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VoIP Beats Conventional Phone Service In Iraq

Posted by timothy on from the you-would-think-so dept.

andyring writes "According to this article at Wired, without reliable long distance or particularly international telephone service in Iraq, citizens in Baghdad and elsewhere turn to voice chat over programs such as Yahoo Voice Chat or other similar programs. Broadband at Internet cafes in Baghdad runs about $1/hr, whereas an international phone call (if you can even get a connection) is about $1/minute. The service is so popular, it sucks up almost all the available bandwidth from the government-run ISP, State Company for Internet Services (site is Arabic)."

4 of 144 comments (clear)

  1. Currency screws up comparisons... by jkrise · · Score: 4, Insightful

    In India, Broadband is 40 cents an hour, much less than $1 that the Iraqi ISP charges. Indian ISPs still make profits.

    The dollar is inflated so much, it renders any comparison useless. Going by the article, Iraq could make more money selling bandwidth to the US than oil. But that would never happen, would it?

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    If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
    1. Re:Currency screws up comparisons... by fruey · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Something tells me that we're not looking at market forces properly here. What infrastructure would Iraq use in order to sell their bandwidth to the US? This post just doesn't make sense. Bandwidth cost is a function of infrastructure costs, competition in the marketplace, and the market demand. It's not a commodity like oil.

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  2. Re:Might As Well Do It Right by Bushcat · · Score: 4, Insightful
    This would be the perfect time and place to test new/unproven technologies...

    In markets like Iraq, India and (especially) China, the "new" technologies are easier to roll out because there isn't a strong legacy technology to displace. Consider cellphones: in Iraq, cellphone networks seem to be automagically re-emerging because network damage is effectively point failure, since there is relatively little wired backbone to maintain. Whereas restoring a badly-damaged POTS network can take serious time and expense. In China, where there is little legacy technology, cellular networks are cost effective because they are not replacing a POTS network: if cellular isn't built, something else has to be. In Iraq, there is probably a substantial military data network infrastructure that can easily be converted to a public backbone. In other words, VOIP & cellular may be the only sensible options in emerging/recovering economies, and POTS is the expensive option.

  3. Re:Whaaaa? by sql*kitten · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Iraq actually still HAS an IP infrastructure? They have no electicity or running water but they can still surf porn sites, huh?

    IP infrastructure is considerably easier to setup and maintain. Yeah, I can hear a horde of CCIE geeks squealing that routing is so much more complex than simple utilities like power and water. But installing and running a router is childishly simple compared to installing and running a power station or a desalination plant. You can put up a microwave relay for IP in minutes, but it would take weeks to lay water mains and sewers over the same distance. That's why the internet is available while "simple" utilities aren't: because they aren't simple at all.