<nettime> Greece's Irate Internet Users to Boycott the Web (OTE protest) (fwd)

[bam501@diotima.math.upatras.gr]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 15:40:13 +0200
From: Vassilis Alexandris <vassilis@cmpmail.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list THRACE <thrace@demokritos.cc.duth.gr>
Subject: Greece's Irate Internet Users to Boycott the Web (OTE protest)


ATHENS, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Greece's Internet users, angry at rising
telephone connection costs, plan to boycott the web on Thursday in
the first such mass protest in the country. 

"The already steep connection charges are becoming prohibitive," a
users' group said in a statement posted on the Internet. 

"This policy isolates Greeks from their compatriots around the
world, blocks cyberspace, free information and children's education,"
the group said. 

The users are also urging friends around the world to send protest
messages to the Greek prime minister-- mail+primeminister.gr-- and
the state-run telecom OTE (OTEr.AT). 

Compared to the rest of Europe and the United States, Greece has
fewer Internet users, Many say this is because local telephone costs
are prohibitive to many people. 

OTE has issued statements saying the cost will actually decrease for
those users who surf the net through its own provider, OTEnet. 

Other providers say the policy is designed to favour
state-controlled OTE, violating fair competition rules. 

"We dream of one day living in a country where our intelligence will
not be insulted by a state claiming a 50 percent increase is actually
a decrease," said George Theodoropoulos, head of the rival HellasNet,
in a statement. 



-----End of forwarded message-----
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