VoIP in Dubai, UAE

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: May 25, 2006 Posts: 3

hey all,

Needless to say, i am based in Dubai and have been contemplating to use Vonage to stay connected with the States. Like any other newbie consumer i have a lot of questions which i am hoping someone out there will answer...

a) i am not too sure if the VoIP system would be compatible with the ISP here. This concern stems from the fact that there are a certain applications which are blocked by the service eg: Kazza and so on. Though i am aware that P2P applications and VoIP are completely different, Is there a way, technically, for me to know if my ISP here and the Vonage VoIP system are compatible.

b) How consistent is the performance of this system?

c) How does the entire system works?

For now it is back to the ol' fashion Cellphone but not for too long, i hope!
Furthermore, if any one is already using this service to stay connected with Dubai, please contact me on carlanius_naz@yahoo.co.uk and let me know how your experience has been. Thanks a ton y'all!!!

Regards,
Nazareth

Posts: 4751 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Aug 30, 2005 Posts: 4751

I know nothing about the situation in Dubai, but if you already have the internet service, then run a test at www.testyour voip.com. If that won't work, it's hands down that Vonage won't work either. If it works and works well, then your chances are good.

As for consistency, Vonage service tends to be quite good in my experience, but you must remember that it's utterly dependent on the internet service. If the internet service is flaky, then Vonage will be as well.

As for how the whole system works, the answer to that can be complicated or simple depending on what you want. Since I'm not qualified to give you the complicated one, the simple one is that Vonage provides (or you buy independently) an analog telephone adapter (ATA) that plugs into your internet service using an ordinary ethernet connection. The adapter is register with Vonage and makes contact with the Vonage servers, which in turn provide the connection to the telephone system. The adapter also provides an ordinary phone plug into which you plug your telephone to complete the setup at your end.

More often than not, the adapter is also a router. That allows the average user to use the Vonage service and also continue to use the internet connection with his computer.

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: May 25, 2006 Posts: 3

Hi Steve,

Thanks a zillion for the insight. I will surely check it out in a day or two. Really snowed under with work at the moment!
WIll be in touch with you soon enough. Thanks mate!

Regards,
Nazareth

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: May 25, 2006 Posts: 3

Hi Steve,

I have tested it out and the results are too favourable. It scored a 3.2 /5.0. however here lies my concern, When i use gtalk to stay connected with the States the connection is flawless most of the time so woulnd't this application have somewhat the same result?

Or is VoIP that different from the platform Google talk works on?

Excuse my ignorance! Would really appreciate any help on this one!

Regards,
Nazareth

Posts: 4751 · Vonage Forum **MVM** Joined: Aug 30, 2005 Posts: 4751

I'm afraid that I'm not familiar with gtalk.

The important thing about your VoIP test is that it did work. A score of 3.2 isn't wonderful, but it's not awful either, and it may vary from time to time. How are your packet losses and discards?

If I were you, I'd probably give it a shot.

Posts: 57 · Full Forum Member Joined: Dec 16, 2005 Posts: 57

I live in the states and my TestyourVOIP results always range from around 3.3 to 3.5 and my phone calls sound clear, so I'd give it a try if I was you.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Jun 01, 2006 Posts: 4

nazareth:

I live in uae (but not in dubai). Two weeks ago, vonage was blocked in my part of the uae, but it is still working in dubai. In fact, i took my vonage adaptor to a friend's house in uae and used it to make a couple of calls. The problem is, we're not sure if they (etisalat) are going to block it in dubai too. try looking at the website for vonage, it is blocked now too (as of 1 week ago), which suggests an effort is in place at the national level. Anyway, as of this writing, vonage works great in dubai. But for how much longer, who knows? If you or anyone else on this thread happen to have any solutions for bypassing the block (eg, port forwarding, etc.), please let me know. Thanks. Richard

Posts: 533 · Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 9:51 pm Post subject:

Hey, this post violates rule #16 of this forum.

16) Posts that appear to support or promote the violation of any part of the Vonage TOS are not allowed.

Pleeeeease, lock this up and all of the "Loss of Vonage Service in <fill in the blank country>" Brick wall

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Jun 01, 2006 Posts: 4

I'm not sure what your point is! Vonage works in some parts of the country but not in others. The local telecommunications company/ISP has been unhelpful in providing answers. No one has officially told us it is illegal to have vonage here. We want to find an answer. Apparently something similar happened in Qatar last year, and US citizens there initiated an e-mail/letter-writing campaign to the US embassy. The embassy intervened with the telecommunications monopoly there, and they unblocked Vonage, etc. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Posts: 533 · Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 11:02 pm Post subject:

expatinuae wrote:

I'm not sure what your point is! Vonage works in some parts of the country but not in others. The local telecommunications company/ISP has been unhelpful in providing answers. No one has officially told us it is illegal to have vonage here. We want to find an answer. Apparently something similar happened in Qatar last year, and US citizens there initiated an e-mail/letter-writing campaign to the US embassy. The embassy intervened with the telecommunications monopoly there, and they unblocked Vonage, etc. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Ah, of course, my point. Using Vonage service in UAE is, in fact, a violation of their terms of service.

2.6 Use of Service and Device by Customers Outside the United States. Although we encourage you to use of the Service to place calls to foreign countries from within the United States, we do not presently offer or support the Service in any countries other than the United States and Canada. If you use the Service or the Device outside of the United States or Canada, you will be solely responsible for any violations of local laws and regulations resulting from such use. We reserve the right to disconnect your Service immediately if we determine, in our sole and absolute discretion, that you have used the Service or the Device outside of the United States or Canada.