Mexico - isp blocked ports what can i do ?

Posts: 16 · Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 12:05 pm Post subject: Modems

Vonage just sent me one a few weeks ago. My original was a motorolla and my new one is a Links Sys---or something like that. But when I told them of my problems way back in Mar. they tried every feasable fix and finally decided that I should try the new LinksSys modem....but in answer to your question---They did send me a new modem to exchange for the Motorolla.

Posts: 3198 · Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 12:09 pm Post subject:

it's not a modem, it's a TA or phone adapter, or router (in some cases) or just use the make and model, etc., but if you get it confused with a modem it's harder to understand what you're talking about.
a modem is something your isp gives you to connect to their service like the speedstream, the motorola sb5100, etc.

Posts: 16 · Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 12:53 pm Post subject:

I stand corrected. I think I'll call it the "BLACK BOX"
The $99 box

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Jan 12, 2005 Posts: 3

I have a Netgear router, does anyone know how to get Vonage to work, with the situation with Tel Mex blocking my calls?

Posts: 2135

Mexico telephone operator under VoIP fire

Broadband customers of Mexico's dominant telephone operator say the quality of their voice over Internet Protocol calls has tanked, with some alleging that Telmex is engaging in unfair business practices to block VoIP competition.

VoIP, freely available software that lets broadband connections become inexpensive home phone lines, is seen as a major threat to entrenched phone operators such as Telmex because VoIP users no longer need a local phone service; they can use their VoIP service with any broadband connection anywhere in the world.

International operators and habitues of the less urbane world of Web forums are venting about the government-owned operator's alleged practices, which they say include blocking Web sites that VoIP operators use to register new customers and perform a bulk of their customer service.

"We're definitely interested in this situation," said a White House trade official, who asked not to be named. "Telmex has had a long pattern of engaging in anti-competitive behavior."

In a March report, the White House's Office of the U.S. Trade Representative wrote: "Uncertainty regarding the treatment of voice over Internet Protocol services in Mexico is cause for concern. Irrespective of the merits of Telmex's ambitions, restrictions on the ability of any entity, foreign or domestic, to supply VoIP appears inappropriate."

Telmex did not respond to a phone call and an e-mail seeking comment on the situation.

Caller complaints escalate
The Telmex VoIP situation has grown since mid-March, when the company's broadband customers say the quality of their third-party voice over Internet Protocol calls began eroding to what are now unbearable levels, according to e-mail interviews with VoIP customers who routinely call in and out of Mexico.

VoIP operators are running into an alleged problem typical in countries where there's one phone company owned by the government--such as Qatar, Costa Rica and Panama--or privately owned and with enormous sway over regulators. In Mexico, the former government-owned Telmex remains dominant because the Federal Telecommunications Commission lets complaints from foreign competitors linger without resolution for years; and its recommended enforcement is rarely meted by the nation's Secretariat of Communications and Transportation, according to the USTR.

Skype spokeswoman Kelly Larabee said the company has confirmed its Web site is being blocked in areas served by Telmex, but said the cause was unclear.

"We encourage all Telmex broadband subscribers to contact their ISP and demand the open access they pay for," Larabee said. She stressed that Skype does not know whether the Web site access issue is deliberate, or a temporary glitch Telmex is unaware of.

This may be happening because Telmex allegedly identifies VoIP users based on the kind of traffic they send, then chokes their bandwidth to disrupt the calls, said Brooke Schulz, a spokeswoman for U.S. Net phone provider Vonage. Telmex is also allegedly blocking access to Net phone Web sites, including that of Skype, the world's most popular VoIP service, Skype says it has confirmed. By blocking the site, Telmex could prevent potential Skype users from signing up, and existing Skype users wouldn't be able to replenish minutes on their prepaid calling cards or order other premium services.

"We're working on exercising our options with the U.S. trade representative," Schulz said. "However, because we're not a Mexican company, we have little leverage with the Mexican regulator. But we're doing everything we can."
vonage-forum.com/article1795.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="postlink">Mexico Phone Operator Telmex Blocking VoIP Traffic And Websites

Posts: 47 · Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 10:39 am Post subject:

Amazing. This is the result of allowing one particularly greedy, obscenely wealthy individual who is the (putative) owner of Telmex to screw up service for literally millions of people. Sad

The rumor in Mexico is that this individual is actually a "front man" for President Fox.

Maybe our FCC is not such a bad idea after all - god knows what our telecom industry would do if it were not for them.