 services vanished” then the answers would be different.
The internet can technically run over carrier pigeon, after all. And some countries have already had “no Internet” days without collapsing.