Mauritius Aims To Be First Wireless Nation

hattan writes "This tropical island off the east coast of Africa is best-known for its white-sand beaches, its designer clothing outlets and its spicy curries. But tiny Mauritius is about to stake a new claim to fame. By year's end, or soon afterward, it is expected to become the world's first nation with coast-to-coast wireless Internet." From the article: "An undersea broadband fiber-optic cable, completed three years ago, gives the island fast and reliable phone and Internet links with the rest of Africa and with Europe, India and Malaysia. Many of the country's 1.2 million people--a mix of French, Indian, Chinese and African descendants--are bilingual or trilingual, speaking French, English and either Chinese or Hindi. The country is democratic, peaceful and stable."

Comments

This is the free market at work.

[CyricZ]

This is the free market at work. This is what happens when companies are forced to compete, and to innovate. This would have happened years ago in America had the government not passed legislation limiting the creation of local wireless networks by townships and counties, all due to lobbying from the large telecom corporations.

Re:This is the free market at work.

[andhravodu]

Ah, the knee jerk reactions start. let's check some facts BTW

Size of Mauritius : around 1,865 km
Population : about1.2 Million

in contrast, size of LA: 1200 square kilometers

what, you say it's easy to actually network a tiny country. noooo, let's put some spin on it.... oh, BTW, let's put the catch words competition, innovation blah blah. this should get modded insightful

Re:This is the free market at work.

[Mahou]

from TFA:

The main problem, he and others say, is that the government holds a substantial share in Mauritius Telecom, the island's only fixed-line telephone operator, as well as one of its Internet providers and the company that controls the submarine fiber-optic cable that provides all of the country's phone and Internet bandwidth.

Because the government makes so much money from the company and its cable, it has been reluctant to open the market to competitors that might reduce Telecom's profits, even though the country's National Telecommunications Policy, passed in 2004, calls for "positive discrimination" by regulators in favor of start-up companies facing off against established firms like Telecom.

Re:This is the free market at work.

[naesung]

I haven't RTFA yet, but as far as I understand (according to my hazy memory of ECON 101 a couple of weeks ago) this is hardly the "free market at work." Presuming that this plan costs the government any money at all (and you can be sure it does) it's a sure bet that every citizen is going to be paying some sort of a "wireless tax" to pay for governmental infrastructure, staffing, cables, transmitters, etc. Whether this is good for the average consumer is a simple question of comparing those taxed costs with the costs of a competitive private industry. Knowing government wages here in the US, it's entirely likely that, not a private monopoly, but a competitive industry of wireless providers could hook up the entire island for a lot less. In other words, when the government hands out a contract like that they're creating an artificial monopoly = bad bad idea. The point is: this is not a victory for the free market. The free market would have been a little... more free.

Re:This is the free market at work.

[kburkhardt]

Free market?? Maybe. But guess who owns the one and only undersea fiber link to Mauritius? France Telecom. Wireless may be available, but that link to the outside world is still expensive. We have a call center there, and we definitely pay for the monopoly in our circuit charges.

Re:This is the free market at work.

[Retric]

Umm, we don't have nationwide coverage in the US or any other country that let "open markets" build their wireless networks.

So are you suggesting they use government contractors to build it for them or go with out because from what I can tell those where their options.

I hate to break this to you but it's more expensive to build using private contractors than government workers most of the time. The advantage to small companies is they tend to explore their options and try and make the system more efferent over time but for one-time projects like these they are not efferent. Either they all build overlapping towers and cause waste or you have each of them lease space from each other which creates a billing nightmare and more waste.

PS: Some people think it would have been cheaper to build the hover dam with thousands of small companies each competing for the same work. I can only assume they have been brainwashed.

Re:This is the free market at work.

[Blapto]

Your memory of ECON 101 must be very hazy.
"artificial monopoly = bad bad idea."
Since when? What you have here are incredibly high fixed costs. An example: Transmitting gas all over the country (I'm in the UK, my terminology may be different) requires pipelines. For Transco (one gas company) to lay the pipelines, then British Gas (another), then whoever else wants to get in would be madness. There would be three sets of pipes in your streets and this would push prices up to rediculous levels. It makes much more sense to use the same pipes and the same homogenous product, gas is gas.

This product would work the same way. It's a natural monopoly, there are very high fixed and sunk costs when starting the project. No country has a true free market because they don't work, we need government intervention, and this is one of those times. Public owned huge infrastructure, let smaller firms use that to sell their product. Pay for the infrastructure by renting it out to smaller firms. That or, public owned ISP, but that would be a little dodgy.

Re:This is the free market at work.

[Dasch]

worlds oldest profession

Prostitution?

Re:This is the free market at work.

[empaler]

I agree, his statement is completely nonsensical.

Re:This is the free market at work.

[Xabraxas]

Presuming that this plan costs the government any money at all (and you can be sure it does) it's a sure bet that every citizen is going to be paying some sort of a "wireless tax" to pay for governmental infrastructure, staffing, cables, transmitters, etc. Whether this is good for the average consumer is a simple question of comparing those taxed costs with the costs of a competitive private industry. Knowing government wages here in the US, it's entirely likely that, not a private monopoly, but a competitive industry of wireless providers could hook up the entire island for a lot less.

Actually this kind of project is probably a lot cheaper for the government to do than a private company. The government has its own institutions throughout the country that are attached to the government's own infrastructure. The only work that needs to be done is to attach WAPs to the exisiting infrastructure and maintain them. If a private company even had any interest in doing anything like this (and most have shown they have no interest) they would either have to have their own infrastructure in place or build one from scratch. They then have to buy or rent land all over the country to set up WAPs.

Re:This is the free market at work.

[wesborgmandvm]

This would have happened years ago in America had the government not passed legislation limiting the creation of local wireless networks by townships and counties,

Actually in most parts of the US towns and counties can still do this. However Rep. Pete Sessions has introduced federal legislation that would prevent cities across the country from providing their citizens with Internet access.

Community Internet could provide citizens everywhere with affordable, universal access to high-speed broadband services. New wireless and wired technologies allow local governments, schools, public-private partnerships, non-profits and community organizations to offer faster, cheaper and more reliable service than ever before. But the biggest telecom and cable companies are fighting these alternatives every step of the way.

NEW REPORTS: Three newly released reports make a definitive case for municipal broadband and counter the telecom and cable companies misinformation campaigns.

Read the Reports.

Read a letter from the broad coalition supporting Community Internet.

Re:This is the free market at work.

[wesborgmandvm]

Bad Link http://www.freepress.net/action/sessionsbill

Re:This is the free market at work.

[Jozer99]

Migrant sugar cane worker Francis Muhambe was quoted: "As a migrant sugar field worker, earning close to $5 per 75 hour week, I often wish I could sit down on the job and check my GMail account on my brand spanking new Sony X505 mini-laptop. Now only one of my life's wishes has yet to be granted, a cure for my daughter's polio."

Re:This is the free market at work.

[naesung]

Granted, but I think where we disagree is whether this is really an example of natural monopoly. Presumably, if there are already wireless, television, cable, whatever providers on the island, the supply of internet service wouldn't necessarily increase the fixed costs a great deal, right? It's not really a matter of setting up pipelines. The thing is that if the government becomes the sole supplier of internet (cause who's going to pay for land-line service when the purchase of a wireless card gives you your tax money's worth?) there isn't going to be much incentive for good service, new technology, or efficient production.

Re:This is the free market at work.

[kathie]

This is really great and most defiantly a step in the right direction. Though, I am slightly jealous. It seems as though Africa really gets to take advantage of emerging possibilities like this because it does not have big corporations and big money protecting current infrastructure, so they are more open to change, unlike us.

The Vatican

[ari_j]

How in the hell can anyone be faster than the Vatican to reach this level? Seriously, that's a nation you could get wireless inside of an afternoon, but maybe wireless networking is a sin like sausage was at one point. I don't get it.

Re:That's just lovely.

[SQLz]

Yeah, because its their fault thats happening. Maybe they'll fly right off to Zimbabwe just like you are doing now and pick up a gun and fight.

Most African nations are quite developed.

[CyricZ]

Most of the larger towns and cities in Africa are quite developed. They're very similar to towns in places like Arizona and Texas. They have running water, they have power, they have sewage systems, they have phones. While they don't have the latest in fiber optic technology, they do have decent Internet subsystems. Wireless technology will allow them to forego the expenses of laying cable, thankfully. One you adapt to the local customs, many of the cities there are very nice places to live.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[MSBob]

I have no idea what you're talking about. There may be two or three developed cities in Africa. The rest is dirt roads and slum housing.

Even more "advanced" nations such as South Africa and Botswana post per-capita GDP much lower than most Eastern European countries.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[CyricZ]

Of course not all of Africa is developed, much like not all of China is developed. But if you go to large cities you will find developed communities. Cities like Cairo, Nairobi, Tangiers, Tunis, Algiers, Johannesburg, etc., are all very developed.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[MSBob]

Been to Cairo and its poverty is astonishing. Outside of the city centre the rest is cheap apartment blocks followed by a large swathes of slum housing. Egypt as a whole is in dire poverty. Naturally pockets of affluence exist everywhere in the world, even in Kigali or Freetown. Overall even the largest African cities are very, very poor and offer only marginally better life quality than African country side which is to say not much. Drinkable water is a problem as is sewage treatment and intermittent power delivery and crime and... gosh it's really bad. Just go visit there.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[jericho4.0]

Well, I've never been to Texas, but I have been to Africa, and I have a hard time imagining a US city so poor.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[MSBob]

Because it isn't. Texas isn't the prettiest place on earth but there is no comparison to African cities. That guy is out to prove something as he spams every post of mine where I dare say that African cities are poorer than western ones.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[tupambao]

It is true that most African cities are very developed. For you guys from the west, they are just different from what you are used to... or is London the same as New York or New York the same as Los Angeles? Think of it this way. The poor do not hide the fact that they are not monied and live right next door to the guy with his 6 bedroomed mansion, 2-4 servants, the latest SUV's, satelite television, mobile phones, playstations and internet connections. Once most westerners get used to this then they realise that the cities are developed but in another way not like the western cities. To understand this, I recommend spending some time in an african rural area, then going back to one of this cities...believe me you will understand!

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[agraupe]

It means that he's a white person, who lived in Africa, and has moved to America I'm assuming. You know, white people *do* live in Africa.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[raju1kabir]

What is an "internet subsystem"?

Anyway, while it is true that many African cities have running water, sewage, electricity and phones in certain neighborhoods, it's simplistic and uninformed to suggest that this means they're as developed as a typical town in Arizona.

North of the Sahara, things usually work pretty well. Likewise in South Africa, and a few other scattered places. But mostly, the electricity is spotty, the water is unsafe to drink, the sewage runneth over, and the phone systems are archaic - sometimes with multi-year waits for landline installs. If you think otherwise then your experience in Africa (if any) was very sheltered indeed.

