How Mobile Operators Are Caught In the Middle In the Middle East and Africa 57
First time accepted submitter singinho writes "In times of political turmoil, operators are caught in the middle, between the wishes of the regime and the communications needs of the public. Orange exec Marc Rennard explains how he is forced to risk the lives of his employees." Companies operating with the blessing of any particular regime end up in some interesting predicaments; trying to keep communications open in a place like Mali (one of the places Rennard oversees) must make for some exciting work days for the guys in the field.
Re:So then ... (Score:4, Informative)
... its almost the same as the USA
Sigh.
I was waiting for the 'it's like the USA!' post.
Here's the thing: It's NOT
In the USA example, no one at the telecom is being tortured and/or killed. No one in the government of the USA has a 'magic button' to turn off the internet & cell coverage.
Don't feel too bad for them (Score:2, Informative)
I work in the 5th poorest country in the world (Guinea-Bissau, West Africa) where Orange is the only internet provider and one of the three telecom providers. Last report I saw, we, the 5th poorest country, have THE most expensive (for what you get) telecom/internet service in the world.