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Iraqis work to restore Internet service

  • From: Sean Donelan
  • Date: Mon May 26 20:55:46 2003

The nice thing about the Internet is it doesn't require (much) central
planning.  All you need are some IP addresses and a willing upstream
connection.  The US Government is paying MCI millions for a few cell
phones, while the Iraqis are bringing Internet cafes on-line with
"salvaged" equipment.


http://www.washtimes.com/business/20030525-100937-3873r.htm

 "The state company's engineers salvaged one of its satellite transceivers
from the burned-out Ministry of Information and winched it atop a
two-story building in the al-Adel neighborhood in West Baghdad.
    After weeks of cobbling and calibrating, the dish was able to send and
receive a satellite signal about a week ago. It's a temporary earth
station, soon to be an Internet cafe.
    "We built it from scrap. We had to weld it and build it manually,"
said Mr. Abdullah, a gray-haired man whose fingers fidget over a string of
wooden prayer beads.
    With 50 computers squirreled away, and security guards and a diesel
generator at the ready, the Baghdad cafe will offer the public its first
taste of the Internet since early April."