Obama administration is working on shadow internet and phone networks

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION is working to establish "shadow" internet and phone networks to help rebels who face communication bans by authoritarian regimes throughout the world.

The projects include an "internet in a suitcase", which contains all the necessary hardware and networking devices to quickly establish a wireless network over a large area that can connect to the internet. It's currently in a prototype stage and the US government has provided a grant of $2m to get it up and running.

The US has also set up a phone system in Afghanistan called Palisades using cell towers on its military bases. This is intended to counter Taliban efforts to shut down the country's phone network, which has made things more difficult for the US Army and civilians throughout Aghanistan. This network is not yet fully operational, but is expected to be up and running soon.

Another effort that was not directly launched by the US, but which was revealed through a diplomatic cable, involved a North Korean man burying phones in hills along the border with South Korea, which could then be dug up and used to help smuggle people out of the country. While decidedly low tech, it has proved highly successful to date.

These projects come after a number of governments cut internet and phone networks in order to curb dissent, particularly in Egypt, where its leader Hosni Mubarak was eventually forced to step down, and more recently in Syria, where violence has been escalating between rebels and government forces.

The internet is believed to have been vital in several uprisings in the Arab world, where protestors organised through social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter. Various attempts were made to circumvent censorship by governments, such as Google's text-to-tweet service, but none of them were of quite the same scope as the current shadow network plans by the US government.

All of these projects were revealed to the New York Times in a series of anonymous interviews with officials and operatives, as well as via top secret documents and diplomatic cables. The US reportedly will have spent at least $70m on these technologies by the end of this year.

"We see more and more people around the globe using the internet, mobile phones and other technologies to make their voices heard as they protest against injustice and seek to realize their aspirations," said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in response to a New York Times query.

"There is a historic opportunity to effect positive change, change America supports. So we're focused on helping them do that, on helping them talk to each other, to their communities, to their governments and to the world." µ