I won't even get into transportation, commercial infrastructure, health care, and so on.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[tarmulane]

Breed like rabbits? Ebola? You pal, are a racist scum bag.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[HermanAB]

No, not racist. Ebola is not a race specific disease.

Africa has too many people - it is not sustainable. Africans have to get up from sitting under the shade of their thorn trees and get the population growth under control first, then figure out how to feed everyone. Development starts with agriculture.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[HermanAB]

I was born in Africa. So I am more African than most African-American-Blacks. There are at least 100 million people in Africa that are not black. That is quite a number.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[Gangalino]

This shows how development is seen through socially-skewed lenses in a number of ways. Primarily- using GDP,based upon US dollars, for countries outside of the U.S. is wrong. Why would a country have U.S. dollars unless the country is trying to trade/be more like the U.S.? Following that line of thought, I guess Las Vegas could be considered a pinnacle of civilization with its money circulation, smooth roads, bright lights and power usage. Secondly, how would most cities outside of the U.S. compare with U.S. cities? Including European ones, Italy's jacked-up, thin roads... Most of the world's cities, if you bother to travel to them, look like Kingston, JA, which looks like parts of Memphis, TN, which looks like... and on.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[Gangalino]

So if you were born in China, you'd be more Chinese than Charlie Chan? ...this is what happens when stupid people use words...pure backward logic and fake words. You have a discussion about development, but don't even know what development is. I'm Black, but I have a niece with blue eyes, blonde hair, and light skin. With both her parents being Black, is she somehow white? Can Black people make white people, but not the other way around? Think about that and you'll find out how African you really are.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[Gangalino]

Africans just sitting in the shade of their thorn trees waiting for whites to tell them what to do... since whites did it so quickly. Oh wait, we forget about Mussolini dumping so many chemical weapons on Ethiopia that it led to them being outlawed by the European League of Nations/UN. Or plantations run by exploitative colonizers, or wars... Who started development? Who had the first cities and civilizations? Who started agriculture, botany, and anatomy? Don't be so stupid to think that others are as stupid as you are to think of something so simple as a solution.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[HermanAB]

So, is a Black born in the USA more of an African than someone born and raised in Egypt, because the Egyptian isn't black?

According to your logic an Egyptian isn't African...

There is more to Africa than Liberia.

I lived in Africa for 35 years - and you?

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[HermanAB]

It is well known that civilization started in Africa. The pyramids are silent proof to that. Four thousand years ago, parts of Africa were already in the bronze age. Unfortunately things went down hill over the past 2000 years and you certainly can't blame everything on colonization. That is a really lame excuse. It is very easy to destroy things, while it is very difficult to build things...

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[Gangalino]

According to my logic, Egyptians are Africans, and some Africans are immigrants to Africa, and some Africans have never been to Africa. I bet my Black-american culture holds more words, mannerisms, values, goals, cuisines inline with Africa than yours. That's why if a cat gives birth in an oven, you don't call the kittens muffins.

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[HermanAB]

Well, my family lived in Africa for more than 300 years, myself 35 years, while your "granddaddy caught a ship to the USA" as Cassius Clay put it. So, my family lived in Africa (and most are still there) about three times longer than your family have lived in America. People tend to confuse Black Africa - the middle part of the continent, with Africa the whole continent. In reality, Africa is an extremely diverse continent, same as Asia is an extremely diverse continent. Nevertheless, you are first and foremost an American. Culturally, you are probably far more British than African, same as I am culturally more British than African and if someone would compare the two of us we would be quite the same, except for some minor melanin difference. Anyhoo, there is way too much misery in Africa, most of it is self inflicted and no amount of foreign aid is going to make a dent in it. Not with the birth rate as it is. Providing aid to Africa simply means that more people will be dying worse later. Instead of combating the birth rate, African governments are tackling the problem at the other end, by reducing the people's life span. Some are doing it intentionally at gunpoint, some unintentionally by not combating disease and not providing clean water...

Re:Most African nations are quite developed.

[Gangalino]

You and the birth rate...
Look at a different answer that != less Black people alive.
Compare land mass of Africa vs. U.S.A., or get real deep and compare it with the isle of England. London's a pretty big city... not a lot of arable land there... how do they do it?

You are right about you being culturally closer to Britain, but wrong about me. You have to know what culture means, first of all, then what it produces to understand that I would have a lot in common with my Africans in Africa, in just the same way you, the White African, would have more in common with your British people. I realize my Americaness, from being to foreign places, but I also realize a difference between me and America also, which if you really think about it, isn't hard to feel for a lot of people. It's a land of immigrants and mixtures of different roots, and Black people's roots in america don't go too far usually.

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[MSBob]

Its per-capita GDP (the best indicator of the overall "wealth" of the country) is around $13,000 which is similar to Czech Republic or if you're not familiar with Eastern Europe it's about half of UK's per capita GDP.

I'm sure its IT industry is limited by its size but not because it's "dirt poor" because it's not.

fast internet links?

[cgenman]

gives the island fast and reliable phone and Internet links with the rest of Africa and with Europe, India and Malaysia.

I don't think it really counts as a reliable phone or internet link if it doesn't extend to South America, Asia, and the US.

Re:fast internet links?

[Mozk]

Well since the majority of Asia's websites are Chinese, that wouldn't really matter with all the censorship.

Re:fast internet links?

[knuxed]

and where do you think Malaysia and India currently?

Re:fast internet links?

[Kjella]

"gives the island fast and reliable phone and Internet links with the rest of Africa and with Europe, India and Malaysia.

I don't think it really counts as a reliable phone or internet link if it doesn't extend to South America, Asia, and the US."

So, do you think I have my personal link from my computer to slashdot's server (hey, now there's an idea to get fp)? Maybe we could do, um, routing? Now there's a novel concept. We could have a bunch of telephone operators switching cables setting up calls. Oh, wait... wrong century.

Re:fast internet links?

[Salvo]

That's why it's so reliable.
It doesn't get any of the Tonnes of Low Grade SPAM that originates in the US.
It only gets Quality Nigerian SPAM.

Re:fast internet links?

[sebazdenton]

umm...okay USA patriot...since when did you think that there was no communication between....saaayyyy asia and the americas? or , i dunno, europe and the americas. we don't need to get to you guys directly cos we know we can rely on the industrial powerhouses of europe and asia which co-exist with the 'mighty' americas, and thus will always need effective communcation links between them that we can piggy-back on...although as i'm too lazy to read the rest of this conversation on the subject which means you might alreay have come to this conclusion, and if thats the case my apologies...we still rule (mauritians that is...yeah first wireless nation!)

Re:fast internet links?

[cgenman]

Alright, I'll respond to this one.

It was a joke. Duh.

If they're connected to the other countries, they're connected to the world. What they probably meant was that they have a trunk connection directly to somewhere in africa, etc, and through them the rest of the world. But they didn't say that.

It's a very historic place.

[CyricZ]

Remember, the Vatican is a very historic place. There is monumentery there that cannot be disturbed by the placing of wireless transponders.

Besides, such systems would have very little use in the Vatican. Canon law states that all documentation from the Vatican must be in written form, on paper, and stamped with the holy seal of whichever bishop, priest, archbishop, cardinal, Pope, etc., is responsible for the document. You can't apply a holy seal to an electronic document.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[Anonymous Coward]

I would love to see the Holy PGP Key, though.

Would such "sealed" e-mails be considered God's encrypted word? Would they do a destructive write-over of it from the papal server when he dies and generate a new one, generating it from bible passages?

Re:It's a very historic place.

[kaens]

Bless the bits?

Re:It's a very historic place.

[jeepeagle]

I'm sure Verisign is working on it.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[MrDomino]

You can't apply a holy seal to an electronic document.

Sure you can. Just hook the Pope up with a PGP key and we'll be set. Holy digital signatures all around.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[AndrewJ-NYC]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall reading in the New York Times and elsewhere that the official Vatican announcement of John Paul II's death was made by email. Maybe they licked that electronic-holy-seal problem when no-one was looking.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[CyricZ]

"Sure you can. Just hook the Pope up with a PGP key and we'll be set. Holy digital signatures all around."

A PGP key cannot be used in place of a Holy Seal. Such a seal must be made of wax, and must be used to verify the authenticity of a paper document produced by scribe (ie. hand) or by impression printing.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[CyricZ]

One cannot joke about a Holy Seal.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[MrDomino]

Oops. I, uh... I think I broke your sense of humor.

At least, it's not working correctly at any rate.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[CyricZ]

It is not humorous to joke about the Holy Seal.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[Roland Piguepaille]

One can joke about anything one wants.

You can however, choose to ignore the fact that is a joke, and look like a stick in the mud.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a little known fact, but the Pope's hat is actually a mobile wireless access point, 802.11g I believe...

Re:It's a very historic place.

[CyricZ]

Indeed, one can joke about anything one wishes. But said joke need not be funny! It need not make people laugh.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[AcidLacedPenguiN]

it made me laugh.
and please for sanity's sake, discontinue your line of reasoning and admit that things can be funny whether or not you find them funny. It's this monotheology stuff that tends to get people riled up on the topic of religion anyway.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[eric2hill]

Do not taunt Happy Fun Seal (TM)

Re:It's a very historic place.

[Skippy_kangaroo]

Is that like the Royal Corgi?

Can it do tricks like the Seals at the circus?

Re:It's a very historic place.

[Lemmy Caution]

One cannot joke about a Holy Seal.

Oh, yeah? Watch me!

A rabbi, a doctor, and the Holy Seal walk into a bar...

Hmmmn, you're right. I got nothin'.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[strider44]

A janitor walks into a bishop's office and sees white liquid flowing all over the desk. "Oh shit, bishop," he calls out, "you blew a holy seal!"

Re:It's a very historic place.

[CyricZ]

It sure failed to make me laugh.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[panaceaa]

Good idea, but should it be done in Latin, or in Perl?

Re:It's a very historic place.

[Diag]

A rabbi, a doctor, and the Holy Seal walk into a bar...

.. The barman says "Sorry, we don't serve seals here".

Re:It's a very historic place.

[6th time lucky]

There is monumentery there that cannot be disturbed by the placing of wireless transponders.

I just had an image of the statue of david... with a rather well endowed wireless transponder...

Re:It's a very historic place.

[myc_lykaon]

I just had an image of the statue of david... with a rather well endowed wireless transponder...

He would have to be bloody well endowed. The statue of David is in the Uffizi in Florence and the Vatican is 280km away...

Re:It's a very historic place.

[the_womble]

1) Canon law can be changed
2) The Vatican must also have lots of working documents, drafts, personal notes etc. being moved about.

