European Net Strikers Dig In.

The organizers of history_s largest Internet boycott said it will take more than a slight drop in revenues for phone companies to implement flat-rate access. In a continent-wide protest against metered Internet access, close to one million Europeans on Sunday switched off their modems and left their phones on the hook, the strike_s backers said. "We don_t forget that our actions -- and overall this big European boycott -- have overall one aim: to [distribute] the awareness of our problems and to shake up our parliament, government, and Telecom Italia about the importance of Internet for the Italian culture and economy," said Paolo Graziani, spokesman for Notut, the Italian group behind the movement. Activists in 14 European countries participated in Sunday_s protest. They called for the introduction of flat-rate charges, the abolition of a minimum call charge for any remaining metered calls, and quicker introduction of xDSL, cable modems, and satellite access. Protesters also demanded that the costs of all telephone calls conform to European Union law, which requires prices to mirror the independently audited costs to telecommunications operators...