Free Internet Access Is Profitable In Egypt

prostoalex writes "With the demise of free Internet access providers, it's interesting to see this model working in Egypt, where the state-owned telecom allows people to dial-up for free as long as they pay the regular phone access fees. Associated Press quotes the phone line charges being 25 cents per hour. The ISPs that promote free Internet access from Telecom Egypt are then given their share of the profit."

Comments

Just what I need...

[spakka]

more bloody pyramid schemes

Around the world

[Banjonardo]

Ig, or Internet Gratis, is one of the biggest ISPs in Brazil, and it's free. It runs on the advertisements it displays.

25 Cents US?

[drinkypoo]

That represents a tiny pittance in our terms; You can get that much by finding pennies on the ground outside the supermarket.

How much is that in terms of the average Egyptian's income?

Not big news

[Stephen Samuel]

I remember similar things going on in England. As I remember it, there was a big fight going on about who should get what part of the reciprocal payments for customers using the service. This was a couple of years ago.

The real fact of the matter is that the service isn't free.. It's just being paid for through your phone bill.

Because I get my ADSL from my phone company (Telus) I can also pay for it through my phone bill... Does this mean that I'm getting my ADSL for free too?

(at $40CAN/month ($25US) for 1.5megabit down and 500kbit up, some people might claim that I really do)

The view from the trenches in Ireland

[afflatus_com]

Here in Ireland, all dialup Internet access is this type of "free", in which you are billed for the phone time online.

For the phone company and ISPs, this "Free" Internet Access Is Profitable In Ireland, also.

Few people like it, and would rush to support the other side of the fence, in which there is a flat rate of about $40 euro a month for dialup, and that is it (following the typical unmetered approach available in most of North America). An option of pay-for-phonecall is good, but when the phone company colludes with ISPs to make it the only option available, it cripples the country's online growth.

The largest ISP in Ireland is IrelandOnline(IOL).
The nexus of protest against this forced free-but-pay-for-the-phonecall scam is logically located at IrelandOffline.org

Poland

[jfedor]

In Poland, we've had "free" dial-up like this for about five years now.

But I wouldn't call it free in the presence of people that still are in this dial-up hell if I were you.

-jfedor

Slashdot discovers hot water

[hysterion]

Where have you been?!?

It's not just Egypt, it's any place with no flat local phone rates, i.e. basically everywhere except North America . Example: it's the standard in Switzerland.

(See also Estonia, Brazil, Portugal, India, Ireland, Argentina, Guatemala, England, Poland, ...)

Slashdot editors need to get out more.

Why Single out Egypt?

[evilviper]

Free Internet can work anywhere that people are already paying per-minute for local phone calls. It doesn't work in the US where unlimited local calls are free.

I think it would be more appropriate to call it "Free Internet Fails in USA, works everywhere else"

Anyone know why Egypt is getting singled out?