The article is full of smart sounding nothing. BDP is the mechanism to say where the routers for some network segment are (where to go to deliver the packet with a given IP). DNS servers for .eg are in Egypt. AFAIK both things "don't work" looking form our side if you turn off the entry routers for the cables leading into Egypt. If they claim that they know that internet does function in Egypt but can't reach anything to the outside, then the question is if the users there see DNS resolution or not. If they don't then the DNS servers are turned off. But I think turning off the mentioned routers is more than enough for behaviour described in the article. Nothing smart.
I'm sure they are. And regular old phones are apparently working (who'd have thought it!!!) so modem to modem, bbs style, is an option to bridge wifi/packet gaps.
Some of those radical activists with ocean-going ships should get themselves some kit to handle this eventuality. You could fit a lot of comm gear and some capable uplinks onboard. It would be a lot more useful than throwing debris at Japanese whalers.
