[FOSDEM] warning about Belgian SIM cards

[Daniel Pocock]

In previous years, I've always bought a local SIM card as a backup in
case I couldn't get onto the wonderful FOSDEM wifi and the SIM has
always worked within 5 minutes.

I bought one early this morning and it still isn't working yet after
about 3 hours.  The shop and the customer service line have told me that
they have to check all new accounts manually now because of "terrorism"
and pressure from French authorities.  They told me to wait 24 hours
before asking about it again.  For anybody only arriving in Brussels
today and buying a SIM in the evening, it is not clear if it will really
be activated over the weekend or only next week so you may just be
wasting time and money.

Apparently, you can still buy tobacco products here and consume them
immediately and they will eventually kill you but thanks to the
irrational fear of Muslims, you can't get immediate access to the
Internet in Belgium.