Hello Vladimir.

01 Jun 06 10:11, you wrote to me:

 MV>>>> We dealt with it somehow. No reason why you can not do the
 MV>>>> same.

 VD>>> I wrote about cost of phone calls in comparation to the salary -
 VD>>> middle salary in Russia is 5000 roubles, but 1 minit phone calls
 VD>>> from distance of 1000 km (zone 600-1200 km) is 25 roubles (in my
 VD>>> work phone provider - Global1). So - all salary is for 200
 VD>>> minits per a month.

 MV>> Yes, that is very expensive. But not unheard of here in the past
 MV>> here as well.

 VD> How years was ago?

1995, when FidoNet was at its top here.

 MV>> Other than that, it depends how far one goes into the past. Note
 MV>> that from here a 1000 km call always is an international call.
 MV>> Nowadays it is nt so bad for nearby countries, but only ten years
 MV>> ago, it was very expensive. Rates of one or two Guilders a minute
 MV>> (up to one Euro) were not unheard of.

 VD> International calls cost still more

Yiu have the advantage of being a big country, over here a 200 km call
always is an international call. In your country it often is a national
call.

 VD> - from 1.5 euro per minit for near countries (Ukraine) to 2-3 euros
 VD> for Europe countries.

U symphatise with your problems. But I know they can be overcome as we had
the same problems and found a way.

 MV>> And *then* we did not have the InterNet as an alternative....

 VD> It is a false -

Note the "then". Back then in 1995, we did *not* have interneyt
access available for the average fidonet sysop. Only big companies could
afford it.

 VD>  you have many alternative providers, and also you have
 VD> very high percent of lease-line connects to Internet who can use
 VD> IP-phones (SKYPE for example).

Not in 1995...

 VD>>> I agree that we is not unique, but we is very far from Europe
 VD>>> (on service and another criteries)...

 MV>> Europe is a big place. Here, in The Netherlands things are
 MV>> relatively advanced. But in Ireland where my parents had a summer
 MV>> cottage, there still was a telephone without a dial and just a
 MV>> crank to signal the operator not that long ago.

 VD> But your salary allow to use satellit phones

My income definitely does *not* allow me a satellite phone.

 VD>  (for example - Carol's connect to FIDO over USA BBS).

She is in the US navy making use of some special arrangement. Partly - or
mostly - paid for by the US tax payer. She is a special case.

 VD> About summer houses - in Moscow area at 100-200 km from Moscow exist
 VD> villages without any phone communication - without not only-cable but
 VD> without cell phones! And his salary is not allow to use satellit :-( .

As I said, my salary does not allow me a satellite phone either.

 VD> For example: http://www1.mtsgsm.com/coverage/mts/moscow/ - map of the
 VD> most cell provider for Moscow region.

Well, that doesn't look so bad. Actually it looks like over 95% of the
people live in an area that is covered. That is pretty good I say. Much
better than I expected.

Perhaps we should ask one of our friends from down under to direct us to a
cell phone map of Australia...

Cheers, Michiel

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