PCMag.Com - The United States is spearheading an effort to maintain Internet and mobile phone service for citizens in countries where repressive governments use censorship or shut down telecommunications in the face of dissent, according to reports.The State Department-led project involves the building of independent phone networks in foreign countries and the creation of a $2-million prototype "Internet in a suitcase" by an entrepreneurial outfit operating out of a building on L Street in Washington, D.C., The New York Times reported Monday.
The idea is to fit innocent-looking hardware components into a package that could easily be snuck into a repressive country and quickly assembled to deliver wireless service across a wide area to maintain crucial communications between legitimately protesting citizens, according to The Times, which cited "dozens of interviews, planning documents and classified diplomatic cables" it obtained.
"We see more and more people around the globe using the Internet, mobile phones and other technologies to make their voices heard as they protest against injustice and seek to realize their aspirations," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was quoted as saying by the paper.
"There is a historic opportunity to effect positive change, change America supports. So we're focused on helping them do that, on helping them talk to each other, to their communities, to their governments and to the world." Read More
