get internet access when your government shuts it down, page 5

The internet by definition is a collection of interconnected computers, servers, and networks designed for communication... it is a large mass of interconnectivity that is... largely free and growing on its own.

However... in most cases you PAY to connect to it. Your ISP is the first doorkeeper to the net... they have the right and or ability to shut down the average user for any reason they want... this is before the Gov. gets involved.
The ISP usually rents a pipe from a larger global provider - the second doorkeeper to your lolcat fix.
the third is the current "user friendly" structure that the United States Government put in place... using 2 methods to allow communication to proceed in an organized manner.

Domain Names - this service is controlled by the US Gov. It leases (gets paid for letting someone else do it) that access and control to Verisign (i think) they control the method and usage and propagation of the top level of domain name organization... this is not very important because the average user just wants to type in simple terms the address (or - gasp - type in the address in google and click search )

The advanced user would know that most websites use Network Addresses - IP's that are in theory like a phone number that connect to the server at a location on the internet... sorry for the long boring and obvious info...
A domain name points to a DNS server (domain name server - a directory of known domain names ) that then points the user to the proper address based on the IP on file for that website name.

However this is the next method of control... the IP address and the DNS Server.
Egypt shut down the DNS servers in order to control the main public using the internet to spread and communicate about the revolt. The Geeky ones knew to type in the IP addresses and were able to access most everything anyway.

The IP address is the next method of control that we cannot directly control unless we start our own subnet at some point...
The IP addresses are finite - there are only so many of them available and we do not control them. We can spoof them - fake them - or even mirror them (with conflicts) but we cannot issue our own using the current internet structure. That is all controlled at some level from the IANA - they distribute control over other localities or regions at that level.

To shut down the internet completely they would take down the DNS - domain name recognition and IP accessibility. Now... in saying that if you made your own DNS and programed in the functions properly you could still communicate to those connected to you on the same node if they set their end up the same... however this brings us to the next and last level of internet control.

Every major ISP has at some level relays and servers dedicated to boosting traffic through their routers and connecting them to other routers - shut off electricity and they don't work. No amount of generators will make your dial-up or wireless antenna on your roof connect anywhere but your own house.

So - we need to start our own internet ultimately... wireless antennas pointed at one another - hard lines to other areas that have power generators pushing the traffic through...
failing that... like a previous poster said... Ham Radio