Fighting to Sell Cellphones

A long day of protesting can wear you out. 

I took these photos this afternoon, in the aftermath of a protest by indepent workers who sell or repair celular telephones. They were charging that Claro (ex Comcel), the country's dominant carrier, intends to monopolize the industry and force them out of business.

I didn't have to get the details of their arguments. What the government and all cell phone companies ARE doing, however, is requiring people to register their cellphones, so that they can be identified and made useless in case of theft. Cellular phone theft has become a big problem here, even reaching the extreme of people getting murdered for their phones. Identifying the phones, as well as the simcards, makes it possible to shut off the stolen phone, reducing its resale value and also the incentive to steal phones in the first place.

Here's my secret for preventing cell phone theft: Use an old, old phone like my aged Motorola. It works fine for making and receiving calls, altho I can't shop on Amazon with it.

Will Claro, which is owned by the world's richest man, Mexican Carlos Slim, win the monopolizing game?

Meanwhile, these displaced people were demanding assistance outside Congress.

Nearby, these police motorcycles waited for a call to action. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours