Vonage not active in Dubai, U.A.E. Probable ISP block.

Posts: 59 · Full Forum Member Joined: Aug 16, 2006 Posts: 59

Me MohThePro. Jumanji and SrMillar are working together on.. one place where our voices WILL be heard... it will be excellent, will let you know tomorrow night.

Posts: 29 · Vonage Forum Junior Joined: Aug 14, 2006 Posts: 29

Guys - the petition is doing really well. I am travelling at the moment so wont be able to meet up anytime soon I am afraid.

Have you guys decided on a focal point yet as it sounds like you are getting something organised? I am sure if the numbers keep growing 7 Days will want an interview/comment - hope one of you is up for it cause I am not in the country at the moment!

I hope all this helps and they unblock it.

Posts: 6 · New Forum Member Joined: Aug 19, 2006 Posts: 6

Folks. This is great! 7 Days is as close as we get to a free press here. At least the guy at TRA was being honest about it affecting National Security. I had no idea that the billions of profits that Etisalat make, go solely to support the security interests of this country.
What a bunch of crock. Incidentally, in this post world, the "catch all" excuse for anyone is "for security reasons....blah blah blah" I called up Avis car rental and the guy sounded Indian, so I asked him where he was located. He answered back saying, "Sir, for security reasons, I cannot disclose my location..." Unfortunately I accepted his stupid reply. I wasn't asking him his coordinates, just where he was located.
There are countries at much more of a heightened alert and at more security risks (example - most of the Western countries) who allow Voip.
By the way, a humble request to everybody, please dont discuss specific solutions, or post emails from VPN companies, etc. Etisalat monitors this site all the time. Etisalat=TRA=DU. This is the "access of evil" Also, please dont say what if anything is working where. If you must, just say "Skype works" Dont specify your location. Maybe I am just being paranoid, but dont believe for a minute that Etisalat is really at the mercy of TRA. TRA is the puppet and Etisalat the Puppeteer.

Posts: 1 · New Forum Member Joined: Aug 23, 2006 Posts: 1

Dear Valued Guests of the UAE,

Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Sheikh Half-Assed Turkey Bin Cash Greed, I am a member of the ruling counsel of Emirates Telephone Regulatory Council, and a third cousin (twice removed) to his excellency Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan -- blessed be his memory! I have read your petition and have referred to the matter to Aziz Patel in our office of ex-pat consumer complaints for consideration. He will consult with various members of the Emirates Telecommunication Community and will report back to the ruling counsel (in shala).

In interim, however, I believe it is important to briefly address your concerns. The UAE has strived to bring a state of the art phone system to all of the Emirates. Etisilat utilizes state of the art equipment and contracts for Grade A international lines. While I have no training or practical experience in telecommunications, as a dividend receiving shareholder in the company, I understand that it strives to provide the best quality service to its clients.

Let me share one example that was recently spoken of at a Council meeting. Call Centers providing technical assistance for customers of US Voip providers, utilize a ratio of roughly 800 to 1. They employ one technical support representative for every 800 customers they have. Often this work is outsourced to call centers in India where the worker’s are mistreated at only earn on average $5,000 per year.

At Etisilat, as in the rest of the Emirates, we are deeply offended at the notion of mistreating hardworkers from the Indian subcontinent! Recognizing the potential for mistreatment, we have employed only Emiratees in the call center. At Etisilat, we employ one Emiratee for every 10 customers. That’s right for every ex pat with a Wasel subscription, we place one Emiratee on the Etisilat payroll to field their calls. Providing such high quality staff means that we are not providing a bargain basement service and have made a strategic decision not to compete at this level.

We also believe that prohibiting Voip is our national security interest because otherwise the callers could call um, um, um – call Israel. While it is true that the UAE has pledged to permit trade (and open phone lines) with Israel at the most recent WTO agreements, we are still studying the implementation and our concerned in the interim that unauthorized calls could – uh, uh – jeopardize our national security.

Some have said that the Mossad could circumvent this security measure by simply using a US or UK number via Voip at their headquarters, or simply purchase a Palestinian prepaid cell phone (which my personal driver has said works fine in Jerusalem), we do not believe that the Mossad is that sophisticated.

Prohibiting telecommunication over Voip is also required because we cannot intercept the same. While it is true that the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, and Russia permit Voip and have demonstrated the ability, it is unreasonable to assume that these communications can be reliably intercepted.

While we appreciate the need to communicate with your family, it is important to understand that Etisilat is working to reduce the price of international calls. With Etisilat’s new improved forthcoming (in shala) rate structure, you will be able to call the US or UK for roughly 1.5 dhms per minute.

Thank you for your understanding

Sheikh Greed

Posts: 24 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Aug 15, 2006 Posts: 24

If the US does not ban Voip for NS reasons- then why does the UAE?

Posts: 59 · Full Forum Member Joined: Aug 16, 2006 Posts: 59

*no comment* to the above letter.

Posts: 86 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Aug 14, 2006 Posts: 86

about to hit the 1,000 mark.

thanks 7 days..

Posts: 86 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Aug 14, 2006 Posts: 86

if someone is a member of 7 days.. please leave a comment.

Posts: 59 · Full Forum Member Joined: Aug 16, 2006 Posts: 59

I definately think this is going to at least make them reconsider... WE ARE IN A FREEZONE!!!!!!!!!!

*not so free is it?*

Posts: 24 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Aug 15, 2006 Posts: 24

the momentum here has been excellent - well done to everyone for keeping this going