The media revolution that is the Egyptian uprising is now going back to the future. Since Internet access was largely shut down shortly after the current protests began, older technology is helping to get the word out.
One of the most popular work-arounds is a dial-up modem calling international numbers on the still-working phone system. Several Internet activist groups have been providing lists of numbers outside Egypt, including We Re-Build, Telecomix, Anonymous and others.
The Twitter Revolution
The numbers are often distributed as Twitter messages, which are hash-tagged as #egypt or #jan25, the day the uprising began. In addition, Internet service providers in the U.S., France, Sweden and Spain, among other countries, are helping service traffic by means of modem pools for international calls. Some of the ISPs have waived their normal fees. A group of nearly 30 dial-up services has been offered by an Internet-access group called the French Data Network in Paris.
A popular configuration is reportedly a laptop, a mobile phone, and Bluetooth on both. Depending on the cell coverage in, say, Cairo, this makes for a radical new communications tool for an insurgent movement. Following a shutdown, mobile-phone service has been restored for services run by Vodafone and France Telecom, and nearly 95 percent of Egyptians are subscribers to a mobile network.
In a statement on its web site, Vodafone said “there was no legal or practical option open to Vodafone, or any of the mobile operators in Egypt, but to comply with the demands of the authorities.”
Ham radio is also being utilized, and the We Re-Build group has said it’s monitoring that means of communication for either voice or Morse code transmissions. Fax machines are also being used, again because the phone system is operational. Among other things, it’s used to distribute information about getting online via…