Aug
24
Latest on UAE VoIP VPN Block
- August 24th, 2009
We recently talked about sites and various ISPs blocking the VOIP in
UAE and how some providers have introduced other means to enable UAE
users benefit from VoIP services. We also reported on how Etislat and
many other ISP’s in UAE region have always been against the usage of
VoIP. We recalled reporting that some players in the UAE market such
as Hotspotshield and Kongshare may work for some users but the
services provided by these players are still not reliable for many. We
stumbled upon the comment of a VoIP user based in UAE who shared his
experience when trying to use VPN based VoIP.
He explained how he has been enjoying the service of VoIP in UAE
untill sometime around the day of 24th April or 25th April 2009, when
suddenly his VoIP client stopped connecting and he was unable to make
VoIP calls anymore. After some enquiries, he later found out that
Etislat had blocked most of the VoIP clients including his own
provider.
According to him “There is a very popular company, which was operating
freely in UAE by the name of BetaMax. It provides popular VoIP clients
such as FreeCall, SmartVoIP, BudgetSIP, JustVoIP, InterVoIP etc. All
of these VoIP clients had different rates and different designs but
all of them belong to the same company Betamax. So, the ISP – E T I S
A L A T put a full block on BetaMax and all these clients stopped
working. Some days passed and I tried to use the client using
Hotspotshield and Ultrasurf but the voice quality was not good and
people in my Home country, where I used to call, complained very often
that the voice was cracking and often it would get disconnected.”
He eventually got what would become a temporary solution after along
time of research when he discovered that he could use a VPN connection
to make VoIP calls. He tried to use VPN connection from two different
VPN companies but the result was the same. He said “although I would
be able to login and connect and even make calls but while I was able
to hear the voice of the other party very clearly, my voice would not
travel to them clearly and it would crack a lot.
“I have also heard about three people getting fined by Etisalat. A
person in my own office was fined AED 2,500 for using VoIP. It is
indeed true that E T I S A L A T is cracking in on users, who are
making VoIP calls. So, you would have to be extremely careful or pay
penalties to E T I S A L A T. I am now trying to see if there are any
alternatives to this and if yes, I would post.”
This is an account of one of the several thousand users of VoIP in UAE
that has been blocked from benefiting from using what in “our world”
is way of communication. If you know of a better way through which
users of VoIP can benefit from the service or you want to share your
view with us please feel free to do so.
UAE and how some providers have introduced other means to enable UAE
users benefit from VoIP services. We also reported on how Etislat and
many other ISP’s in UAE region have always been against the usage of
VoIP. We recalled reporting that some players in the UAE market such
as Hotspotshield and Kongshare may work for some users but the
services provided by these players are still not reliable for many. We
stumbled upon the comment of a VoIP user based in UAE who shared his
experience when trying to use VPN based VoIP.
He explained how he has been enjoying the service of VoIP in UAE
untill sometime around the day of 24th April or 25th April 2009, when
suddenly his VoIP client stopped connecting and he was unable to make
VoIP calls anymore. After some enquiries, he later found out that
Etislat had blocked most of the VoIP clients including his own
provider.
According to him “There is a very popular company, which was operating
freely in UAE by the name of BetaMax. It provides popular VoIP clients
such as FreeCall, SmartVoIP, BudgetSIP, JustVoIP, InterVoIP etc. All
of these VoIP clients had different rates and different designs but
all of them belong to the same company Betamax. So, the ISP – E T I S
A L A T put a full block on BetaMax and all these clients stopped
working. Some days passed and I tried to use the client using
Hotspotshield and Ultrasurf but the voice quality was not good and
people in my Home country, where I used to call, complained very often
that the voice was cracking and often it would get disconnected.”
He eventually got what would become a temporary solution after along
time of research when he discovered that he could use a VPN connection
to make VoIP calls. He tried to use VPN connection from two different
VPN companies but the result was the same. He said “although I would
be able to login and connect and even make calls but while I was able
to hear the voice of the other party very clearly, my voice would not
travel to them clearly and it would crack a lot.
“I have also heard about three people getting fined by Etisalat. A
person in my own office was fined AED 2,500 for using VoIP. It is
indeed true that E T I S A L A T is cracking in on users, who are
making VoIP calls. So, you would have to be extremely careful or pay
penalties to E T I S A L A T. I am now trying to see if there are any
alternatives to this and if yes, I would post.”
This is an account of one of the several thousand users of VoIP in UAE
that has been blocked from benefiting from using what in “our world”
is way of communication. If you know of a better way through which
users of VoIP can benefit from the service or you want to share your
view with us please feel free to do so.
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