Before my first trip to Bali in 1995, I was warned that you really couldn't communicate with people back home unless it was an emergency. Most places did not have phone service. In order to make a phone call, you'd have to go to a Wartel office, where it apparently was still difficult to get a line sometimes.
It was a pleasant surprise to find that the bungalows where we stayed did actually have a phone in the office. If I remember correctly, I called home to check on my dog. Oh, and to let people know I was okay, of course.
By 2000, the internet had made it's way to Bali. For 40-50 cents per minute, you could send email from an internet cafe. There were only a couple of places in Ubud where you could do this, and the service was not very reliable.
Over the next couple of years, more places began to have internet, and the cost dropped to as low as a few cents per minute. There were even places advertising high-speed, but nothing like at home.
Now wireless is here, and many of the larger restaurants have free hotspots for their customers. Even the bungalows next door to Londo have wireless service. All I have to do is eat a meal, and I can charge the laptop and have internet access free. All this wonderful technology and I still can't keep up with my reports!
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