However important documents are likely to remain in paper form, or, at the very least have signed hard copies taken for storage. The church think on a very long timescale and digital documents may create archiving problems, furthermore they will not be usable in circumstances in which paper is (such as a collapse of civilisation, something the church has already survived once).

Re:It's a very historic place.

[mnbjhguyt]

Remember, the Vatican is a very historic place. There is monumentery there that cannot be disturbed by the placing of wireless transponders.

I think the real point here is: the Vatican is a very historic place, so try and get a wireless signal go through those 3 feet thick walls.

and besides, I think it's all a matter of priorities, and I don't see how wi-fi could make the vatican's top 10 to-do list anytime soon.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[Ichimusai]

Not even if you were using the holy MD5 or the glorious GPG?

Re:It's a very historic place.

[TheoMurpse]

No, his hat was actually where they initially tested WiMax.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[Sheriff Fatman]

Both!

This paper describes a Perl module -- Lingua::Romana::Perligata -- that makes it possible to write Perl programs in Latin:

http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~damian/papers/HTML/ Perligata.html/

Re:It's a very historic place.

[Mycroft_VIII]

Shure you can, but only in the rare circumstance that you have a Holy Porpoise for it.

Mycroft

Re:It's a very historic place.

[raju1kabir]

I can't tell whether or not you're being serious (I will charitably assume you are not) but either way, you're making me laugh, so consider yourself a success.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[Fear the Clam]

Can I feed him a fish?

Re:It's a very historic place.

[amnesiacdotorg]

i call bullshit:

The Vatican has anointed Sun Microsystems with Special Prelate status, namely, the ability to handle e-mail correspondence from the outside. Perhaps you should visit the Vatican website and read up on canonical law.

Re:It's a very historic place.

[Filmwatcher888]

Holy digital signatures

There's a Batman joke in there somewhere...

Re:It's a very historic place.

[ari_j]

Right, because Perl should be made harder to read. Good thinking, Perl community! :)

Re:It's a very historic place.

[metlin]

No, we do serve seals around here, holy or not. How do you like them, rare or deep fried?

Sheesh

[Qxz86]

1.2 million people? That's less than many big cities. I think we really need to get the government in the US to ramp up funded wireless access points.

Re:Sheesh

[arron_nz]

New Zealand only has a population of 4 million people, and we don't have coast to coast wireless. I think it's more a matter of land area.

Re:Sheesh

[GFunk83]

"I think we really need to get the government in the US to ramp up funded wireless access points."

Yeah, because that will solve our growing deficit problem.

Dude, I'm there.

[shinyplasticbag]

Seriously, where do I sign up?

Re:Dude, I'm there.

[killa62]

http://www.pixelscapes.com/spatulacity/button.htm
^here
just push the button.

Re:Dude, I'm there.

[echo465]

You sign up at the Republic of Mauritius's Non-citizen web portal:

http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/Noncitizenhomepagesi te/

(well, i guess technically you don't sign up there, but that's where you start).

Re:Dude, I'm there.

[Jakeypants]

Me too. I've always wanted to be on the internet but haven't had the opportunity yet.

Ambitious Maritius

[Dancin_Santa]

The African continent is one of those areas that is perpetually in the dark, both literally and figuratively. It appears as a large black mass in the World At Night map, and it has been a long time since it was a source of mankind-advancing knowledge (at least since the Library of Alexander in Egypt was destroyed).

In addition, its history of being conquered and carved up by Western empires has left it nearly incapable of functioning as a cohesive continent of nationstates. Rather, it languishes in tribal warfare made all the worse by the relatively recent influx of Islam which has torn the northern countries of Chad and Sudan to shreds.

But separated from the mainland, Maritius is amazing in its ability to remain relatively free of the strife that plagues the rest of the Dark Continent. Catering to foreign tourists who want to get away from the normal tourist hotspots, Maritius has been much more stable and forwardly progressing than its neighbors. It is really no surprise that it would be the first African nation to attempt something as ambitious as this project.

That it is the first in the world is absolutely amazing.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[iCEBaLM]

I think I would call 200-300 years a long time, especially since it is approximately 5 human generations long.

Care to name the last thing that africa did for the world?

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[SydShamino]

>> It appears as a large black mass in the World At Night map

Not that Africa hasn't gone through more than its share of troubles, but is it really a bad thing that it appears as a black mass in the World At Night map? What exactly does it prove if the US is a huge fiery glow at night? That we waste energy? It's being picked up by a satellite.

Just like many countries without landline telephone infrastructures are moving directly to cellular service from nothing at all, perhaps one day African nations will implement efficient directional night lighting as is necessary, and it can be proud to be less wasteful on the World At Night.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[Anonymous Coward]

How about a link to the map in question: Earth At Night.

And to those who question brightness as a valid measure of economic and social advancement, take a look at South vs North Korea. The difference is shocking.

(More info about this type of data is available from NASA, NOAA).

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[Anonymous Coward]

Compared to the animism and shamanism that was widely practiced on the African continent for thousands upon thousands of years, 1400 years ago is pretty recent.

But that's hardly the point. It isn't until very recently that Islam and more specifically the institution of Sharia law has been established as the basis for the government. Rather, the governments (in those countries cohesive enough to have governments) have largely remained secular even a majority of citizens claiming Islam as their religion.

And while it is true that Africa has always been plagued by tribal warfare and genocide (as recent as the Rwandan genocide), the gradual growth and imposition of Islamic Sharia law in the Sudan (for example) has led to religious pogroms against Christians who do not wish to convert to Islam. So rather than tribal and familial warfare, the current situation is one of religious persecution at the hands of a growing Muslim powerbase in Africa.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[AEton]

The African continent is one of those areas that is perpetually in the dark, both literally and figuratively. It appears as a large black mass in the World At Night map

Except for Mauritius. Coincidence? No way.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[DNS-and-BIND]

It might be worth checking out the map to see the world's other efficient user of directional night lighting, North Korea. I mean, you can literally tell where the Chinese and South Korean borders are.

It proves that the US is a nation that is busy at night, as opposed to Africa, which is not busy at any time.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[burts]

Let me tell you a little bit about Mauritius. My background: I am mauritian and currently working towards a master's degree in EE in South Africa and i have /. for breakfast... The internet revolution has started here, in a sense. The price of a decent ADSL(128/64) line has dropped drastically during the last few years (abt USD 29 / month). It used to be *much* higher. Now they are introducing wireless internet soon. Things like video-on-demand, internet tv are all being planned here. These are all very nice but educating the public should also be happening hand in hand - and this area of things sucks big time. I would also like to mention that people have no idea as to what is F/OSS! There are very few businesses that use Linux here. People don't even know about FreeBSD (and i suddenly feel alone). I don't need to mention what is the favourite pirated OS in this place. i am sure you can all guess. But what is really annoying is the politics that exists in the government system. It really makes you think twice before trying to get a job here. Meritocracy is not very prevalent. i could go on and on... Curiously it only seems to happen when the General Elections are close!

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[Diag]

It proves that the US is a nation that is busy at night, as opposed to Africa, which is not busy at any time.

Not really. It shows that America has a lot of large urbanised areas with street lighting on all night.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[SteamedPenguin]

Rather, it languishes in tribal warfare made all the worse by the relatively recent influx of Islam which has torn the northern countries of Chad and Sudan to shreds.

How the hell do you qualify recent? islam came to North Africa oh back in the 8th and 9th centuries. Thats 1200 years.

Or by 'recent' do you mean you just heard about Chad and Sudan three weeks ago on the news and looked some factois on wikipedia and now are authoritative on North African history and politics?

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[jpop32]

Funny thing is, a couple of years ago a few of my buddies and I seriously contemplatied moving over there and starting a bussiness. And we had this exact idea (wi-fi over Mauritius) for a startup.

Obviously, now we'll have to come up with something else, but, as a local, could you give me some pointers as to how difficult would such a thing be? You know, immigration, starting a bussiness as a foreigner, and making a living over there. I know the government has declared the vision of Mauritius becoming a 'knowledge based economy', and was supposedly making active steps in achieving that. But, is it practically doable?

You know, Mauritius sounds like the place to be. A country that has no army to speak of (with $12.5 million annualy military budget, 0.2% of GDP), one jail, no ethnic troubles (everyone's a immigrant) and vision of bright IT future... Heaven, if there's such a thing in the world.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[Pollardito]

did you completely miss the grandparent posters references to a poor educational system and rampant nepotism, or does your vision of heaven include those? he even said that it makes him think twice about working there, obviously it's not shangri-la

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[stevew]

Yep, I was on Maruitius 20 years ago. At the time I applied for an amateur radio license and spent 3 hours at the PTT office watching a gentlemen with a Phd in shuffling paper. The memory I have of the place is perhaps 75 people sitting in this large room moving paper from point A to point B. I had the thought that you could put one small sized main-frame in to do their work. Then I realized that an important part of this island's economy was the "manual" labor these folks were doing. I've got to wonder how much "computerization" is going to help Mauritius....

Good luck folks!

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[ImaLamer]

Fucking racists....

First, Africans have done plenty of things (brain surgery, useful and non-fatal) before any other collective of people did them. Their life before colonization was quite civilized, and in many cases the best in the Western world.

Of course, they didn't go out forcing everything on the world so things they "did for the world" is pretty low. But from my POV that is a good thing.

the first thing that came to mind was the extremely high birth rate, but that doesn't warrant anything of note.

That isn't even true! Racist trash... But assuming it is, Africans have produced the most genetically diverse population on the planet. If you know nothing about biology: this means that it give our species new hope in the face of biological terrors. I wouldn't expect you to understand, read a book.

Of course, starting the species is something of note. At least I'd say so.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[ImaLamer]

This is exactly my point.

The racists will say "what do we use today", which is unfair because we never tried to listen. Even when Europeans went to Africa, they just took what they wanted and left.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[samgau]

The place has changed a lot in 20 years... as for technology... it is everywhere... for example... my parents use voip to call internationally... I live in the US and I don't use voip !!! I won't deny... there are still problems with meritocracy but it is not suprising considering its colonial roots, also there are the same social/racial problems as everywhere in the developed world... the education system when I was in school was pretty good since it is based on the british system...but thats 10 years ago...

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[WormholeFiend]

Of course, starting the species is something of note. At least I'd say so

new findings seem to indicate that man originated in Asia...

but on the whole I agree with the rest of your post.

Africa has some of the deadliest diseases on the planet (if you discount the asian flu "factories" of China and Vietnam).

I'd be placing my bet on African survivors in case of a global deadly pandemic.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[ImaLamer]

To geneticists, the fact that Africans are the most diverse (genetically speaking) makes them the most likely "original" source of the species.

