Joined: Mar 05, 2003 Posts: 2156
Location: The Beach
Posted:
Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:58 pm Post subject: ALERT: ISP Blocking VoIP Ports Again: UPDATED 04-25-05
We are hearing reports again of another unnamed ISP thats is intentionally blocking the ports that Vonage traffic flows through.
vonage-forum.com/article1734.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="postlink">VonageVoIP Service Being Blocked Again
It would be a good idea if all members would please list their ISP in their signature. This might help to identify trends in Vonage service issues.
I will see if I can program an area under the avatar for this info, but for now, please list it in your sig.
******************************************************************************** UPDATE 04-25-05 vonage-forum.com/article1795.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="postlink">Mexico Phone Operator Telmex Blocking VoIP Traffic And Websites
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/article1761.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="postlink">Clearwire Was One Of Two Broadband Providers Causing Problems For Vonage
Wireless Operator Clearwire Was One Of Two Broadband Providers Causing Recent Problems, Now Resolved, For Internet Phone Operator Vonage's Traffic, A Vonage Spokeswoman Said Wednesday
April 6, 2005
By Ben Charny
Vonage also said last month that a cable operator, along with Clearwire, was suspected of blocking calls and not letting some home-phone adapters work appropriately. The cable operator's identity and the exact cause of the problems were still shrouded in mystery Wednesday.
A Clearwire spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Blocked calls by design or technical error are becoming more commonplace for Vonage and other voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, telephone operators. The usual suspects are broadband providers, which view VoIP providers as unwanted hitchhikers on their networks. Because VoIP software lets any Internet connection double as an inexpensive phone line, Vonage and other "networkless" operators need only require subscribers to supply a broadband connection on their own.
Clearwire was created by wireless pioneer Craig McCaw. It's a small provider of WiMax wireless broadband service, and it operates in St. Cloud, Minn.; Abilene, Texas; and Jacksonville and Daytona Beach, Fla. WiMax is an experimental technology that promises to broadcast broadband at a radius of several miles.
The Vonage complaints in March were levied less than three weeks after a Mebane, N.C., telecommunications provider, Madison River Communications, said it would "refrain from blocking" voice over Internet Protocol calls and pay a $15,000 fine to the government. Vonage, a VoIP provider, brought Madison River to the Federal Communications Commission's attention and may do the same with providers involved in these latest problems.
The FCC had hoped the Madison River enforcement would help eradicate what's commonly referred to as "port blocking," a way of blocking traffic--one that telecommunications providers threatened by VoIP are turning to with increasing frequency. The FCC did not comment on Monday about the impact of the fine or about the Vonage complaints.
vonage-forum.com/article1744.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="postlink">McCaw's Clearwire Silently Blocks Competitive VoIP Offering
March 25, 2005
By Nancy Gohring
One Vonage customer says that Clearwire is blocking the voice over IP service: This is clearly a defensive move by Clearwire but surely won’t do much as far as endearing itself to customers. Clearwire recently said that Bell Canada would supply voice services to Clearwire broadband wireless customers. Apparently Clearwire wants to ensure that its customers that want voice services buy the service from Clearwire and no one else. While it’s understandable, it won’t help Clearwire to promote its image as a champion of competitive providers.
The FCC recently ruled that Madison River Communications, a telephone and DSL provider, had to stop blocking Vonage and pay a fine for doing so previously.
But Mobile Pipeline reports that it’s not clear if the FCC could make a similar ruling against Clearwire because Clearwire isn’t a local telephone company.
Two broadband providers are causing problems for Vonage's Internet phone traffic, a spokeswoman said Monday, suggesting that a recent federal fine for blocking Vonage calls may not have had its intended impact.
A cable operator and what Vonage spokeswoman Brooke Schulz would only describe as a "wireless broadband provider" are the two alleged culprits. The problems include Vonage calls not getting through and Vonage home phone adapters not working, she said.
The complaints surface about three weeks after a Mebane, N.C., telecom provider, Madison River Communication, said it would "refrain from blocking" voice over Internet Protocol calls and pay a $15,000 fine to the government. Vonage, a VoIP provider, brought Madison River to the Federal Communications Commission's attention, and is doing so with providers involved in these latest problems.
The FCC had hoped the Madison River enforcement would help eradicate what's commonly referred to as "port blocking," a way of blocking traffic--one that telecom providers threatened by VoIP are turning to with increasing frequency. The FCC wasn't commenting Monday on the impact of the fine, or about the Vonage complaints.
Schulz said the company at first assumed the latest problems were user error, a typical starting point for any investigation of this nature. But now the "ongoing investigation is of great concern," she said.
She would not say whether by "wireless" she meant broadband providers using networks based on cell phone technology or Wi-Fi, which are high-speed wireless networks over free-to-use spectrum commonly found in transportation hubs, lodgings, offices and homes.
It's more likely a Wi-Fi operator is involved. Wi-Fi and Vonage traffic are based on Internet Protocol, the backbone of the Internet and most privately owned and operated communications networks. Plus, Vonage encourages its 500,000-plus subscribers to turn Wi-Fi hot spots into giant free phone booths. While cell phone operators are showing more willingness to add VoIP and Wi-Fi into their repertoires, there aren't enough commercial services or VoIP-ready handsets in the United States to generate traffic levels that would worry a cell operator.
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Last edited by dconnor on Tue Apr 26, 2005 11:00 pm; edited 9 times in total
i started having problems this monday at 7 pm
in hermosillo, sonora mexico
there was a vonage rep who offer to change the sip port to get around
the problem
but today is thursday and nothing
phone is dead
can any one at vonage help me, i am paying for two lines that i can not use
i can not call vonage, because they will not be able to listen to me
and i e mail vonage, but response from e mail usually takes 2 weeks
and if i call using my regular phone, usually takes 30 minutes for someone to answer then another 30 to fix the problems thats 60 minutes at 60 cents per minute to call the united states thats a lot of money for one phone call, plus 15 % sales tax plus the fix charge per call of 20 cents
living in mexico is one of the costliest place to live in the world
that is why you have hundreds of thousand of mexican people migrating
to the united states and canada.
Was Comcast one of the early offenders? I'll be having them when I move in April... Currently on Cox Roadrunner.
I just signed up with Comcast on Sunday,,,aside from potential speed issues, Vonage works good on my end - well, I am still testing bandwidth and equipment ...but it works here in the San Francisco area.
prodigy.net from mexico
...and if i call using my regular phone, usually takes 30 minutes for someone to answer then another 30 to fix the problems thats 60 minutes at 60 cents per minute to call the united states thats a lot of money for one phone call, plus 15 % sales tax plus the fix charge per call of 20 cents
...
So I guess the 866-243-4357 # does not work from Mexico? That ****. You have my emphathies, buddy. Good luck.
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