Free dial-up ISP for Libyans

XS4ALL, a fantastic, hacker-friendly ISP in the Netherlands, has thrown open all its modem lines for free use by people in Libya when and if their network access gets blocked by the government. DPCosta sez, "It's expensive (international call), but can be very handy in an emergency. The number is +31205350535 and the username/password are xs4all."

XS4all biedt Libiërs internet/XS4ALL provides Internet Libyans (Thanks, DPCosta, via Submitterator)

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MORE: Action • isp • libya • Technology

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Anonymous

Is there no way of reversing the charges? I’m sure it would be possible to raise the money. Is there no way of limiting this to calls from Libya only? Is there any way to protect/prevent the data from being sniffed by their government or to obscure the fact that they’re calling a European ISP? Can calls be relayed through a non-European number, say one in another arab country that Libya may not be so aggressively blocking? It seems like there are many opportunities for hackers to develop tools here that would benefit people living under totalitarian regimes. Governments may have access to many such tools and other more advanced options, but there are tricky diplomatic issues involved in using them.
Anonymous

This is great. For decades, XS4ALL has been truly a hero of free speech. As an ISP, they host whatever the heck people want as long as it’s legal, and they buckle under no pressure. It’s nice to see some principles in action.
Pantograph

Ahhh that brings back memories! When I was still on dialup that was the number I used to login to my XS4ALL account (it’s a local number if you live in Amsterdam). Glad to see that it is still around.

Also glad to see that they are still doing good in the world. Their legal team defended Karin Spaink’s site against Scientology for over a decade and won. They provided hosting B92 during the wars in the Balkans.
They are pretty expensive as far as Dutch ISPs go, but they make up for that with general awesomeness.

I’m not affiliated with them but I am a satisfied customer since 1998.
dpcosta

Just tested it (from Amsterdam), and it is indeed working. Thank you Cory for adding it to the front page so quickly.
Anonymous

Very nice of XS4ALL.

Just so you know, FDN has been doing it since Jan 28 for Tunisia then Egypt and any nation in need after internet shutdown.
Anonymous

What’s in a name… At least they own up to it now. Funny to see a local phone number from my area appear on BB :)
hallam

Well, OK I guess.

Unfortunately the Gadhafi regime has gone one further than Mubarak and have shut down all communications including telephone and wireless. Or at least has attempted to.

What we really need here is an AWACS or the like.
Anonymous

I’ve got nothing but good to say about XS4ALL, they’re pricey, but the level of service is worth it. Both times I’ve had to deal with their helpdesk, they solved my problem while I was waiting on the line.
Good to hear they’re still staying true to their principles.
niels@xs4all

Unfortunatly we have no AWACS. I can confirm that the dialup account hasn’t been used from Libya yet, so that could mean that Gadhafi has indeed shut down everything.

BTW the dialup account is being used from other countries in the region though. So perhaps it is of some help after all.
SonOfSamSeaborn

That sucks.

If these services are successfully used and anybody in the affected countries is stung by excessive international call charges, I’d happily donate to a charity geared towards clearing their call debts.
Anonymous

Doesn’t have to be expensive, just use skype, oh wait…