Sentence:  [T]he government of a country with 80 million people and a modernizing economy cut off nearly all access to the network and shut down cellphone service. . . . Egypt, to an unprecedented extent, pulled itself <WSD>off the grid</WSD>. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  In or into a clandestine or isolated situation or place, especially one in which public communication is curtailed.