Well, for the 48% or so of the population on $2/day or less it is a lot of money, but they can't afford computers, and probably can't read and write either.
As for the people who can read and write, and own computers (and there are a surprising number of these, considering there are 70 million people) this is a great way to get on-line.
From personal experience of travelling in Egypt, this is a god send. I can access the net without any sign up hassles, in most major towns by just picking a number to call, and plugging my laptop into a phone line (hotels do surcharge local calls, but it's still cheaper and more convenient than an internet cafe).
If I found one ISP unreliable, I just switched (the ISPs are advertised on billboards all over Cairo, for example) numbers. Brilliantly simple system, considering the general state of Egypt's economy and especially compared to the hassle of getting a lot of mundane done there.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, for the 48% or so of the population on $2/day or less it is a lot of money, but they can't afford computers, and probably can't read and write either.
As for the people who can read and write, and own computers (and there are a surprising number of these, considering there are 70 million people) this is a great way to get on-line.
From personal experience of travelling in Egypt, this is a god send. I can access the net without any sign up hassles, in most major towns by just picking a number to call, and plugging my laptop into a phone line (hotels do surcharge local calls, but it's still cheaper and more convenient than an internet cafe).
If I found one ISP unreliable, I just switched (the ISPs are advertised on billboards all over Cairo, for example) numbers. Brilliantly simple system, considering the general state of Egypt's economy and especially compared to the hassle of getting a lot of mundane done there.