An Internet cafe in tsunami-hit Meulaboh? You bet, and it's wireless

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2005

MEULABOH, Indonesia (AFP) — An Internet "cafe" in tsunami-stricken Meulaboh? You bet, and it comes equipped with a wireless connection.

Thanks to Telecoms Sans Frontieres (TSF), or Telecoms Without Borders, a France-based group backed by the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO), the no-frills Internet cafe is operating in the devastated Indonesian town even while sewerage and fresh water are still not working.

The set-up, in a small room at a military barracks here, provided a vital link to the world after the December 26 earthquake and tsunamis and is now playing a central role in the coordination of the massive aid effort to devastated areas around the region.

While local cellular telecommunications lines have been restored after the disaster,...