Of course, this debate will never be settled because everyone wants to say the first man lived in his own back yard.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[WormholeFiend]

if everyone agreed that we originated in Pangea, then that would settle the issue :P

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[Gangalino]

Dancing Santa sounds like one of the many Africa experts who's never been to Africa, and is afraid of Africans in his own country (and probably believes in other lies like Santa himself). I realize you were raised on the same propaganda, but do me a favor and keep your Willie Lynch racial stereotyped Africa assessments to yourself unless you go there. Africa is the home of humanity, and even your esteemed "classical" scholars from Greece and Rome looked up to esteemed African institutions of learning even though they didn't completely understand them (and there were more than just Egypt, or Timbuktu).

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[Gangalino]

What has Europe or America done for the world? Being brash an ignorant != doing things for the world.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[iCEBaLM]

I suppose the rennaisance, the printing press, penicillin, the modern use of electricity, the telephone, aviation, nuclear power, space exploration, and this whole internet thing we're conversing over kinda suck, huh?

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[Gangalino]

Hey Europeans gave the world HIV medicine (and it doesn't work- but it costs though), nuclear weapons, dildos, US dollars, Reality TV, computers that don't have translations for African languages so what's the point anyway... I guess their just not white and mighty enough on dark old Africa. Can any of the white countries make a pyramid that will last for 1000s of years and will teach you about astronomy, medicine, spirituality, and (most importantly) yourself? Doesn't come with a UPC code though, doesn't make any money for "1st World/G8" economies, but oh well!

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[Gangalino]

The rennaisance: 1500-1600s? Compare that with Egypt or Ankor Waat, or Timbuktu. That's why it's called a rennaisance- a renewing. Of what? old Europe? when they just reached that level? Try the Black Plague. Printing press- ooh- more propaganda, Christianity promotion with a Bible revised by Europeans that was based upon African texts. Penicillin- to fight syphilis? Which was spread by who? Electricity- OK, but how about irrigation, and plumbing? That would've helped Europe out during the Black Plague. Too bad Africa and India had it for millenia before them. Aviation? Why are Native Americans called Indians? Those early explorers were thankful to have African Moors on those early trips to get them to dry land somewhere and spread syphilis, even if they still didn't know where they had landed. Space exploration- 1960's "We made it to the moon!" When Africans in Mali (near Timbuktu) could've told you what the moon was made of, how it was created, and there's nothing there a long time ago. They knew about Pluto and stars that existed, and their composition, before the stars could be seen in the 20th century. And yes, the internet does suck especially when you have this ARPA-created b.s. spreading more and more disinformation and propaganda by moronic Americans raised on Willie Lynch proverbs in their stupid public schools designed to keep them ignorant consumers looking to buy a solution for their every malady.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[iCEBaLM]

The rennaisance: 1500-1600s? Compare that with Egypt or Ankor Waat, or Timbuktu. That's why it's called a rennaisance- a renewing. Of what? old Europe? when they just reached that level? Try the Black Plague.

Actually Renaissance means "rebirth" or "revival" not "a renewing", as in the humanistic revival of the sciences, art and learning? As for the plague, are you insinuating Africa has never had any type of biological epidemics?

Printing press- ooh- more propaganda, Christianity promotion with a Bible revised by Europeans that was based upon African texts.

Actually I was refering mainly to literary works, non-fiction, news publications and journals however you spin it any way you like, it sure didn't come out of Africa.

Penicillin- to fight syphilis?

And any number of bacterial infections, it was the first mass produced anti-biotic, it was used to treat wounded soldiers on D-Day during WWII and it allowed us to further the state of the art in medicine. What is Africa doing about it's ailments?

Aviation? Why are Native Americans called Indians?

Because that's what Columbus called them when he landed, he thought the Americas was India, the name kind of stuck. Are you insinuating that the Natives of America flew there?

Space exploration- 1960's "We made it to the moon!" When Africans in Mali (near Timbuktu) could've told you what the moon was made of, how it was created, and there's nothing there a long time ago. They knew about Pluto and stars that existed, and their composition, before the stars could be seen in the 20th century.

That's great, almost useless unless you can put that information into practice. The point of space exploration is to further the state of human knowledge and to spread humanity off of this one world, something Africans haven't been able to do.

And yes, the internet does suck especially when you have this ARPA-created b.s. spreading more and more disinformation and propaganda by moronic Americans raised on Willie Lynch proverbs in their stupid public schools designed to keep them ignorant consumers looking to buy a solution for their every malady.

Yeah, African schools these days are just so much better, they teach you that East Indians flew to America, that is while they're not being used by genocidal rebels of various creeds as bunkers and recruitment camps.

As for ignorance, I'm not American so I hope that comment wasn't directed at me. This comment is directed at you however: you are not free of ignorance yourself, you should watch your words.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[jpop32]

did you completely miss the grandparent posters references to a poor educational system and rampant nepotism, or does your vision of heaven include those?

Well, poor educational system can be an opportunity. Situation like that means that maybe starting a computer education centre could be a lucrative bussiness.

As far as nepotism goes, I'm not looking for a government job. :-) Outright corruption would be a problem. Having to bribe officials to get the necessary permits, for example, would be a definite show-stopper. But that's not the impression of the place I got. Having never been there, that is. :-)

I know it's not all milk and honey, I don't honestly expect it to be. That's why I'm asking for clarifications.

he even said that it makes him think twice about working there, obviously it's not shangri-la

Of course not. He would probably much rather find work in the US or somewhere in Europe, if possible. Which is exactly what I'm looking to get out of. Different people, different perpectives.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[SparafucileMan]

you troll faggot.

mauritius's sugar industry was purposefly subsidized by the british empire for 50 years because its a strategic port. that's it. and theres only a few thousand people there.

take your head out of your ass already.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[Gangalino]

The rennaisance: 1500-1600s? Compare that with Egypt or Ankor Waat, or Timbuktu. That's why it's called a rennaisance- a renewing. Of what? old Europe? when they just reached that level? Try the Black Plague. >Actually Renaissance means "rebirth" or "revival" >not "a renewing", as in the humanistic revival of >the sciences, art and learning? As for the >plague, are you insinuating Africa has never had >any type of biological epidemics? No, I'm saying look at the timeline. Europe in the Renaissance era was more like 7000-8000 years into civilization. It took them that long. What's before rebirth? As for your literary works, what's so great about print, when all you print is lies, propaganda, and marketing schemes? Did you know that Aesop was an Aethiopian? How old are those stories? "What is Africa doing about its ailments?" What is Europe and the U.S. doing about Africa's ailments? Nothing- except making money apparently... The point about Colombus, , is that how can Europe/Europeans claim Aviation if they really didn't know where they're going? And the point of my whole post is that you don't know what you're talking about, so STFU. You've been fed lies for a long time, people are on Slashdot talking all day about b.s. that's going on (George W., DHS, governments scheming), you know it's going on, you let it go on because you promote it like a mindless idiot. So really, *you* need to watch your words, because your stupid, white words have a lot more violence and power attached to it in the form of "foreign policy". No one is free from ignorance, but that doesn't give you the excuse to build up a big fat bank of it.

Re:Ambitious Maritius

[iCEBaLM]

No, I'm saying look at the timeline. Europe in the Renaissance era was more like 7000-8000 years into civilization. It took them that long. What's before rebirth?

Sorry bud, I don't really call the babylonian practice of taking a man out into the fields, burning him and spreading his ashes over the farms to promote fertility every spring to be that civilized. As far as civilization goes, Africa and the Middle East haven't really enjoyed much, if any, yet.

As for your literary works, what's so great about print, when all you print is lies, propaganda, and marketing schemes? Did you know that Aesop was an Aethiopian? How old are those stories?

Statements from the truly ignorant. Pick up a good paperback of A Tale of Two Cities, War and Peace, To Kill a Mocking Bird, or even Enders Game or Dune if you're into SciFi. There are a great many literary works both ancient and modern. As for Aesop, there are 4 cities which claim to be his birthplace and none of them are in Ethiopia. The cities are: Sardis, the capital of Lydia; Samos, a Greek island; Mesembria, an ancient colony in Thrace; and Cotiaeum, the chief city of a province of Phrygia. Lydia and Phrygia are in what is now Modern Turkey. Thrace was carved up and is now parts of modern Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria. No African there.

What's so great about print? We've made these things called Encyclopedias, they have facts in them about a lot of stuff. You might even want to try reading a little bit about various subjects you speak about so you don't end up looking like a complete retard as you are now. We even moved these encyclopedias on to this whole internet thing! Check out www.wikipedia.com and www.britannica.com!

What is Europe and the U.S. doing about Africa's ailments? Nothing- except making money apparently.

Maybe we should stop doing anything at all and let the whole continent die off? Africans don't seem to be too greatful for what we do for them. UN Peacekeepers dying to try to make Africa a better place, not to mention the billions in economic and humanitarian aid and a wipe out of all debt announced by the G8 that you hate so much recently. That means you don't pay us back, ie: we're loosing money and lives, not gaining them.

The point about Colombus, , is that how can Europe/Europeans claim Aviation if they really didn't know where they're going?

Do you even know what Aviation is? Here, let me define it for you:

aviation ('v-'shn, v'-) pronunciation
n.

1. The operation of aircraft.
2. The design, development, and production of aircraft.

And here's a Wikipedia excerpt:

Finally, on Dec. 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the first piloted airplane off the beach near Kitty Hawk, N. C. Henri Blériot and Glenn H. Curtiss made significant improvements in airplane design and, as more powerful engines became available, flew successively longer distances. In 1909 Blériot flew across the English Channel; ten years later a Curtiss-designed flying boat crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

Now, are you going to tell me the Wright brothers were African?

And the point of my whole post is that you don't know what you're talking about, so STFU.

I think I've made it sufficiently clear that it is you who doesn't know what he is talking about. You have pretty much proved what everyone else thinks about Africa to be true. A continent full of hateful people who would rather look backwards instead of forward.

From the words of the very notable literary artist Mark Twain: "It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."

There's another invention we came up with, it's called the enter key. You should use it more often.

A country of 1.2 million...

[HexaByte]

Is bragging that their "Whole Country" is wireless?

There are cities that have that much wireless capacity just from their coffee shops! Add in the hotels, and the all-too-prevelant open APs, and you see that that's nothing to brag on.

Re:A country of 1.2 million...

[NineNine]

There are cities that have that much wireless capacity just from their coffee shops! Add in the hotels, and the all-too-prevelant open APs, and you see that that's nothing to brag on.

They also have a tiny tax base. It's impressive in that I don't think we've ever seen a single US city that is 100% wireless. This is a major milestone, regardless of size.

Re:A country of 1.2 million...

