Legal Skype would raise cost of UAE calls - Etisalat

Posted by: Kalid Monday, 25 May 2009 9:02 PM[UAE]

I never knew the value of skype until I came to Bahrain, the TRA and Government here sure don't care about Batelco at all! VoIP was legalized since 2005!! I got the seimens thing which does both normal and IP-based calls.. other smaller operators offer 80% off normal IDD batelco rates.. competition dont you just love it! :) This is good!

Posted by: Andy Monday, 25 May 2009 9:24 AM[UAE] - Taiwan

and they more then gouge you on your cell phone telecom rates. Their monthly fees for Internet service planes of 460 DHMS. per month is more than 5X of what they charge here in Taiwan on their monthly broadband services so that is like a 500% tax on top of their monthly fee!! The local telecom company is used to gouging their customers and now finds it difficult to offer their customers lower prices. Skype and other VOIP services should be allowed in the UAE. Even in communist China this is allowed. By not allowing VOIP services the UAE would be even more strict than a communist country like China. To be competitive in the middle-east the UAE needs to allow the people in the UAE access to VOIP services such as Skype. They need to stop from trying to milk every penny out of every person in the UAE. Thumbs up to Arabianbusiness for allowing all the people to post their opinions and feelings about the telecom sector in the UAE.

Posted by: Mark Elliot Monday, 18 May 2009 4:36 PM[UAE]

Despite blocking Skype, I've seen many people still using it without problems. There are many ways to get around blocked sites and services!

Posted by: SK Monday, 18 May 2009 11:12 AM[UAE]

There is no point in arguing with Etisalat since it remains a virtual monopoly despite competition in every other sector and around the world. The only way to tackle Etisalat is as follows: 1. Have a DU mobile since their charges are by seconds both on national as well as International Calls. 2. Limit/Reduce your tele-conversations as much as possible. 3. Use VOIP with VPN activationthrough ADSL with fixed billing. 4. Use SMS/Email and Chat wherever possible. 5. Make calls during off-peak hours. 6. Use fixed line for local calls instead of mobile. 7. Have good cordless phones (Siemens preferred) against fixed lines to increase convenience at home and elsewhere.

Posted by: Denis Monday, 18 May 2009 9:40 AM[UAE]

Why is everybody so excited about Skype being blocked? I've used it a few times (outside UAE) but never liked it. There are plenty of other less complicate programs offering free calls and Video chats like ICQ, Google Chat, MSN and many others which are not blocked. Is it illegal to use networking services that are not blocked? Are only voice calls illegal or video chats also? Etisalat should provide more information to it's customers regarding illegal services it provides before people start getting in trouble.