Slashdot Mirror
China Practically Unreachable By Western SMS?
Ainsy writes "A friend of mine recently began a placement as an English pronunciation teacher in China. She has picked up a pay-as-you go sim for use over there, only to discover that China seems to have been almost completely overlooked by international communications agreements, specifically from the UK. A bit of snooping tells me that Vodafone is the only network from which it is possible to send SMS to a Chinese registered mobile phone. SMS in China is upscaling massively, and is incredibly cheap currently — even 'premium' SMS info services cost 1 Yuan (that's just £0.081 GBP). I'm curious why such a large section of the world market is cut off from the west's wireless communication networks especially with the recent Olympics putting the spotlight on the nation in general.
China mobile is the world's largest carrier ranked by subscriber base (415 million) and isn't even the only carrier to operate in China). There are a few websites around from which SMS can be sent to China for a fee but this is of only limited use when on the move. Can anyone tell me why this situation has come about and when we can expect this sort of service to be enabled?"
Yeah, because we know that SMS messages are way more valuable than a phone call or email.
"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"
Wow, you have multiple girl friends. You rock, but you're also a hog.
Most people don't.
I am currently thinking of moving to the Bay Area (California) and I am amazed at how much of an affluence bubble that exists there (and San Diego, Suburbs).
I live in a very poor part of a large city. Drug dealers and prostitutes are the norm. I point them out to my out of town visitors they gasp. People still do that? they ask.
The reality is that 'rich' people (top 4% of US) are not often exposed to the 'real' world.
The thought of me slaughtering my own animals is barbaric from fellow chicken eaters who understand chick to come in little trays from the grocery store. A "whole" chicken is foreign.
To those who experience a DIFFERENT government first hand, and the ramifications - I am constantly overjoyed. It is a big and diverse world and not for the timid.
My favorite joy was opening the first paycheck of a highschooler. I'd ask them to open in front of me. They assumed they made minimum wage but in reality they made less due to taxes. Their world just doubled in size right before their eyes.