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Mexican Village Creates Its Own Mobile Phone Service
Dave_Minsky writes "The small indigenous village of Villa Talea de Castro (pop. 2,500) in the state of Oaxaca is showing the world that it doesn't have to rely on major cellular telecommunications providers for service. With the help from indigenous groups, civil organizations and universities, village residents put up an antenna on a rooftop, installed radio and computer equipment, and created its own micro provider called Red Celular de Talea. Service costs only 15 pesos ($1.2) per month and a few pennies per minute to make calls to the United States. However, there is one catch: calls are limited to a maximum of five minutes to prevent saturation of lines."
Is it bad that I would pay extra to have this 5min rule on voice calls?
It is just as unfair to assume everyone in Mexico is involved in the drug cartels as it is to assume everyone in America is a spy for the NSA and supports what they do.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
However, there is one catch: calls are limited to a maximum of five minutes to prevent saturation of lines."
Every married man knows this is not a catch but a feature
---
Remember that the NSA is a tax-founded government agency, thus it's much more likely to assume that indeed everyone in America (I take it that you mean the United States version of America?) support what they do. At least most people voted for it, considering both parties are equally eager to keep NSA running.
c++;
Remember that the NSA is a tax-founded government agency, thus it's much more likely to assume that indeed everyone in America (I take it that you mean the United States version of America?) support what they do. At least most people voted for it, considering both parties are equally eager to keep NSA running.
You don't honestly believe that Americans have granular control over what our tax dollars are spent on, do you?
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Everything said there speaks to the fact that it wasn't something expressly desired. If you wanted to move out of the US you face lots of challenges. Cost of the move, immigration restrictions in destination, language barriers in destination, cost of living might be higher in destination, climate may not be comfortable(I would move to Canada if it were warmer). There are lots of places I'd move if it weren't for the fact that Americans are hated in so many places.
Or simply a desire to live where you consider home.
Just because you pay the taxes you are legally required to, or vote for one of the two parties from which there is to choose, does not mean you completely embrace every single ideology. You can have an icecream sunday without eating the cherry. It doesn't change the fact that a cherry died for your sunday, but you may not have had any choice in that outcome.
Where did they get the frequency allocation? If it was here in the USA, all available channels would have been put out for bid by the FCC and snapped up by the incumbents. Running a system on "their" channels would be frowned upon.
Have gnu, will travel.
(I would move to Canada if it were warmer). .
Just give it a few years..
When you cant win, ad hominem.
Oh wait, that's not a picture of the village. Kinda weirds me out.
Hey gringo, how do you know what we call you? Do you speak-a ma language? No you fucking don't.
However if any Canadian village tried to do the same thing then the Rogers, Bell and Telus oligopoly would mount an armed strike and blow the village off the face of the planet because only one of those three companies can provide shitty telecom services to remote Canadian villages. I bet this Mexican village is still getting better service than even many people in Canadian urban centers.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
I was lucky if I could get 1 minute before I got dropped on Verizon. These lucky people get to talk for a whole 5 minutes.
God spoke to me
I never hear that in the countries I visit.
Just variations on American, like Amerikaner
Mainly because these are indigenous people, are already known for being people of few words and some might actually decide to kill you if you keep calling them mexican.
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
RTFA
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
WiFi + VoIP system design to enable local calls;
add Internet connectivity to enable outside calling.
Ever think that Amerikaner would be a reference to the US's hypocritical bipolar disorder? I mean, you do know what an Amerikaner is right?
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
Noun[edit]
amerikaner c (singular definite amerikaneren, plural indefinite amerikanere)
a person from USA
(rare) a person from the Americas
ice cream cone with a chocolate-coated marshmallow treat and jam
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Actually, systems of this type ARE legally sanctioned.
Just because it works "that way"in locality doesn't mean those rules apply in the case in the article
But, still live in Mexico.. so, how do you call them? "Not Mexicans indigenous people from Mexico?"
Here's an informative video of the case: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRNisk2tsFM
Ahhhhh, the tropical beaches of Vancouver... sorry, getting a frosty Moose-Head, delivered by a tanned Canuck cabana boy just makes my head hurt, Ayyy?
