Comments on: Telecom Infrastructure Targeted During Middle East Conflict http://gigaom.com/2009/01/06/telecommunications-targeted-during-war/ Trusted Insights and Conversations on the Next Wave of Technology Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:03:27 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Mobile networks are still up and running in Gaza! | Aid Worker Daily http://gigaom.com/2009/01/06/telecommunications-targeted-during-war/#comment-921469 Mobile networks are still up and running in Gaza! | Aid Worker Daily Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:51:19 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=34688#comment-921469 <p>[...] jammed by the IDF at least as far as the New York Times is concerned.  I also posted earlier on a GigaOm article in which the folks at PalTel stated that most of their equipment had been wiped out. Share and [...]</p> [...] jammed by the IDF at least as far as the New York Times is concerned.  I also posted earlier on a GigaOm article in which the folks at PalTel stated that most of their equipment had been wiped out. Share and [...]

]]> By: Jason Lackey http://gigaom.com/2009/01/06/telecommunications-targeted-during-war/#comment-920682 Jason Lackey Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:44:18 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=34688#comment-920682 <p>Without going into who is to blame for what it is clear that telecom infrastructure is a strategic asset, although this is nothing horribly new. Note that telco central offices have for decades been located in hardened, non-descript buildings (at least in California) and the original ARPA net, predecessor to the internet, was designed to route around damage/lost nodes such that a nuclear war would not necessarily take down the network (guess EMP was not a big concern). US stragegy puts telco facilities, part of enemy command and control infrastructure, right at the top of target lists and now with the advent of precision munitions telco COs can be taken out without (usually) blowing up the hospital/school/mosque next door.</p> <p>Civilian infrastructure has proven rather useful in military contexts, one example dramatized in the movie Heartbreak Ridge about the 1983 US invasion of Grenada where troops pinned down by enemy fire made a called Fort Bragg and requested a fire mission. The general usefulness of telephone, wireless telephony in particular, has driven the creation of "cell tower in a box" solutions which allow the rapid deployment of a cellular network in harsh conditions or where existing infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed (see http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/031507-military-systems-provide-instant-cell-phones.html).</p> <p>Increasing use of cost effective COTS (Commercial, Off The Shelf) solutions in military contexts is likely to continue to spread as these solutions are effective, available and relatively inexpensive. I think that a Casio G'z One, for example, would make a pretty nice walkee talkee...</p> Without going into who is to blame for what it is clear that telecom infrastructure is a strategic asset, although this is nothing horribly new. Note that telco central offices have for decades been located in hardened, non-descript buildings (at least in California) and the original ARPA net, predecessor to the internet, was designed to route around damage/lost nodes such that a nuclear war would not necessarily take down the network (guess EMP was not a big concern). US stragegy puts telco facilities, part of enemy command and control infrastructure, right at the top of target lists and now with the advent of precision munitions telco COs can be taken out without (usually) blowing up the hospital/school/mosque next door.

Civilian infrastructure has proven rather useful in military contexts, one example dramatized in the movie Heartbreak Ridge about the 1983 US invasion of Grenada where troops pinned down by enemy fire made a called Fort Bragg and requested a fire mission. The general usefulness of telephone, wireless telephony in particular, has driven the creation of “cell tower in a box” solutions which allow the rapid deployment of a cellular network in harsh conditions or where existing infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed (see http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/031507-military-systems-provide-instant-cell-phones.html).

Increasing use of cost effective COTS (Commercial, Off The Shelf) solutions in military contexts is likely to continue to spread as these solutions are effective, available and relatively inexpensive. I think that a Casio G’z One, for example, would make a pretty nice walkee talkee…

]]> By: IDF http://gigaom.com/2009/01/06/telecommunications-targeted-during-war/#comment-920663 IDF Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:43:35 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=34688#comment-920663 <p>Totally and irrevocably agree with above. If Hamas cared about future of Palestinian people, life and conveniences of women and children they would have never used them as shields.</p> Totally and irrevocably agree with above. If Hamas cared about future of Palestinian people, life and conveniences of women and children they would have never used them as shields.

