Ask Slashdot: Could We Reconnect Eastern Libya?

GrumpyBagpuss writes "We all know that the internet is supposed to route around damage, but currently eastern Libya is off the net because all their connectivity goes through Tripoli. How difficult would it to be to reconnect eastern Libya via a microwave link to Crete? It's less than 200km away, on the Libyan end there are mountains up to 850m and on Crete they're higher than 2000m. People have achieved distances of over 300km with simple WiFi equipment, but would it be possible to increase the bandwidth to handle a whole, or at least half a country? How would you connect the link at both ends? What other problems would there be? How many Pringles cans would we need?"

Beyond my tech skills...

[gvanbelle]

... but I'd gladly give money for any effort in this direction.

Is it worth it?

[Anonymous Coward]

While the Internet played a huge role in relatively developed Egypt, it might be worth pointing out that less than 7% of Libya's population has Internet access, and most of those people are in Tripoli.

While there are surely isolated pockets of connectivity in the Western parts of the country, the usage is minimal and may not actually have a great impact on this revolution.

Just a thought....

sure it can be done

[FudRucker]

why not portable cellphone and wifi telescopic antenna towers on trailers that are easily pulled by a pickup truck that can be set up within a few minutes, they can cross the border pull up to a mountaintop and be running in no time. and if they are cheap enough just set one up and abandon it to function until it gets blown up by the enemy, then deploy another one somewhere else, (no life lost) just a couple of thousand dollars in electronics and portable infrastructure for each, if they can be built cheap and disposable like that you can have fleets of them ready to deploy in hot war zones

Re:Slashdot is getting old in the teeth...

[JWSmythe]

  No shit.

    This isn't an Ask Slashdot solution. It's a "Ask the companies providing connectivity" solution. No, an individual isn't going to get a 300km wireless link up, unless they happen to have some friends with towers (preferably on mountains), and gear on both ends. Even then you aren't going to make a connection for everyone in the country (even at the low user per citizen number they have). What are they planning? To say "Hey [provider], I established a link. Route everything through my house." Ha.

From TFA:

possible to increase the bandwidth to handle a whole, or at least half a country? How would you connect the link at both ends? What other problems would there be? How many Pringles cans would we need?"

What's the bandwidth requirement for the whole country? What do the providers on each end have available? What do you mean how to connect both ends, don't you understand routing? Pringles cans, are you fucking kidding me?

With the numbers he gave (200km distance, 1st tower 850m, 2nd tower 2000m), line of sight could be 304km.

He didn't ask the magic questions. Just because you put something up on each mountain, doesn't mean that there's anything to connect to. Power? Fiber/Copper lines? Is there anything in the way? Does it take a wireless bridge on the two sides, and then another pair (or more) to get it to somewhere with service?

I doubt there's a provider anywhere who would let a hobbiest bridge their networks. Oh, did we forget bandwidth fees, port charges, roof rights, etc, etc, etc? Nah, it all must be free, because a hobbiest thinks it's a good idea to do.

Re:Is it worth it?

[Redlazer]

You might be right, but even one internet connection in the hands of a rebel is a crucial outlet to the entire world, enabling the uploading of videos, pictures, and audio of the actions taking place there.

I think, if possible, a serious effort couldn't hurt, and would be an interesting test of our abilities to step in as people, where our governments for political reasons cannot.

Re:TSFI already deployed a team

[Asic Eng]

I thought this was quite interesting:

"TSF's founders realized that, in addition to medical and food aid, there was a critical need for reliable emergency telecommunications services. Conflicts and emergencies often led to massive civilian displacement and separated families. And affected populations are often left with no communications infrastructure in place to find assistance and loved ones."

Makes sense to me, I sent them EU50.

Re:Not sure this is the time to work on internet

[Xyrus]

From The Lord Of War:

Of all the weapons in the vast soviet arsenal, nothing was more profitable than Avtomat Kalashnikova model of 1947. More commonly known as the AK-47, or Kalashnikov. It's the world's most popular assault rifle. A weapon all fighters love. An elegantly simple 9 pound amalgamation of forged steel and plywood. It doesn't break, jam, or overheat. It'll shoot whether it's covered in mud or filled with sand. It's so easy, even a child can use it; and they do. The Soviets put the gun on a coin. Mozambique put it on their flag. Since the end of the Cold War, the Kalashnikov has become the Russian people's greatest export. After that comes vodka, caviar, and suicidal novelists. One thing is for sure, no one was lining up to buy their cars.