Pretty crazy news came today from Iran: Iran’s Islamic government has opened a new front in its drive to stifle domestic political dissent and combat the influence of western culture - by banning high-speed internet links. In a blow to the country’s estimated 5 million internet users, service providers have been told to restrict online speeds to 128 kilobytes a second and been forbidden from offering fast broadband packages. The move by Iran’s telecommunications regulator will make it more difficult to download foreign music, films and television programmes, which the authorities blame for undermining Islamic culture among the younger generation. It will also impede efforts by political opposition groups to organise by uploading information on to the net.
The order follows a purge on illegal satellite dishes, which millions of Iranians use to clandestinely watch western television. Police have seized thousands of dishes in recent months. The situation described by one Iranian blogger sounds really weird: “Despite having the telecoms facilities, fibre-optic technology and internet infrastructure, the authorities want us to be undeveloped.” I really wouldn’t like to live in such a country. May be even China is better in terms of limiting access to some western websites, but offering Megabits of internet connection for cheap prices…
No comments:
Post a Comment