]]> By: AJ http://gigaom.com/2009/01/06/telecommunications-targeted-during-war/#comment-920660 AJ Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:20:18 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=34688#comment-920660 <p>"DF" brings an interesting point - when given the choice between taking the hi-tech road or going back to the dark ages of hatred we always assume everyone given this choice would rather have economic prosperity with twitter and facebook and high technology economy when in fact the middle east situation shows some populations (such as in Gaza) choose the opposite: I remember startups featuring Israelis and Palestinians working together were dismantled by the Palestinians in 2001 when the first signs of a possible conflict started.</p> <p>This might explain why one country in the region is dubbed as the 2nd silicon valley and less than 50 miles away you see people that would rather use twitter to spread hatred slogans.</p> “DF” brings an interesting point – when given the choice between taking the hi-tech road or going back to the dark ages of hatred we always assume everyone given this choice would rather have economic prosperity with twitter and facebook and high technology economy when in fact the middle east situation shows some populations (such as in Gaza) choose the opposite: I remember startups featuring Israelis and Palestinians working together were dismantled by the Palestinians in 2001 when the first signs of a possible conflict started.

This might explain why one country in the region is dubbed as the 2nd silicon valley and less than 50 miles away you see people that would rather use twitter to spread hatred slogans.

]]> By: DF http://gigaom.com/2009/01/06/telecommunications-targeted-during-war/#comment-920656 DF Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:38:43 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=34688#comment-920656 <p>Last year I heard the Chairman of Paltel address a meeting of the Israeli Venture Capital Association near Tel Aviv (note that many of the attendees would not have been allowed into many Arab countries with an Israeli passport) in which he described the incredible lengths they have to go through to provide phone service in the West Bank and Gaza (including routing calls through London to keep infrastructure out of harms way). He was also there to promote his plan to set up a venture capital fund with Palestinian, Israeli and other funding. He represents what they future of the Middle East can be.</p> <p>Hamas, however, reflects the past with no hope for a future. If the residents of Gaza had been so worried about reaping the benefits of the information economy, they might not have elected Hamas to lead them. Think about how much better off the residents of Gaza would have been if Hamas had spent the last few years developing IT infrastructure instead of funding the digging of tunnels and the development of missiles to launch at Israeli civilians.</p> <p>Cutting off command and control is a basic step of any military operation. Just as they hide behind civilians when they launch 100's of rockets into Israel, Hamas uses the civilian infrastructure to communicate. By contrast, Israel has actually used the Gaza cellular network to send SMS messages warning 1000's of civilians of a pending bombing so that they could get out of harms way - what other country would do that?</p> <p>Finally, the strategic value of communications networks was underscored earlier this year when Hezbollah and the Lebanese government nearly went to war over attempts by the government to shut down a fiber optic network put in place by Hezbollah specifically for future use in battles against Israel. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/05/10/flames_lick_at_lebanon/</p> Last year I heard the Chairman of Paltel address a meeting of the Israeli Venture Capital Association near Tel Aviv (note that many of the attendees would not have been allowed into many Arab countries with an Israeli passport) in which he described the incredible lengths they have to go through to provide phone service in the West Bank and Gaza (including routing calls through London to keep infrastructure out of harms way). He was also there to promote his plan to set up a venture capital fund with Palestinian, Israeli and other funding. He represents what they future of the Middle East can be.

Hamas, however, reflects the past with no hope for a future. If the residents of Gaza had been so worried about reaping the benefits of the information economy, they might not have elected Hamas to lead them. Think about how much better off the residents of Gaza would have been if Hamas had spent the last few years developing IT infrastructure instead of funding the digging of tunnels and the development of missiles to launch at Israeli civilians.

Cutting off command and control is a basic step of any military operation. Just as they hide behind civilians when they launch 100’s of rockets into Israel, Hamas uses the civilian infrastructure to communicate. By contrast, Israel has actually used the Gaza cellular network to send SMS messages warning 1000’s of civilians of a pending bombing so that they could get out of harms way – what other country would do that?

Finally, the strategic value of communications networks was underscored earlier this year when Hezbollah and the Lebanese government nearly went to war over attempts by the government to shut down a fiber optic network put in place by Hezbollah specifically for future use in battles against Israel. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/05/10/flames_lick_at_lebanon/

]]> By: ‘Telecommunications Targeted During War’ « Aid Worker Daily http://gigaom.com/2009/01/06/telecommunications-targeted-during-war/#comment-920651 ‘Telecommunications Targeted During War’ « Aid Worker Daily Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:13:45 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=34688#comment-920651 <p>[...] 6, 2009 · No Comments GigaOm has written an article about the targeting of telecommunication systems in Gaza.  PalTel, the local provider, has lost [...]</p> [...] 6, 2009 · No Comments GigaOm has written an article about the targeting of telecommunication systems in Gaza.  PalTel, the local provider, has lost [...]

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