Software designed to allow Iranians to view internet content by bypassing governmental restrictions
On March 18th it was published that a young Iranian-American had developed, from his home in California, a free and easy-to-use program that provides faster internet access for residents of Iran, bypassing the restrictions of the governing regime.
Toosheh (توشه), intended for residents of Iran,where internet usage is slow and expensive as a result of governmental restrictions, will offer “high speed and quality content.” Use of the program requires a computer, a portable memory device and a satellite receiver. After connecting the satellite receiver to the popular satellite YahSAT, users can download content of up to 1GB to the portable memory card, and view content via its connection to the PC. The resulting file contains text files, images and video from Persian-language news sites, including those blocked in Iran. While satellite receivers are illegal in Iran, it is estimated that about three-quarters of the country has access to them.
Due to the high cost of internet use in the country, one dollar per GB of data, this software allows access to information whilst providing a considerable financial saving for internet users in Iran. It was reported that the developer is holding talks with Iranian publishers around the world in order to provide access to banned books inaccessible to the Iranian population.
According to the software developer, the government attempts to disrupt the activities will have minimal effect, due to the technical difficulties involved in satellite broadcasting disorder. Additonally, the software technology can override all internet networks in the country. He added that even if there was a temporary disruption, the contents are refreshed every hour.
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