The Internet in Egypt is an important part of daily life, as a majority of the population has access to Internet, via smartphones, Internet cafes, or at home. Broadband Internet access via VDSL is widespread. However, Internet censorship and surveillance was severe under the rule of Hosni Mubarak, culminating in a total shutdown of the Internet in Egypt during the 2011 Revolution. Though Internet access was restored following Mubarak's ouster, government censorship and surveillance have increased since the 2013 coup d'état, leading U.S. NGO Freedom House to downgrade Egypt's Internet freedom ranking from "partly free" in 2011 to "not free" in 2015.