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> Telegram was still active early on Saturday, but throughout the day, it has started to be deactivated on some devices.

That seems to imply the carriers are disabling the app somehow. How? Is there more control the telco operators have over their subscribers' phones, or does `deactivacted` means something else?

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Likely means the app doesn't work because Telegram is being blocked at the network level. Similar to how many telcos offer "free" Whatsapp on their plans, they can filter the traffic.

That's different though: Presumably WhatsApp is participating in these deals and is making their traffic explicitly identifiable (i.e. I'd expect them to provide a list of all IP addresses and hostnames their app connects to as part of setting up whatever cost sharing agreement they presumably have in the background).

Telegram will probably be optimizing for the opposite.

Probably DNS blocking, unless Telegram has some measures against that.

In the long run, blocking their verification codes sent via SMS or voice call could also be extremely effective.

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