Internet disruptions–the temporary halt of access to (specific) internet services–have become a popular tool in African countries to control the flow of digital information and communication, especially in autocracies during times of elections and mass protests. Ownership of the internet infrastructure, in particular internet service providers (ISP) is critical to understanding a state’s capacity to control such flow since most direct forms of control require ISP to comply with government requests. We propose to explore the relationship between ISP ownership and internet disruptions at times of political contestation in sub-Sahara and North Africa from 2016 until today, where countries show varying degrees of authoritarianism, economic development, and internet penetration. We seek to make at least two scientific contributions. First, we propose a more realistic understanding of the societal, political and economic implications of internet provision and its disruption in authoritarian-developing contexts, taking into account the role of telecommunication companies. Second, we develop a tool that allows to infer variance in ISP behavior at times of political contestation based on abnormal trends in the use of popular circumvention services.