nihil; Many reactionary European and Asian regimes show this blindness. Many places only allow modems to be bought from the state run phone co, and they sell blindingly fast 1200 baud externals. I am not sure of what country has which, but about 5 years ago a friend of mine was selling super fast 9600 baud internals into Germany and doubling his money, and the customers were saving 50% over the slow government stuff.
Some countries put modem detectors on their lines to charge you a 'data' surcharge. Many of these countries have gouging phone rates and will not allow call back services. Eventually they cripple them selves.
I think Germany finally wised up.
A lot of these countries come from the "royal" areas, where they had kings, and the king would not allow you to do anything, except what was expressly permitted. In the USA, you could do anything, except what was expressly forbidden. Big difference.
When radio was invented, it caused big security hoorah in Europe. A spy could sit in the middle of the country and transmit information to a receiver in the middle of an enemy country. Big clampdown on radio. AAll receivers had to be licensed, and you paid radio taxes, and they had bootleg radio detector trucks roaming the country looking for the IF radiation from bootleg radios (and later on TVs).
As a result after WW1 radio stayed completely controlled in Europe, and fre in the USA. (transmitters only were licensed) In Canada you needed both receiver and transmitter licences.)
As a result radio and later TV took off in the USA and to a lesser degree in Canada. In all of Europe it was stultified. As a result the lead in electronics, , radio etc went to the USA, thousands built kit radios in the USA from 1920 onwards, before the large brand consolidations of the 30' and 40's. My dad used to buy sets of innards
and build a box and sold radios(battery powered)
The same thing is happening with the internet, the control countries are going to lose out as developments will leave then behind, and their people will become 'electronic refugees', surfing to the USA/UK etc, where there is content, whenever they can find a data line out of their country. I think they(most) will see the light. Old man dictatorships will be the last to yield.
Bill |
