A team led by a Libyan-American telecom executive has helped rebels hijack Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s cellphone network in order to re-establish communications that Gadhafi shut off a month ago. The new network, opened on April 2, has proven to be much better than signal flags for communicating from the front lines. The Wall Street Journal reports on the project, which was hatched on a cocktail napkin by the 31-year-old executive, Ousama Abushagur:

Once in Libya, the team paired with Libyana engineers and executives based in Benghazi. Together, they fused the new equipment into the existing cellphone network, creating an independent data and routing system free from Tripoli’s command.

The team also captured the Tripoli-based database of phone numbers, giving them information necessary to patch existing Libyana customers and phone numbers into their new system—which they dubbed “Free Libyana.” The last piece of the puzzle was securing a satellite feed through which the Free Libyana calls could be routed—a solution provided by Etisalat, according to Benghazi officials.

On April 2, Mr. Abushagur placed a test call on the system to his wife back in Abu Dhabi. “She’s the one who told me to go for it in the first place,” he said.

There’s always a work around. Also see this look at this promo video for Gadhafi’s own telecom company, in happier but still authoritarian days.