Post

E-Stonia (Tom Hashimoto, -UK, 03/01/12 4:14 am)

Estonia is amazing. Free Wi-Fi is everywhere (there is even a sign of "Wi-Fi" on the wall of Town Hall)! Most of inter-city buses and trains also have Wi-Fi connections.

In Estonia, you can reply for census, vote for parliament, pay tax--everything, online. I was so surprised to see that you can buy bus or tram tickets via text message / SMS. Likewise, you can pay for your public parking space by sending your registration number by SMS!

I think we should call it E-Stonia.

JE comments: Ah, but I bet they don't have Skype! (Note to WAISers: I'm kidding; the Estonians invented Skype.)

When traveling the world, this WAIS E-i-C spends about one-fourth of his waking hours looking for Wi-Fi connections. Estonia to my mind is a beacon of civilization--what better way than free, universal Internet to ensure an informed citizenry and a participatory democracy?  I look forward to visiting E-Stonia someday.

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