Egypt Restores Internet Service

February 2nd, 2011: The Egyptian government restored Internet service to the country Wednesday, ending an unprecedented week-long shutdown aimed at making it harder for protesters to organize.
In the end, the shutdown proved less an impediment than a source of fresh anger among ordinary Egyptians who suddenly lost contact with friends and family overseas. Protesters had no trouble pulling together larger and larger crowds, culminating with an estimated 250,000 people that gathered in central Cairo Tuesday to demand an end to President Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule.

More information:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703960804576119690514692446.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

However, there are also new reports of violence in Cairo.  For more information, see:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201122124446797789.html

Egypt cuts off most internet access

2/2/2011 update to the below:  Internet service has been restored.  See the next blog posting for more details.

Original blog posting:

The New York Times reports that Egypt had cuts off most Internet and Cell Service.

Egypt has cut off nearly all Internet traffic into and out of the country in the largest blackout of its kind, according to firms that monitor international data flows.


Cellphone networks were also disrupted. Vodafone said in a statement on its Web site that “all mobile operators in Egypt have been instructed to suspend services in selected areas.” The company said it was “obliged to comply” with the order.

More information is at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/29/technology/internet/29cutoff.html?_r=1&src=busln

Update for Indian workers using PayPal

Update for Indian coders using PayPal: As you know, PayPal recently blocked payments to India, including the ones we sent. (see http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/02/05/paypal-halts-india/) Our PayPal rep found a workaround that allowed us to resend them (a third time) on the the 5th which worked. However as of Thursday, people cannot withdraw the money into their bank accounts, and we do not yet have a guarantee from PayPal that the reversals will not reoccur in the future. If you wish to avoid the uncertainty and switch to Payoneer, they are offering a special to Indian workers. If you tell them you are from Rent a Coder and signup before February 28th, they will waive the typical $9.95 activation fee and expedite shipping for free (which will give you the card in hand in 7-10 days of approval). Click here for questions or to signup. http://www.payoneer.com/contactUs.aspx