Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Yoani and Mobile Technology: Obama, Tear Down This Wall!


From Yoani's cell phone to your computer screen via today's Miami Herald.


New weapon against regime: Immediacy

My favorite pull quote:

"[T]his explosion in cellphone use is not matched by a corresponding development in ETECSA's infrastructure. The number of clients grows, but the number of antennas and the satellite capacity does not keep up. Thus, we get frequent messages telling us 'there is congestion on the lines,' and on holidays it becomes impossible to send or receive messages. Trapped between excessive costs and poor services, users cannot choose to switch to a more efficient company, because the state monopoly does not allow other companies to compete."


"Thus, the request to President Obama from the firms Nokia, AT&T and Verizon, asking for an easing of the embargo and trade with Cuba, is a ray of hope for us."


"If we have managed to do so much with so little, what will happen when having a cellphone, sending a text, connecting to the Internet, all become as easy as talking, walking, shouting a slogan?"

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