[PC_THE_GREAT]

Ohh yes it is something to brag on, whether you want it or not, even if it is a small island it is on the edge of achieving it. And well size in some cases doesn't matter... "david v goliath" seems to come in my mind when i think about what you are saying :)

-PC

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[CyricZ]

Have you ever been to Prague? It is an extremely developed city. A small GDP relative to a GDP bohemoth such as the UK or the United States does not mean that such cities are underdeveloped or third-world cities. Indeed, many such in Africa are very comparible to most mid-sized American cities like St. Louis or Tampa Bay.

Moving soon? Anyone?

[CRepetski]

I wanna live there! If that's their method of convincing people to move, it worked. Seriously though - just add 10 or 20 bucks to your taxes and you're good to go! Awesome!

Re:Moving soon? Anyone?

[antifoidulus]

My high school French teacher was born there, from what I understand the land is overflowing with alcohol, and the people there have an interesting sense of humor. She was ugly but one of the funniest people I have ever met. Best of wishes to you!

Re:Moving soon? Anyone?

[wildjim]

Well, went there on holiday for the last fortnight, to see some friends who've been working there for almost a year.

My friends are very, very, luck, as their wages are paid by a British company, but they say most people there are unbelievably badly paid cf. Western countries, even when you take into account the difference in cost of living. e.g. a lot live in tin-shacks, just as you see in pictures on the TV of African shanty-towns, £60/month was a common wage. Also, import-duty is extremely high, too: 95% for imported cars, for example. So you don't see a great deal of "foreign conveniences".

Part of the "scam" might be the resorts are usually stunning there. The tourist packages will never show you the run-down areas. It reminds me of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico (though perhaps less run-down in Mauritius) where the tourist resorts are lovely and the coastal towns are not a lot worse than some English ones, but when you hop in a car or take a tourist-coach through the inland towns you realise that people are only just surviving.

However, I'm told most Mauritians are much happier and friendlier cf. Londoners even so. The speculation there was the huge quantities of alcohol drunk by the general population -- when large portions of the country are covered in sugar-cane, it's hardly surprising there's a lot of cheap (and very excellent) rum.
NB: You'll almost never see a bottle of Bicardi there because it's just not as good as the local rum, and import prices make it more expensive, anyway.

But anyway, if you're expecting to be able to have a similar life-style to a modern Western city, you'll get a rude shock. If you're wanting to get away from the "modern-ness" of the Western cities, you'll probably enjoy it.

What exactly is your point?

[CyricZ]

What exactly is your point, my good man? Are you suggesting that it would be impossible to convert the entire United States to wireless communication within a day? Of course it would be! That goes without saying.

But by starting small, at the township and county level, then progress could have been made. But such progress was inhibited by the government, due to lobbying from the large telecoms.

Re:What exactly is your point?

[Tim Browse]

Are you suggesting that it would be impossible to convert the entire United States to wireless communication within a day? Of course it would be!

I bet Brunel could have done it :-)

Re:What exactly is your point?

[16K Ram Pack]

Government responding to narrow business interests isn't "the free market" either.

Re:What exactly is your point?

[MPHellwig]

Edison too, but he would probably redefine "within a day" to make it possible.

Re:What exactly is your point?

[3waygeek]

But Tesla would have slowed the rotation of the earth so that the day would actually be long enough to do the job.

hehe

[Pinefresh]

reminds me of the blurbs you get on nationstates.com

Re:That's just lovely.

[MrDomino]

You're absolutely right.

In fact, let's drop everything we're doing right now and... and what? Take those warlords out of power? Forcibly? Killing how many? Are you suggesting we should go in there and somehow instill democracy? That has, after all, worked so well in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, North Korea, Haiti, Panama, Kosovo, Iran, and India. All of the unrest in the world is clearly proportional to the amount of time we spend on things not directly related to it, and if we actively try to stop it, it will recognize our efforts and just be nice and go away.

So let's just stop all development of technology, any progress at all, and focus all of our efforts singularly on making everybody happy and healthy. Never mind the fact that this hasn't happened yet in all of human history; if we just stop progressing and think really hard about it, I'm sure the silver bullet will fall right out of our stagnant asses.

Those Mauritian pigs. Progressing on their own rather than getting involved with every little problem in the entire world. How dare they, those rich snobs.

See, they just wouldn't use technology.

[CyricZ]

As you have noted, such technology is very problematic to use when it is to replace tried and trusted systems, such as that of the Vatican. No, a PGP key does not and cannot replace a Holy Seal.

That and,

[neurokaotix]

it's a hell of a lot cheaper to install wireless access points across an island than it is to lay wiring across it.

Re:That and,

[drunkahol]

That would entirely depend on the island.

In this case, wireless is the ONLY option because the island is very heavily made up of volcanic rock.

It's a lovely island. A wireless network will work great on the island. Very little around the island goes underground.

One of the vulnerabilities of the island is that the current telephone and power networks (on telegraph poles & pylons) are knocked out by the tropical storms in the area. If the networks were capable of being put underground, they would have done it by now!

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[MSBob]

Did I say that Czech Republic was undeveloped. I actually come from there and probably know much more about it than you do!

Mauritius does have a life quality similar to Czech Republic which is to say it's very high. However, Mauritius is nothing like most African countries in terms of its Human Development Index.

Small Country Syndrome?

[PetoskeyGuy]

The Principality of Sealand did it first I believe, although Petoria was probably covered by their cordless phone.

Have you ever been to Detroit? Flint? Chicago? LA?

[CyricZ]

I have. Indeed, and I stand by my word. Have you ever been to major American cities like Detroit, Flint, Chicago, LA, Houston, and Miami? They're very similar to many of the larger African cities. Yep, you do have the better part of the town, and then you have your slums and the shittier parts. You talk about intermittent power delivery, just as much of California has suffered from recently. Look at places like Detroit and LA if you want to talk about very horrific and violent crime. Like I said, their cities are very comparable to those of America.

Geeks in Paradise

[axonal]

Excuse me? Excuse me, senor? May I speak to you please? I asked for a mai tai, and they brought me a pina colada, and I said no salt, NO salt on the margarita, but it had salt on it, big grains of salt, floating in the glass...

Re:Geeks in Paradise

[zephc]

Will someone please mod up poor Milton here?

The Land of the Dodo

[Anonymous Coward]

This tropical island ... is best-known for its white-sand beaches, its designer clothing outlets and its spicy curries.

I thought Mauritius was best-known as the former home of the Dodo. Hopefully their stab at nationwide wireless connectivity won't share a similar fate.

Re:The Land of the Dodo

[Anonymous Coward]

Your research sucks.

From Wikipedia:

The Mauritius Dodo (Raphus cucullatus, called Didus ineptus by Linnaeus), more commonly just Dodo, was a metre-high flightless bird of the island of Mauritius. The Dodo, which is now extinct, lived on fruit and nested on the ground.

And what's more:

(The island was first visited by the Portuguese in 1505, but the Dutch were the first permanent settlers on the island.)

Re:The Land of the Dodo

[drunkahol]

This kind of comment gives idiots a bad name!

The Portugese first landed on the island, and it is their sailors who are widely credited with hunting the hapless Dodo to extinction.

The Dutch, French and British then fought numerous times to gain control of the island. The last victors were the British (hence English and the language of government, driving on the left etc), but not before the French had got the whole island speaking French.

Try to engage your brain before blurting out crap like this!

Oh... crap.

[MrDomino]

You know, I just thought the same thing. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure most other geeks who read the summary (not the article---this is Slashdot for chrissakes) also had a similar thought.

Considering Mauritius' relatively small size, this begs the question... is it possible to slashdot a country?

Re:Oh... crap.

[shinyplasticbag]

I think we should all move to this wonderful country. Seriosly, we could have a majority vote if we all did it...and rename it Motherboard.

Ah yes...

[halcyon1234]

... but can you imagine a beowulf cluster of these islands?

I suppose this eliminates them from being the location for the next Survivor season.

"Well, Jeff, we couldn't get any fire, food, water or shelter going-- so we were on the Internet in minutes registering our disgust."

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[CyricZ]

You were suggesting that the Czech Republic-like GDP of many African nations means that they do not have developed cities. And like we now agree, you were incorrect on that point. Many African cities are very developed and extremely similar to those in Europe and America.

a new low for /.

[IchBinEinPenguin]

peaceful? wireless? tropical?

Every geek in the workd is going to move there.
We just /.-ed an entire nation

Re:a new low for /.

[pommiekiwifruit]

Don't forget French-speaking.

1860 square km

[kc8jhs]

That's right only 1,860 km^2 folks.

A little under half the size of Rhode Island.

Step right up and learn more!

-Mikey P

Re:1860 square km

[trime]

Since when has 1860 square kilometers equalled 1860 kilometers squared?

Re:1860 square km

[kingofalaska]

Wow. That's small compared to what I am used to. Last year we had a fire larger than the state of Mass. We have an icefield larger than Switzerland, and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough is larger than West Virginia.

On the other hand, we have thousands of citizens who are currently without electric power, running water, or sewer, and suffer from greedy dentists who wish to deny basic health care. We supply 25% of the U.S. oil consumption, billions of dollars in natural resources, fish, and tourist dollars to the state and federal government. Expect us to 'go nuclear' again soon.

What country is this? Alaska.

KoA

Thousands of Alaskans Face Hardship

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[MSBob]

I think you just mixed up two different threads. In one I'm arguing (correctly) that much of Africa is in dire poverty (including large cities) and in another thread I tell people that Maurtius (not in Africa although close to it) is a semi-afluent nation comparable to lower wrung EU states such as Czech republic. It's you sir who are confused and replying to too many threads all at once.

My only questions...

[ImaLamer]

Where do I sign up and when does my flight leave?

federation

[m()p3s]

As soon as I whip up a constitution and declare my home a republic seperate from Australia I will be the first country to COMPLETE the project.

Take that small African country.

Re:federation

[Sam Ritchie]

You mean like the Hutt River Province?

Re:federation

[pommiekiwifruit]

Better hurry, the gay kingdom of the coral islands might beat you!

Re:Have you ever been to Detroit? Flint? Chicago?

[pomo monster]

Oh, c'mon. Yes, people tend to imagine horrible things about African cities that aren't true. There's good neighborhoods and bad in every large city around the world. But saying that a city like Chicago or even Detroit would fit in with the likes of Kinshasa and Harare is, politely, a stretch.

Re:That's just lovely.

[metlin]

That has, after all, worked so well in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, North Korea, Haiti, Panama, Kosovo, Iran, and India.

As a matter of fact, it has worked in India, and quite well too - since the day they have gotten independence from the British in 1947, at least.

In a country of 1.2 billion people, majority Hindus, they've a Muslim President, a Sikh Prime Minister and a Catholic Caucasian female ruling party president. In fact, it's worked better than it does for the US, where except for two Presidents, every other one has been a Caucasian Protestant male.

