4 ms·

I had already commented this 7 months ago when Russia did the same thing. "In the interest of the people everywhere in the world, there should always be dial-u

I had already commented this 7 months ago when Russia did the same thing. "In the interest of the people everywhere in the world, there should always be dial-up access points available, in different countries. The "national interest", for whichever country, should always be the people's interest; and restricted information has never been of any benefit except for those restricting it" Someone had raised the point that with the current technology, modems might not work internationally anymore. Is that the case? Can such a system still be put in place?

actuator 6y ago
How do you dial into them if your line upto them would be stopped? I think radio based communication like amateur broadcasting, walkie talkie like things for short distances can be an effective tool to prepare for situations like this.
- McDyver 6y ago
  If every physical line is blocked then I don't see another way around it. I meant for international numbers to be available. Unless the isps block all numbers, including "unlisted" numbers, then there could still be some hope. Regarding HAM radio, there are some alternatives [0] https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:HAM_Radio https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:HAM_Radio [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMPRNet https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMPRNet
  - actuator 6y ago
    Fascinating stuff. I think the antennas for AMPRNet make it visually discoverable. I wonder if significant distance could be covered by something a little bit inconspicuous. I think one amusing thing is some phones before smartphones had radio receivers for FM. It would have been fascinating if same hardware was there in the current phones and could have been possibly used to power local broadcasts.
stefan_ 6y ago
Of course ISPs can stop modems from working. But nothing to stop a directed, tracking satellite system like Starlink (except somewhat triangulate senders).
- McDyver 6y ago
  The problem with relying on a single private company like SpaceX is that it still is a single point of failure. Who's to say that Musk, or whoever will own Starlink next, won't side with an authoritarian regime, and do the same?
  - actuator 6y ago
    That is not even an if. He like most humans would do anything to secure his profits. He has been mum on anything related to HK but wouldn't hesitate to drop statements like this.[1] [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/31/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-china-rocks-us-full-of-entitlement.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/31/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-china-ro...
jeroenhd 6y ago
Some ISPs do provide dialup. For example: https://twitter.com/xs4all/status/274631880429670400 https://twitter.com/xs4all/status/274631880429670400 It does take an "activist" ISP to set up a general access dial-up line though. There's not that many around. -- For those reading this still in need of dialup access but blocked from visiting Twitter, the details from the tweet are: Phone number: +31205350535 User: xs4all Password: xs4all
betterunix2 6y ago
I doubt it would help, since it is increasingly common for POTS traffic to simply be routed over the Internet, so an Internet shutoff would also affect phone service.
gdy 6y ago
"when Russia did the same thing" BS. Russia has never done anything like that.

actuator 6y ago

How do you dial into them if your line upto them would be stopped? I think radio based communication like amateur broadcasting, walkie talkie like things for short distances can be an effective tool to prepare for situations like this.

McDyver 6y ago
If every physical line is blocked then I don't see another way around it. I meant for international numbers to be available. Unless the isps block all numbers, including "unlisted" numbers, then there could still be some hope. Regarding HAM radio, there are some alternatives [0] https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:HAM_Radio https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:HAM_Radio [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMPRNet https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMPRNet
- actuator 6y ago
  Fascinating stuff. I think the antennas for AMPRNet make it visually discoverable. I wonder if significant distance could be covered by something a little bit inconspicuous. I think one amusing thing is some phones before smartphones had radio receivers for FM. It would have been fascinating if same hardware was there in the current phones and could have been possibly used to power local broadcasts.

stefan_ 6y ago

Of course ISPs can stop modems from working. But nothing to stop a directed, tracking satellite system like Starlink (except somewhat triangulate senders).

McDyver 6y ago
The problem with relying on a single private company like SpaceX is that it still is a single point of failure. Who's to say that Musk, or whoever will own Starlink next, won't side with an authoritarian regime, and do the same?
- actuator 6y ago
  That is not even an if. He like most humans would do anything to secure his profits. He has been mum on anything related to HK but wouldn't hesitate to drop statements like this.[1] [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/31/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-china-rocks-us-full-of-entitlement.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/31/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-china-ro...

jeroenhd 6y ago

Some ISPs do provide dialup. For example: https://twitter.com/xs4all/status/274631880429670400 https://twitter.com/xs4all/status/274631880429670400 It does take an "activist" ISP to set up a general access dial-up line though. There's not that many around. -- For those reading this still in need of dialup access but blocked from visiting Twitter, the details from the tweet are: Phone number: +31205350535 User: xs4all Password: xs4all

betterunix2 6y ago

I doubt it would help, since it is increasingly common for POTS traffic to simply be routed over the Internet, so an Internet shutoff would also affect phone service.

gdy 6y ago

"when Russia did the same thing" BS. Russia has never done anything like that.