Libyan rebels fighting against their country’s embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi’s crackdown on all communications and Internet services, have established a rogue mobile network to ensure they are able to have continuous communications as the violence and fight for the country continues.
After Gaddafi shut down all communications coming from the Libyan General Telecommunications Authority, rebels developed a new strategy that includes a new network that enables them to communicate and access the Internet.
Libyan-American telecom executive Ousama Abushagur, a supporter and financial backer to the rebel effort, proposed a split of the country’s mobile phone network in mid-March in order to enable calls to be made without being routed through Tripoli.
The 31-year-old Abushagur has reportedly secured equipment and finances from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, and joined forces with engineers from the West as well as Benghazi to fuse the new equipment into the existing network, creating independent data system.
By Jonathan Terry