Not to mention that India has a free market economy which has been growing by leaps and bounds. And it's quite unsettling that you would compare India (which is quite a broad-minded secular democracy with a growing economy) with countries like Afghanistan, North Korea and Iran - you, sir, just proved that you're as ignorant an idiot as the parent poster you were abusing.

Bah.

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[CyricZ]

Indeed, you are correct. Most of Africa is quite developed, and the major cities of Africa are comparable to those of America or Europe, even some of the impoverish former Communist Bloc members.

Working from an island

[BlackMagi]

I think that if I could live and work on an Island paradise, I might enjoy doing just that. The idea of leaving the city, living in a small community of techno-geeks, hot tourists, great seafood, wireless access and my own thatched-roof bungalo sounds mighty attractive. If it paid well, I think it would be perfect! Until the next Tsunami of course. I could live beside the ocean And leave this life behind Swim out past the breakers And watch the world die... Cheers, -T

Re:Working from an island

[guardiangod]

living in a small community of techno-geeks

Sounds more like a nightmare to me ;) .

hot tourists

To see the geek gehtto? XD

I guess I would go...if they promise me that tsunami would never reach the island.

Re:Working from an island

[drunkahol]

The tsunami actually caused very little in the way of disruption on Mauritius.

I was there several weeks after the tsunami and discovered that there was no more than a large wave. Certainly not like the pictures everyone has seen of the tsunami hitting other islands.

Besides, there isn't a single area of coastline in the world that is immune to tsunami.

I'd certainly go and live there.

Re:Working from an island

[raju1kabir]

Besides, there isn't a single area of coastline in the world that is immune to tsunami.

Sure there is. The coast of Antarctica is protected by hundreds of miles of solid ice.

Best Known?

[Markus Registrada]

When I think of Mauritius I think first, last, and only of a hypertrophied flightless pigeon, sadly extinct since the seventeenth century, known as the dodo.

There's one stuffed at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, from which new specimens might be cloned someday soon. I doubt they will make much use of wireless internet service, though, even if they find their way to their ancestral home. They're even dumber than your average slashdot moderator; while equipped to peck, hunting is probably beyond them.

Oh yes it is..

[ciroknight]

It means that the entire nation could get its collective ass together and pitch in on a project that benefits everyone. This is an amazing accomplishment.

America could do the same damned thing, except the collective ass is a lot larger, and the people with the collective asses try to turn it into an empirical thing; okay, who gets what services at what cost.

Imagine if that entire country went VoIP, hired a cellphone company to make wireless handsets that talk internet protocol in the 802.11x range, and became a completely wireless nation. Help is always a handset away. Nobody is more than a few numbers from everyone else.

I wish I could move there, but I doubt there's much work for a software developer in a country nobody's heard of until today.

Re:Oh yes it is..

[Ass Feces]

Benefits everyone? Thats a stretch. I have nothing against what this country wants to do, but somehow I doubt the country's poor could care about the wifi and even those that do own computers may not nessecarily see the practicality of this.

Re:Oh yes it is..

[rzbx]

"I wish I could move there, but I doubt there's much work for a software developer in a country nobody's heard of until today."

I think the bigger news is the undiscovered island of 1.2 million people.

Re:Oh yes it is..

[pommiekiwifruit]

Well every schoolkid knows it is famous for being the homeplace of 3DO's mascot (the Dodo).

Re:Oh yes it is..

[rhuntley12]

Don't forget this advanced technology they have to give wireless to the whole country!

Re:Oh yes it is..

[anothy]

I wish I could move there, but I doubt there's much work for a software developer in a country nobody's heard of until today.

first off, do not assume that all of your peers (in whatever sense you read that) to share your ignorance (taken in the literal, not the pejorative, sense). lots of people know Mauritius; among other things, it's a very popular vacation spot. while i'm inclined to agree that it's not a hotbed of software development activity, anything with active tourist or travel industries is bound to have significant IT positions. my company serves the communications industry, and we have customers there.

Re:That's just lovely.

[goldspider]

"Take those warlords out of power? Forcibly? Killing how many? Are you suggesting we should go in there and somehow instill democracy?"

The UN's current strategy of waiting and hoping the region will stabilize itself sure has been a roaring success, no?

Sealand is NOT a country

[SuperBanana]

Sealand is not a country; not a single UN member recognizes it, and despite what some quack claims on his ISP homepage, it just plain isn't. It is a small island that the British decided it wasn't worth it to "reclaim" by force.

If they invaded to kill, they'd slaughter a bunch of idiots. If they invaded "nicely", a couple of British soliders would most likely be killed. Either way, a potenial PR disaster.

Honestly, the UK just doesn't give a shit about the island- not enough to drop a bomb on the place and blow it to smithereens, or anything else. They could have cut the island off long ago and starved everyone out, but even that wasn't worth it.

Re:Sealand is NOT a country

[Anonymous Coward]

Its not an island. Its a man made structure built aa a sea fort during world war II.

Re:Sealand is NOT a country

[raju1kabir]

Oh, don't be so harsh on them. It's easily as independent as the country I started in my parents' basement when they wouldn't let me go sleep over at my friend's house one time. Out of historical interest, I will reproduce its Constitution in its entirety here: "No grownups."

As far as I've been able to tell, that's the same law that governs Sealand.

Re:Sealand is NOT a country

[aminorex]

It's a hell of a lot more independent than, say, Iraq, which has maybe 1 country that recognizes it right now.

Oh, what's that you say? I forgot Poland?

Re:Sealand is NOT a country

[SparafucileMan]

hahahahahha. that was good.

Neal Stephenson

[iLEZ]

Did anyone except me think of Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson when they heard about this?

Re:Neal Stephenson

[Rule_Of_The_Bone]

Boy are you clever and well-read. Get back under the covers with the flashlight dude.

Re:Neal Stephenson

[elronxenu]

Yes I did, and I pulled out the book to try to find references but failed. It's a big book. Then I did a google search but still nothing came up to prove whether my mental connection between the two was legitimate.

Glad you confirmed it for me.

Re:Neal Stephenson

[iLEZ]

I think what triggered the connection was the characters Avi and Waterhouse (?) doing business building networks between Asian islands.

Re:Ah yes... Beowulf clusters

[Bushcat]

That would be Finland's Turku archipelago, the world's largest. Alas, doomed to be a tourist backwater because visitors can't actually pronounce the island names. An entire nation based on T9 typos.

Re:That's just lovely.

[pomo monster]

Erm, India's democracy is democratic all right, but that's about it. The central government is notorious for fucking up everything it touches, and corruption is rife throughout state and local governments. About the only thing this particular democracy has gotten right in the past two decades is to open the economy to the outside world, which, as you say, has contributed to growth. But even in terms of economic growth India's been beaten by East Asia's tigers, particularly China, a party dictatorship. So unless you value diversity for diversity's sake, I don't see how you can say that India's government works better than the U.S.--and that's hardly a glowing appraisal to begin with.

Sounds like a tourist brochure

[syousef]

" Many of the country's 1.2 million people--a mix of French, Indian, Chinese and African descendants--are bilingual or trilingual, speaking French, English and either Chinese or Hindi. The country is democratic, peaceful and stable."

Well praise be to God and/or Allah and/or Buddah

The land of wireless and honey! :-)

Re:That's just lovely.

[fbform]

Are you suggesting we should go in there and somehow instill democracy?
That has, after all, worked so well in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, North Korea, Haiti, Panama, Kosovo, Iran, and India.

Sir, I don't know what you smoke, but I think it's safe to say that you've smoked it all. When was the US ever involved in the administration of India?

Sweet

[Sinner]

I think this is brilliant. While larger countries look to wireless as a new way to keep on beating the same dead horses, smaller countries can use it to attract live horses.

I think my metahorse got tangled.

Cancer

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't people ever think about the risk of cancer due to exposure of radiowaves? In the latest decades we have started to expose our bodies to many new sources of radiowaves. A study that I participated in showed a connection between the number of Radio Towers and the number of Skin Cancer in the region. Several other studies have shown a similar connection between high frequency radiowaves (microwaves) as in this case. Who is responsible if we get cancer? Should we blindly accept new technologies?

Re:Cancer

[Dancin_Santa]

You'll get shouted down by the crowd which believes that EM radiation from wireless devices like wifi access points and cell phones is harmless and that any sort of worry about it is completely unnecessary.

Too bad they don't actually pay attention to what is really going on.

While radiation in small doses is relatively harmless, it is widely known that in large amounts it is damaging to tissue and in extreme cases can cause death. To combat this, the 3GPP specification that defines what a 3G phone should be and do has a specific section on SAR, Specific Absorption Rate. This spec regulates the maximum amount of radiation that a phone may be allowed to output before becoming physically dangerous to the user.

Start multiplying handsets in any limited-space area, and the SAR maximum threshold is exceeded relatively quickly. This is why those rats at the University of Washington developed cancer after being exposed to cellular phone radiation in the initial SAR studies.

Re:Cancer

[StinkiePhish]

This was the concept of the sickness "The Shakes" in the movie Johnny Mnemonic http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113481/

Henry Rollins as the doctor describing the cause hitting all of his electronic equipment is a scene I'll never forget.

Re:Cancer

[otis wildflower]

Given the sandy beaches and amount of sun, you'd probably be better off worrying about melanomas.

Re:Cancer

[jpop32]

Too bad they don't actually pay attention to what is really going on.

Or maybe you don't know what you're talking about.

To combat this, the 3GPP specification that defines what a 3G phone should be and do has a specific section on SAR, Specific Absorption Rate.

This is a parameter used in design of and tested for every mobile phone, 3G or not. Look through a manual of your mobile, it's there in the specs. It couldn't get an FCC approval without one.

Start multiplying handsets in any limited-space area, and the SAR maximum threshold is exceeded relatively quickly.

Bullshit. Phone on standby is emitting a couple of orders of magnitude less radiation than phone used for conversation. So, unless all of those people are talking at the same time, it doesn't matter. Furthermore, the intensity of radio signal weakens with the square of the distance (twice as far, four times as weak). Thus, the only phone you should be concerned about is your own, when you're holding it within an inch distance to your brain, while talking. The possible effects of the other phones (even while used for talking), compared to that, are thousands of times weaker and can be safely ignored.

As far as 802.11 devices are concerned, they also have a limit on the power they are allowed to emit. Guess what it is? Some 20 times lower than the peak output power of mobile phones (which, again, you hold next to your brain when at peak power output).

And, while we're at it, you might want to look up the differences between ionisation and non ionisation radiation. Mobile phones, microwave owens and 802.11 equipment emit the latter. Which means that its effect is nothing more than heating up the tissue that absorbs it. You move the phone away for your ear, you cool down, and that's it. The effects are not cumulative and there are no residual effects whatsoever.

