If you live in India or the Middle East, there’s a good chance you’re not able to read this right now. Two undersea communications cables in the Mediterranean were severed yesterday,severely disrupting Internet services and international phone calls across the Middle East and India, the Associated Press has reported (and, incidentally, taking outquite a few of those Indian call centres). It’s estimated that 70% of the Internet service in Egypt is down, and 60% in India. The damage could take up to a week to fix. Aspokesman for DU, one of the ISPs in Dubai that’s been affected, told AP that the fault was in a cable between Palermo, Italy and Alexandria, Egypt. In astatement the company said, "We are working actively with the submarine cable system operators (FLAG Telecom and SEA-ME-WE 4) to ascertain the reasons for the cables being cut."However, there’s no suggestion of terrorism. The current theory seems to be that a ship’s anchor did the damage near Alexandria.
Tag Archive: Alexandria
Much Of India, Middle East Loses Internet
TiVo Stars in Museum Exhibit
From your living room to a museum. That’s where TiVo is today as the digital video pioneer announced they were being added to a new year-long exhibit at the United States Patent and Trademark Office Museum in Alexandria, Virginia.
The new exhibit, called “The Invention Machine: A Day in My Lifeâ€, features everyday inventions that somehow impact people’s lives. TiVo’s contributions, the digital video recorder and the TiVo service, join the esteemed ranks of things like the toothbrush, seat belt, computer and alarm clock.
Nextel to Launch Wireless Broadband Trial
Nextel Communications Inc. will deploy a wireless broadband trial based on UMTS TD-CDMA technology from IPWireless, the companies announced today. The field trial will begin during the third quarter in Washington, D.C.; Arlington, Va.; Alexandria, Va.; Reston, Va. and Bethesda, Md.
The trial will allow Nextel to test a range of subscriber services, including broadband access for laptops, desktops or PDAs. Services will include video streaming, online gaming, document collaboration and video conferencing. The trial will allow Nextel to develop and test digital convergence concepts that target business users, consumers, public safety agencies, universities and multimedia content partners.
AOL Announces New Round Of Spam Lawsuits
AOL’s lawsuits are noteworthy and unique in nature. The first AOL lawsuit, filed against twenty “John Does”, is the Company’s very first lawsuit that expressly targets “SPIM” – unwanted communications to online consumers via instant messaging tools or chat rooms.
The other lawsuit is the very first AOL legal action to target a spammer peddling controlled substances, including Vicodin and other pharmaceuticals, which are legally available only with a physician’s prescription. This lawsuit, filed against ten “John Does”, is also noteworthy because it is the first time AOL is filing a spam lawsuit based on a large number of complaints specifically determined to be from AOL Europe and AOL Canada members.
