4 ms·

Why one Egyptian ISP is still online

51 points by flardinois 16y ago

tibbon 16y ago
Odd question, but couldn't someone simply email their press contact and ask them about it? Or call them? I tried calling Telecom Egypt and they aren't picking up any phones currently, and they don't even have a computer picking up the phone. Yet, their fax line is still answering like a fax does, so their lines haven't been cut off completely. I'm kinda shocked that there isn't mass outrage from the private companies that are having their uptime destroyed and who will have to deal with massive customer lashback. I'd not want to be that customer service rep that has to explain their actions, or the PR person. I have to wonder if they are trying to find a way to get their service back up, all in the streets, or just staying at home? I can't imagine all of Comcast for example saying, "screw it, downtime across the entire US is ok for a week" if suddenly Obama freaked out and told them to shut down because of civil unrest.
- MichaelSalib 16y ago
  I'd not want to be that customer service rep that has to explain their actions, or the PR person. That sounds like it would be the easiest thing in the world for a good CSR: "I'm so sorry, but I preferred obeying a government order to shut down rather than get tortured to death in an Interior Ministry dungeon -- so sorry again that I prioritized your computer uptime below the prospect of having a car battery strapped to my genitals." Sorry to be blunt, but you need to realize that the current Egyptian regime is not exactly focused on the rule of law and is widely believed to use torture and extrajudicial killings. In fact, Sulemain, the newly appointed VP, was so skilled at torturing people to death that the US government actually outsourced torture and interrogations to him, according to Jane Mayer's book "The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals" http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Side-Inside-Terror-American/dp/0385526393 http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Side-Inside-Terror-American/dp/03...
ericmsimons 16y ago
I assume most data coming out of Egypt are via the few who had satellite based internet in the first place?
powera 16y ago
I find this "it's up to keep the stock market running" meme completely ridiculous. As far as I'm aware, the entire theory was based on the fact that it was the first website in Egypt people found that was still up, and the exchange had 4 different providers. Also, the stock market in Egypt is (obviously) indefinitely closed because of the protests, and probably also because all of the companies listed are completely off-line.
0xEA 16y ago
If I could flag, I would. This article isn't even a complete thought.
Complete 16y ago
Can somebody explain this pricelist to me: www.nooradsl.com/pricing.htm What does "L.E" mean? Is it Egyptian Pounds? And what is the speed? 512Mb cannot be 512 mega bit per second, right?
- Joakal 16y ago
  L.E is Egyptian Pounds[0]. Mb is indeed 512 megabits per second[1]. [0] https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Egyptian_pound https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Egyptian_poun... [1]https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Megabit https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Megabit 1,000 Egyptian Pound = 171.940 US Dollar 1,000 US Dollar (USD) = 5,815.97 Egyptian Pound (EGP) 1,000 Egyptian Pound = 173.114 Australian Dollar 1,000 Australian Dollar (AUD) = 5,776.54 Egyptian Pound (EGP)
- kijiki 16y ago
  The 512Mb is just a typo. Both the ordering of the list and the price make it pretty clear that they meant 512Kb.

51 points by flardinois 16y ago

Odd question, but couldn't someone simply email their press contact and ask them about it? Or call them? I tried calling Telecom Egypt and they aren't picking up any phones currently, and they don't even have a computer picking up the phone. Yet, their fax line is still answering like a fax does, so their lines haven't been cut off completely. I'm kinda shocked that there isn't mass outrage from the private companies that are having their uptime destroyed and who will have to deal with massive customer lashback. I'd not want to be that customer service rep that has to explain their actions, or the PR person. I have to wonder if they are trying to find a way to get their service back up, all in the streets, or just staying at home? I can't imagine all of Comcast for example saying, "screw it, downtime across the entire US is ok for a week" if suddenly Obama freaked out and told them to shut down because of civil unrest.

MichaelSalib 16y ago
I'd not want to be that customer service rep that has to explain their actions, or the PR person. That sounds like it would be the easiest thing in the world for a good CSR: "I'm so sorry, but I preferred obeying a government order to shut down rather than get tortured to death in an Interior Ministry dungeon -- so sorry again that I prioritized your computer uptime below the prospect of having a car battery strapped to my genitals." Sorry to be blunt, but you need to realize that the current Egyptian regime is not exactly focused on the rule of law and is widely believed to use torture and extrajudicial killings. In fact, Sulemain, the newly appointed VP, was so skilled at torturing people to death that the US government actually outsourced torture and interrogations to him, according to Jane Mayer's book "The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals" http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Side-Inside-Terror-American/dp/0385526393 http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Side-Inside-Terror-American/dp/03...

ericmsimons 16y ago

I assume most data coming out of Egypt are via the few who had satellite based internet in the first place?

powera 16y ago

I find this "it's up to keep the stock market running" meme completely ridiculous. As far as I'm aware, the entire theory was based on the fact that it was the first website in Egypt people found that was still up, and the exchange had 4 different providers. Also, the stock market in Egypt is (obviously) indefinitely closed because of the protests, and probably also because all of the companies listed are completely off-line.

0xEA 16y ago

If I could flag, I would. This article isn't even a complete thought.

Complete 16y ago

Can somebody explain this pricelist to me: www.nooradsl.com/pricing.htm What does "L.E" mean? Is it Egyptian Pounds? And what is the speed? 512Mb cannot be 512 mega bit per second, right?

Joakal 16y ago
L.E is Egyptian Pounds[0]. Mb is indeed 512 megabits per second[1]. [0] https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Egyptian_pound https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Egyptian_poun... [1]https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Megabit https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Megabit 1,000 Egyptian Pound = 171.940 US Dollar 1,000 US Dollar (USD) = 5,815.97 Egyptian Pound (EGP) 1,000 Egyptian Pound = 173.114 Australian Dollar 1,000 Australian Dollar (AUD) = 5,776.54 Egyptian Pound (EGP)
kijiki 16y ago
The 512Mb is just a typo. Both the ordering of the list and the price make it pretty clear that they meant 512Kb.