So, in conclusion, just take a chill pill and remember to switch the phone from one ear to the other if you're talking for a while.

Re:Cancer

[Jakeypants]

Oh, I hadn't thought of that... when I went on vacation, I thought it was just the style for all the locals to have hats made out of tin foil.

Re:That's just lovely.

[iowa119900089]

YEAH YEAH.. Us American s better bomb them for-en-ers. They caint be allowd tuh do better than us.

Access Points

[OneArmedMan]

I just hope they leave all the settings on default, just like most of the people on my island.

( Australia )

If they are a reasonably free state, count me in!

[Toba82]

w00t, wireless over the entire nation? Tropical paradise? Beaches? This sounds like my plan get rich, buy an island and do this, but without the working or buying or doing! Perfect!

From someone who lives there...

[Anonymous Coward]

Hi, I live in Mauritius, the home of the extinct dodo.

Country's bandwidth to the Internet: 128 Mbps

Here is some information about Internet connectivity with the biggest ISP, Telecom Plus.
266 US$/month - Business ADSL 1024/128
147 US$/month - Business ADSL 512/128
78 US$/month - Business ADSL 128/64

40 US$/month - Residential ADSL 128/64
60 US$/month - Residential ADSL 512/128
266 US$/month - Residential ADSL 1024/128

Taken from
http://www.telecomplus.net/adsl_tariffs.htm
1 US$ ~Rs 28
VAT is at 15 %

Oh, forget about getting dedicated >1mbps connections, they cost over 2,400 US$/month last time I checked.

Also, Mauritius claims to home the most intelligent building in the world, the Ebene Cybertower.

See, this is a great place to live, all the peace and quiet is here but if you want to move here to enjoy cheap, fast and reliable internet connectivity, its the wrong place to be.

Information:
www.mauritiustelecom.com
www.gov. mu
alt.mauritius

Have a nice day.

Re:From someone who lives there...

[FriendlyLurker]

Hi
Whats the Mauritius policy on Software Patents? I can find no info on the gov websites there.

Thanks.

Re:One AP is enough...

[Erik_]

You're quote is actually pretty accurate. Mauritius is an island with two/three high points in the center of the island.
If on the oher hand you where talking about it's Neighbour 'La Reunion' which is 150km/~110miles away, that would be a different challenge, with multiple valleys, hills, mountains...
FYI: Mauritius & La Reunion are French DOMTOM (Departement d'outre mer et Territoire d'outre mer).

Re:That's just lovely.

[DigitalOSH]

Im pretty sure that neither Mauritius or the USA had nothing to do with India's success. In fact, i believe most of it was done autonomously! ahh, the beauty of sources.

Democratic? Peaceful? Stable?

[ciscoguy01]

"The country is democratic, peaceful and stable."

A couple of years of wall-to-wall internet and the country will be neither peaceful or stable. Not sure about the democratic part. Heh.

Re:One AP is enough...

[cocotoni]

FYI: Mauritius & La Reunion are French DOMTOM (Departement d'outre mer et Territoire d'outre mer).

Sorry, but no. Reunion is a DOM, but Mauritius isn't. In fact, Mauritius gained independance from the British. It was french only in the brief spell in the 18th century, when it was named (ironicaly) Ile de France.

I was also surprised to learn this given the number of Mauritians I know.

Re:One AP is enough...

[o'reor]

FYI: Mauritius & La Reunion are French DOMTOM

Nope, Mauritius became part of the British Empire in 1810. It got its independence in 1968. La Réunion, OTOH, is still a French DOM.

Space Ghoast?

[poningru]

does this mean they will also get Space ghost Coast to Coast?

Well at this point

[Sycraft-fu]

It's indicitive of the extreme poverty. Africa is not a paradise by and large. Most African nations are extremely poor and saddled with a large amount of debt (though there is now a proposal to eliminate some of that) but a bigger problem is political opression and war.

The European colonization of Africa still causes problems there. It's only receantly that some equality is being established. I mean you have to remember that it wasn't until the 1990s that apartheid ended in South Africa, and though it's generally a developed democratic nation, it is still marked by extremely high amounts of violent crime and racial tensions.

Zimbawe (formerly Rhodesia) was not so lucky. In 1979 they successfully declared independance from Britan and Robert Mugabe was elected president. It may have been at the time he really was an idealist revoluationary, speaking for the opressed masses. At one point Amnesty International even named him Humanitarian of the Year. However that is no longer the case. He instuted a program of simply seizing land from white farmers and giving it to poor black residents. The net effect was to turn Zimbwabe form Africa's food basket into a starving nation that relies on aid. He has brutally suppressed opposition and the country is a military dictatorship for all intents and purposes.

This was all made even worse during the cold war. Both the US And USSR proped up various regiemes throughout Africa. It amplified old tribal fighting and gave it new bitterness. Armed with modern weapons, entire countries have been pitched into decades of civil war. Congo (DROC in this case, formerly Zaire), for example has been in a bitter civil war for years and for a while didn't really have a meaningful central govrenment. At this point there is allegedly a peace accord and a transitional government, but there is still sporadic clashes and the country could teeter back to full scale war at any time.

So while, perhaps, in the future it will be seen as proud thing to have a dark picture at night, the reason that Africa is dark now is nothing to be proud of. It's not for conservation or the environment, it's because most of the nations have problem far worse than being able to provide electricity to their citizens. There is hope developing, now that coloinalism and the cold war have ended, but the standard of living there is still generally, very, very low.

Re:That's just lovely.

[Anonymous Coward]

I know you're trying to say that not crappy situation in the world is Mauritius (or the US's) responsibility. But some of those examples you cited actually did get cleaned up by force or political processes (sometimes peacefully).

Afganistan - Taliban in charge was better?

North Korea - They attacked their neighbor (South Korea) starting the Korean War. The only reason the insanity is still ongoing is the Peoples Republic of China jumped in on their side. China has done a good job there haven't they?

Kosovo - Let's let the ethnic cleansing continue. The rest of Europe did so much to stop it prior to Clinton sending in troops.

Panama - Actually they're reasonably free and doing economically not to badly. Oh yes, the US gave back the canal too. Must have been an off day in American Imperialism.

India - pretty stable democracy even with a lot of ethnic troubles.

Well there's real question as to if it's a country

[Sycraft-fu]

At this point, they claims to be a country and exert theri independence, but that doesn't seem to be recognised. They don't have a diplomatic mission in any nation I'm aware of, they don't have an IANA country code (which even Taiwan has, though not offically an independant country), etc. Mauritius is a fully recognisied nation, however. They have major diplomatic representation, a real functioning representitive government and so on.

You have to remember that being a nation isn't as simple as just having some land and saying you are a nation. It's a convention, partially between those that live there, but mostly between other nations. If they agree and recognise you, you are, if not, you aren't. More complex than that, but it's ncertianly not just grabbing an old sea pylon and calling yourself a country.

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[An Ominous Cow Erred]

A way better indicator is (as another poster mentioned) is the Human Development Index. Per-capita GDP doesn't take into account things like typical standard of living, wealth inequity, etc.

Another good indicator is the Quality of Life Index.

If you want a simple, raw economic number, MEDIAN income rather than mean income is one of the better indicators of the wealth of a nation's people. Slightly better is median income scaled to purchasing power. Unfortunately I don't have tables for these. =(

Re:Estonia

[melodraama]

Yes, the Ministry of communications says that Estonian will be govered "in few years" with wireless Internet using CDMA technology and radio frequencies which previously were used by NMT mobile telephones. The area of Estonia is 40 000 km^2 with the population of 1,3 million people.

To me (i'm estonian) the project seems a little redundant since we have cheap DSL, cable and local wireless Internet everywhere, but hey, it would be cool to comment slashdot in middle of some swamp some day.

Re:That's just lovely.

[The Cydonian]

which, of course, is to ignore that M'tius is our prime pardner-in-crime for all those FII-inflows into the country.

M'tians are nice people. They like to think they're part of the greater Indian global family! ;-)

I have lived on an island..

[slashmojo]

In the med.. no wireless but the local telco hooked up my phone and adsl within 24 hours and I had a sea view from my balcony.. was cool for a while until winter arrived and the tourists left.. then island life gets very dull.. everything closes, the weather sucks (relatively), no naked babes on the beach (excluding the 70+ retired crowd but some things are best avoided), there's nothing on tv, and you start to feel very remote..

Re:I have lived on an island..

[Antimatter3009]

I lived in the Cayman Islands for 12 years and experienced pretty much the same thing. It's fun for awhile, and during tourist season you can have fun just sitting on the beach, but after awhile you get tired of the very limited number of things to do and just sort of get bored with the whole place.

heh

[Illserve]

The country is democratic, peaceful and stable

Well, it *was*...

Mauritius is not paradise but it's a nice country

[AvinashM]

I am Mauritian, living and working in Mauritius right now.

Mauritius is a small (about 1400 km2) tropical island not very far from Madagascar. Mauritius became independent in 1968, is a republic since 1991 and is, politically, stable with regular democratic elections every 5 years.

For the last 20 years, the economy was based on sugar cane, tourism and the manufacturing sector (mostly textile). Now, with the ongoing globalisation, Mauritius has to find new avenues for development as we aren't competitive enough in those fields...

The Government and the private sector have identified some new avenues, IT services and financial services, in addition to the further development of the existing tourism sector.

As for IT, Government is concentrating on building new schools and giving incentives to the University of Mauritius (where I work as lecturer in Computer Science) to produce a more IT-litterate workforce (whatever that may mean). Mauritius has obtained a $100 million line of credit from India to build what is known here as CyberTowers and CyberCities.

Of course, this migration towards a service-oriented economy will take some years. The Governement has already announced that the whole country will have to become a duty-free country (yeah :-) like Dubai and Singapore in order to attract more and more tourists.

As everyone know, by 2008, owing to the World Trade Organisation, all countries including Mauritius will have to compete on the same level (there will be no more prefential agreements between countries nor any guaranteed quotas etc.)

Small countries like mine need to move quickly or else we will perish.

Wish us luck :-)

Maritius and Software Patents?

[FriendlyLurker]

I see Maritius is trying to encourage startups to move there. What is the policy on software patents in Maritius ? Can find no info on the giv websites.

Thanks.

Jesus

[Nailer]

Okay, first it replaced GMC at a time when it was really slow.

Then it went spatial without any user notification or an obvious way of turning it off.

Now Nautilus aims to be first wireless nation?

Fuck that, I'm moving back to KDE.

Re:Estonia

[Freultwah]

Swamps and bogs are sacred, you don't go there with your laptop. You go instead with a clear sense of self, respect towards all living things, and a bong plus some supplies.

Kakerdaja raba!

it reminds me

[buanzo]

of szanzibar. (oh well, I can't remember how to spell that correctly).

