I deploy there quite a bit, and there used to be only one option for phone calls, Etisalat. Before I learned about VPN services, I had no choice but to get screwed by them (it was about a dollar per minute in a prepaid cell card). Another company finally came in from Dubai (Du) but I am not sure what the rates are, as I was already using a VPN and never needed to use the cell. In any case, the UAE is the perfect hypocritical example. While the locals are running around doing whatever they want, non-locals are fairly restricted (unless you have money and knew where to go).

Cingular doesn't support Firefox?? That's funny, because I have been doing all of my online bills and such with Cingular for about two years now. Hmm... Maybe you have another issue. The only site that I use that I can't access with Firefox is Clark Pest Control. They require Windows, and Internet Explorer. With Clark, I get screwed, as I end up having to use my wife's machine, as their site doesn't really care for Slackware...

And, you can remove Internet Explorer, using a nifty little tool called nLite.