Great! You go down to Oaxaca or Chiapas and start calling people mexican. Your ignorance of history, past and present, will be corrected quite quickly.
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
Here's a video of the case: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRNisk2tsFM
Depends, mexicans have inherited the same stupidity as USians and so call the indigenous people indians (they've corrected the cognitive dissonance of having two groups of Indians by calling Indians Hindus, not sure if that's better than the stupid indian indians and american indians). So, you can be ignorant by calling them mexican, ignorant and stupid for calling them Indians, or the prefered pc term used by occupiers: aboriginals, natives, or just indigenous people. It's best to ask them, since there is more than one group and they actually have names for their groups.
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
While answering the above, please enlighten everyone to what "United States version of America" even mean? What "America" is there?
I've known some people (Canadians, Central and South Americans) to take umbrage at the fact that people in the United States are frequently referred to as "Americans", both by themselves, and from, well, a good bit of the rest of the world. Presumably, their phrasing was supposed to show that they are offended.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
First of all, USians, or the other variation, USAians, are terms I have never heard spoken anywhere. In fact, the only place I've ever even seen this term is here on /. I can't even begin to try and prounounce it, as it is likely said with a foreign accent which I am unaccustomed to. I'm thinking something such as "OOh-shuns" might be correct.
Second, GP simply mentioned the fact that those who hail from the United States of America, are often simply called Americans. Nowhere did he/she display any sort of "only-we-matter" attitude. That was purely inferred by yourself. Michael Jackson has a song about a mirror I think you'd do well to listen to.
Third, I propose a new term for Europeans, since European is not etymologically significant. We shall now call them EUians. The homophonetic construct of this word also serves a purpose, but I'll leave that to EU to ponder.
Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
...Any other country in America?
I mean, any country that actually has a name?
Mountains.
This particular experience is in a small town in Oaxaca. Oaxaca is a very mountainous state, with a great cultural richness stemming precisely from its orography: It is so hard to move around Oaxaca that it went practically unconquered during the 300 years of Spanish rule.
Of course, when you look at the network coverage maps, you will immediately recognize our country is a mess full with mountains and areas where... Lets put it nicely, where people are not in the proper economic situation to enjoy the full benefits of cellular telephony. You can look at the GSM voice and SMS, 3G voice and SMS and 3G internet coverage maps for Telcel, Mexico's leading mobile operator. FWIW, Oaxaca is at the South-East of the map, but a similar argument could be pushed in many other regions of the map.
I doubt this little expereiment will cause even a "blip" in the radars of our regulatory bodies (no FCC has no say in how radio frequencies are handled in Mexico, but we have our own COFETEL), because of this same fact: The country is too complex, and nobody is claiming that bandwidth in that area. Of course, were the experience to start replicating along small communities enough to be noticed in a map, a crackdown would surely follow.
Indigenous people are not offended by being called Mexican. More often than not, they will recognize themselves at least to be as Mexican as those of us living in urban areas are. Even the most vocal groups claiming for indigenous rights, recognition and differentiation recognize living in Mexico and being Mexicans — But demand a just, fitting government level more aligned to their shared culture than the Country/State/Municipality imposed from "Above"; this different organization level would not even amount to a fourth level, because it does not follow State borders (that were, in many cases explicitly, drawn to divide and weaken identities of the many peoples that form the Mexican nation).
Who cares? You don't become a tough guy by proxy for taking their side in an issue that is absolutely nothing to do with us or them. I know some white guys who might decide to kill you for being such an annoying liberal.
By "support" do you mean "pay for"? If so then all Americans "support" the NSA spying. Well, half of us anyway, but that's another discussion.
If you meant "condone" then no, it's ridiculous to declare that "everyone in America" is in favor of those programs, even if you argue that we all voted for representatives who voted for them. First, no we didn't. Second, the more onerous details of the NSA programs weren't made available even to those representatives. Even the legislators who wrote the law on which the programs were based didn't intend parts of it to mean what NSA has interpreted them to mean.
I came in to read what people thought about what Oaxaca did...instead I just found people laughing about it or about the language, geography or whatever. Meh. Let me explain, since most people either don't read TFA or don't educate themselves further. These people asked all three cellular networks to put a tower in their village, they all said no. TONS of times. So, they took the matter into their own hands. Now all three cellular networks are asking if they can help (Read: Get a piece of the pie) I am SO happy they are the ones that are now saying NO. It's interesting what us Mexicans are able to do when we're told no. We are a stubborn bunch.
um, people who care about truth and precision? I know you're a USian since you don't care about that and because you automatically turned it into US and THEM, but i'm not, I'm American, so I don't know how conservative your 'liberal' is on the world scale, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't describe me.
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
Have you ever HAD a Moosehead? It's like Dos Equis but less drinkable. I'm sure Canada has some fine beers, but Moosehead isn't one of them. Canadians, what do you guys drink up there?
Free Martian Whores!
pspahn, stop feeding the troll.
The Dude abides. It's a holiday weekend, I was feeling a little spicy.
Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
While answering the above, please enlighten everyone to what "United States version of America" even mean? What "America" is there?
I've known some people (Canadians, Central and South Americans) to take umbrage at the fact that people in the United States are frequently referred to as "Americans", both by themselves, and from, well, a good bit of the rest of the world. Presumably, their phrasing was supposed to show that they are offended.
This presents more as a perpetually handy bash-the-US topic for people so inclined, rather than any true concern for the precision of language.
--- Mercutio was right.
Given that the NSA is violating the law, that's like saying that everyone in the USA supports car theft. It doesn't follow.
From TFA:
"telephone (service) providers refuse to use because it is financially unviable."
I suspect this should translate into "not enough profitable". When shareholders want a two digit ROI figures, companies leave behind themselves any profitable project that does not result in a two-digit ROI.
Perhaps you are not a liberal, but what you share in common with them is making implicit threats, of the form "if you don't hold X opinion, SOMEONE is going to do violence to your for it. Not me, I'm not violent, but you would still deserve it".
You should cut that out because it's really pathetic, and also if you really thought that "might makes right", you should support the colonization of the Americas by Europeans.
And something that has been done elsewhere in Latin America and has been shot down by the government, either due to landline State monopolies or constitutional level ownership of the radioelectric spectrum by the State. Setting up a cell and a VoIP gateway is quite easy. Governments call it "bypass" and you are fined and/or go to jail. Perhaps in this case they have special legal status or something. Otherwise this is bound nowhere.
Dude, I'm warning the guy, not making threats. Learn the difference, if you're looking for some examples perhaps you should start proofing your posts.
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
No, you were making threats under the guise of warning him, which is a really pathetic thing to do (and you do it again later in the thread). If someone had started a thread saying "I am going to Oaxaca, what should I call the natives" your reply would have been totally appropriate. Given that the actual post referred to Oaxacan's as Mexicans in passing, your post was stupid and irrelevant. Also, my original reply was (A) worded exactly the same as yours and (B) clearly a parody of what you wrote, although you seem to dense to grasp this.
If you think calling Oaxacan Mexicans is offensive, just say so.
The Americans, living in a constitutional democracy, have almost total control over the government. It's just very difficult to exercise this control, and most people just don't care.
PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
Or unfair to assume that this phone service is really nothing more than two cups connected by a string, which everyone stands in line for their 5 minutes, primarily to receive a ransom call about or pay a ransom for their relatives kidnapped by a cartel.
"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart, he dreams himself your master."
Ah, PC.. politically correct people... the type who smile in your face and stab you in the back.. LOL.. I would rather be plain, no-nonsense and to the point and just call a spade a spade. In the end, life shouldn't be about the labels we can be identified with, but rather the actions that we do and the way we conduct ourselves.
um, calling a native an indian isn't calling a spade a spade it's just ignorant and stupid. I mean, come on, everybody found out it wasn't India centuries ago.
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
Well, yes, quite. We never get snow anymore. Last winter, on the day it hit zero degrees, nobody noticed because it warmed up right away. This year spring started in the middle of January.. and, for all intents and purposes, summer started on valentine's day.Our weather is becoming like northern California used to be..
Lucky ;-)
I've not called anybody an indian.. I don't know what you are smoking, but stop.. if you read my threads, you don't see me calling anyone an indian. NOWHERE.