Cellphone stampede redux: now in Bangladesh

Once again, a limited supply of cellphone lines causes a riot by would-be mobile phone customers. This time the stampede occurred in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, where a new cellphone operator promising lower prices was coming online. Teletalk Bangladesh only had 1,900 connections to offer the more than 5,000 potential customers who waited in line outside the state-owned telecom; when the application forms ran out, police had to charge the crowd with batons to prevent a riot. The thousands had queued up to get mobile phone connections despite heat, rain, and a nationwide strike.