Banned Skype plans Gulf HQ

Posted by: paul Tuesday, 25 August 2009 11:00 AM[UAE] - UAE

Du is one of the worst companies anywhere I have ever had the misfortune of having to deal with. The fact the TRA protects telco revenues by blocking Skype only rubs salt in the wounds. As a company owner at Dubai Internet City, I am forced to use them, yet their services are slow, outrageously overpriced and the staff are inept and unresponsive. It makes what should be a world beating business park a second rate location, and highly risky as all your eggs are in one basket. I also have to use them for my home connection, and it takes TWO WEEKS just to move a service from one apartment to another in the next street. And they still charge you for the period you don't have any service, plus a fee for the move. Of course being a monopoly allows Du to behave like this (Etisalat is not available, not that it is probably any better), but that is not the whole story. I went to DEWA the other day and found their office organized and efficent. They shut down my old apartment's electricity and water and activated the new one in LESS THAN TWO HOURS. Unlike the Du office, DEWA was not filled with angry people contesting their bill or trying to get some problem with their service fixed. So why is it that DEWA can seem to run so smoothly while Du is a total disaster? Surely if DEWA can get water and electricity transferred in two hours, Du should just be able to do the same with internet, TV and telephones which can surely be automated and centrally controlled far easier?

Posted by: Canuck Monday, 24 August 2009 11:24 AM[UAE] - UAE

Well, the elephant in the room just gets bigger an bigger and when the monopoly can no longer sustain control due to inevitable technology advances that will leave companies like Etisalat in a very awkward position where it will just be plainly obvious that their motives are based on greed and not a fair market that benefits the citizens and companies that choose to use programs like Skype to save costs in a time when it's needed more than ever and not just a select few companies that benefit from the isolation of profit. I know it's been said numerous times but in order for this country to become the progressive country that is seen on all of the artist drawn depictions to the world....we cant keep out technology. It's an inevitability.

Posted by: Abu Zahra Sunday, 23 August 2009 12:53 PM[UAE]

Etisalat has blocked the Skype.com website to prevent downloading the software necessary to use Skype but one can easily bring the SW from other countries through USB or get it from friends who are already using the Skype software. One could also get the same by email by asking friends in other countries to send the downloaded SW. If more and more people start using the Skype or other VOIP software to make the calls, then Etisalat will be compelled to reduce the international tariff which is right now very very exorbitant.

Posted by: Doug Sunday, 23 August 2009 9:47 AM[UAE]

Just wait until someone tells the CEO of Etisalat about Google Voice. If he thinks Skype is bad...these people really don't know what's going to hit them in the near future. They're completely unprepared for the 21st century and have a business model based on 1970s phone systems.

Posted by: Andy Saturday, 22 August 2009 11:34 PM[UAE] - Taiwan

Those international rates and local internet package rates are not even near being unbalanced but in fact are way off balance. The fact is Skype is not welcomed because competition is not welcomed in the UAE when it has to do with competition with the government. The only competition that is allowed is among the people in Dubai but not against the monopolies controlled by the government.