Re:Well there's real question as to if it's a coun

[Pollardito]

You have to remember that being [cool] isn't as simple as just having some land and saying you are [cool]. It's a convention, partially between those that live there, but mostly between other [cool people]. If they agree and recognise you, you are, if not, you aren't.

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[16K Ram Pack]

If I moved somewhere now, it would be to an up-and-coming nation like in Eastern Europe.

Why? Because software is now a global playing field. I live in the UK and I'm competing against guys with a much lower earning requirement (in terms of things like cost of beer, food, housing). I couldn't afford to live on $13,000 and nor could almost anyone in the UK. That means that I have to charge more than a Czech.

I spent 3 months this year working from home for a client who I met twice. Mostly, things were done by messenger, phone or email. To live in the Czech Republic, I would therefore have to take 8 flights to do the same job. That's just no sweat.

Yeesh! Political correctness runs amok on /.?

[alienmole]

To the moderator who gave the parent a Flamebait mod: I suggest you switch your crack dealer.

Re:Mauritius is not paradise but it's a nice count

[Mistah Blue]

Interesting that you mention CyberTowers and CyberCities, as I noticed the same in Seoul when I was recently there.

Re:Please, PLEASE. Vacation in New Zealand.

[otis wildflower]

Can I bring my trusty [Hillborne Axe of Agility] to fend off all those orcs?

Re:Have you ever been to Detroit? Flint? Chicago?

[AuMatar]

What power problem in California? I haven't had my power go out in years. You mean that bullshit trumpeted in the media? THe one Enron faked? Umm, yeah- it never happened. There were never rolling blackouts, and there were 1-2 local ones that were completely avoidable.

Size perspective

[tfcdesign]

Here in San Jose, CA there are about 900 thousand people. I think this accomplisshment is a little over stated when it compares to one american city.

Re:That's just lovely.

[mparar]

Are you suggesting we should go in there and somehow instill democracy? That has, after all, worked so well in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, North Korea, Haiti, Panama, Kosovo, Iran, and India. India? Umm.. Maybe a little bit of looking before the leaping would be in order here. India is a democracy since 1947 when the British left.

Re:Mauritius is not paradise but it's a nice count

[Gangalino]

Wish you luck? Can't you see that the whole WTO thing was made to make your island perish? Appealing to the slash-dotters here for luck is the wrong way to look since they still think you're "lost in the Blackness" living in a coconut treehouse. But you have the internet now, and you can see why you might not want it or consider it as a mark of civilization.

The point is...

[coding_tigger]

Mauritius is building its infrastructure for communication. It's not just a pretty Starbucks on a tropical beach, it is meant to make the island nation more accessible to the world. It will put it next door to New York, Shanghai and Bangalore so that its people can easily collaborate with the rest of the world. I think that it is also meant to reduce the country's brain drain and attract talent. That will generate knowledge, which in turn will generate wealth for the country. Just read the posts. There are already a number of people considering moving there.

Mauritius is going to face some hard challenges in the near future, from dropping prices on sugar, its main export, to competition with China on textiles. I personally salute their effort to try to put this tiny nation on the global technology map. It's not easy and prices are high, but I think that this country has a lot going for it such as stability, diversity and soon a great communication network. I, for one will be watching the developments very closely.

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[SparafucileMan]

Mairitius is the most piss-poor example Slashdot could have come up with.

It's a tiny speck in the Indian ocean, northeast of Madagascar, and has mainly been British Empire land... mainly as a strategic port and sugar producer.

Barely anyone lives there.

Their GDP is moderately developed, but keep in mind their sugar industry (basically the only export until recently) was subsidized for 50+ years by Britian so as to keep the island stable. While everyone else got fucked, Mauritis was kept stable. There are a number of resrouces on this---mainly european trade agreements that highlight it. IMF and World Bank reports talk about it in depth, as well. Not too hard to find.

Recently, they've been trying to get financial work outsourced to them, which is why they developed their communications infastructure.

But make no mistake. Claiming Mauritis as a big thing in wireless is like claiming that the Red Sox are a big thing in the bronx. The locals, if they heard you, would probably either laugh or beat your ass.

(incidentally, some major people in academic politics occasionally whip mauritius out as some pinncale of development, along with some other random country... then they use it to justify their political theory of the day. when really anyone could tell you it was the price of sugar that did it. for the whopping few thousand that live there.)

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[jvchamary]

SparafucileMan, your knowledge of Mauritius and its history is as 'piss-poor' as your grammar and spelling.

Don't write about something you know nothing about, charlatan.

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[AvinashM]

Check your facts before saying such uninformed comments. British Emprire land??? You must be joking. Mauritius is independent since 1968 and we are closer culturally and somewhat economically to France. Have you ever come to Mauritius???

Re:Mauritius is not paradise but it's a nice count

[AvinashM]

> Wish you luck? Can't you see that the whole WTO thing was made to make your island perish?

I tend to agree with your statement. But what can Mauritius do against the WTO? We do not have many choices, isn't it? We can only TRY to be quicker than the others.

On the other hand, Mauritius is stable, relatively rich (or rather not poor) and have a committed (but not yet highly trained) workforce. So, there is still hope. But I agree that it will be difficult.

> Appealing to the slash-dotters here for luck is the wrong way to look since they still think you're "lost in the Blackness" living in a coconut treehouse.

I used a smiley :-) Succeding has nothing to do with luck. It takes dedication and proper "canvassing" to succeed...

Mauritius the cyber island

[PC_THE_GREAT]

Ahh, Mauritius, the government is really making its best to make Mauritius rise, after the problems with the sugar prices, such a great news is warmly welcomed. Mauritians were contraint to use lesser and lesser of internet in the past due the the Monopoly that the Mauritius Telecom/France Telecom enjoyed. They owned the phone wirings and hence used it in their favour to extort money from us Mauritians. We have been forced to use microsoft's product's as it still is the only thing people here are doped to think as computers. They force people to believe that learning to use a computer is learning to use windows... We have suffered from both of those monopolist... the ISP, and the Billy Gatty... Now its time for a revolution. God Bless Mauritius. -PC

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[SparafucileMan]

at one point i was helping your president (or maybe it was the party president... i forget) run heroin through the country, until he got caught with that suitcase full. that buggard.

anyway yeah, i misspoke. french aristocracy and all. dutch. dab of portuguese. used slaves to work the sugarcane. moved on to textiles with indian and chineese immigrants. at one point part of the french empire, on and off again. at one point part of the british.

you've been independent since 1968 but you'll note that the favorable sugar trade terms continued after independence. out of all of the Sugar Act colonies, Mauritius made out sweeeett while most of the rest got near market prices and subsequently fell to piece. which reminds me that mauritis gets good trade terms in textiles, too. is there much more to your economy, even now? not much. a dab of communications/offshoring/financial services i guess.

so..... the point is using Mauritius as an example of what can be achieved in much larger and more populous countries is absurd. it'd be like saying that since i can run my house well (with help of my relatives), why can't everyone in my city do it? how could there be any poor in my city? you can't draw conclusions from that.

you agree that Mauritius is a "fluke", in this sense?

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[SparafucileMan]

? don't hate, looser.

what'd i get wrong anyway?

Re:Mauritius is not paradise but it's a nice count

[Eagle5596]

JOOC, from someone who is working on a PhD in CS and always on the look out for an interesting new place, what is working for the University like in Mauritius?

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[Gangalino]

What about the "fluke"ness of England?

The point is- why talk about a country or nation like it's a joke, especially if you're European, and know your people had a lot to do with it?

Holding up your fake economies, that especially you, know are held up by illegal trade such as drugs, and the rest is the ability to print money and fool people into believing in it.

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[SparafucileMan]

whoa slow down and chill out. i'm not european.

i'm sure mauritius is a nice place to live.

but it's a fluke. if europe had cut off sugar subsidies after independence, no one would be holding up mauritius as some shining example now. it's like holding up israel without mentioning their entire economy is based on US aid.

and that heroin reference? it was a joke.

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[sebazdenton]

hey there, I've been living here my whole life, just graduated from Vassar college in may and thus have returned to work with the fam. we're actually really developed compared to most of africa, but we still fall well behind most of the western word. for example, we have A highway, which is up to 6 lanes at some points, but is also 3/4 lane one (government stole the rest fo the money to truely make it a 4 lane road) near my house (in the north, lots of fields and resorts and small villages, not much else) So we have that, we also have wireleess, internet, satelite tv, all the electronics you could want, but we don't have sewers in most towns. We also don't really have civil services that work well/are adequetly if equiped at all. so our police force is badass, and love beating people up and issuing speeding tickets, but our ambulances and hospitals are dismal, our fire departments iffy, and pretty much every govenrment office is slightly all the way up to grossly corrupt, slow, inefficient, and quite often ineffiective. Though the postal service is great... There is a substancial wealth gap, but our middleclass is probalby larger than america's by percentage, though we are soo sooo small. Like a city state...on a tropical island, with weird industrues and banking laws. No movie theaters really either, a few, for bollywood and french films, and you get pretty board of the say 20 or so night clubs in the whole country, though many are full of dsrugs and prostitutes, though depends what you're looking for. I like it here, though my family has a good busniess and i haven't ived here in a good while. Hope this helps, I love talking about my country.

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[sebazdenton]

why don't you tell all those people and families that work and live in my country how 'piss-poor' their hard earned pay is, or how 'piss-poor' the business me and my family run that provides jobs to 150 people, or why don't you start to question where all this wealth came from for all the 'mighty' western nations who worked so hard stealing productivity, wealth, land, freedom, and pretty much anything they could from countries like mine, using us only for our geography...thats the only reason Mauritius is anything, geography, just like cape town, or any city bult by a river or in a natural port. The western world needed somewhere to stop and resupply themselves during their global conquest via the indian ocean, and as there is a historic prescence of money, then it just somehow stays around and remanifests itself...kinda like those western powers...Theres been a US diplomatic mission here since 1792, right aftet tyhe civil war ended if I'm not mistaken, though who gives a fuck about US history, considering it sonly one 'piss-poor' nation in a world of nations, much like mine. so much for democracy, and eaulity for all, we all know its bullshit to cover up the money.

Re:How developed is Mauritius?

[SparafucileMan]

chill the fuck out you moron.

did i say "piss poor country"? no.

i said "piss poor example". as in, your island is unique enough that it's a "piss poor example" to use in comparison to the rest of the world. it's like examining 1 person, who happens to be Einstein, and assuming that tells you anything about the math skills of the remaining 8 billion.

sensitive, are we?

and for your sake i won't actually insult your island by bringing up the slave trade, the sugar plantations, the textile industry, the drug trade, the human trafficking... god forbid ya'll would be implicated in any way in all the "stealing" going on in the world.