Last week, I vented about Digicel blocking Skype and other VoIP applications, explaining how it’s not just that it’s inconvenient for me, but they shouldn’t be able to get away with what they’re doing.They don’t own the Internet.
Luckily, the Haitian government agrees with me! Conatel, the national telecom regulator, ordered them to open everything back up. Conatel didn’t go so far as to say, “Don’t block services on the Internet.” All it said was, “We’re the only guys allowed to decide which services on the Internet are blocked.” But hey, I’m counting this as a win.
Before Conatel stepped in, I had to turn to one of Jeanide’s friends, Thompson. He works in the big Digicel tower, on the same floor as the Haitian CEO, so I figured he’d have a solution. His recommendation? Download an “illegal” app, Hotspot Shield, to sneak around Digicel’s wall.
View from Thompson’s office.
Now, I don’t need the hotspot anymore. But I’m not deleting it from my phone yet. You never know when it might come in handy. Half of my job here is making the Internet work, and you always want to have as many things as possible in your bag of tricks.
Kids Write 