Skype in the freezones?
 

Hey there - any of you Skype users in the Tecom freezone (DIC/DMC/Marina/Greens/etc) experiencing a blockout?

This happened once last year, and seemed to go away... but, it's been a couple days since I could log on!!

Maybe I'm wrong, but this feels like consorship. Now I know how you Etisalat'ers must feel (sorta).

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

Skype is back!!
2 days without Skype - that was horrible!!

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

I have callserve as well, which I use as a backup. One or the other is usually working. :)

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

Hi, I'm moving to Dubai in November and was hoping to use SKYPE to call home, having come across this thread I'm not sure what a freezone is, is there anyone out there who can help me????

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

There's a big business park called "media city" or "internet city". The ISP concept is uncensored internet connections for the global media players. There are some adjacent residential areas which were built for the media city workers, for this reason - they also recieve the same uncensored internet service.

Or I should say - used to?
They are beginning to block services this ISP too.

Nobody can say for sure if Skype will work anywhere in Dubai next week - let alone in November. It's annoying, but you have to expect this to happen in a place like the middle-east!

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

TECOM (Dubai Internet City/Media City) also provide internet to Springs, Meadows, Lakes, Ranches etc...

We've not experienced any problems with censorship (yet!) and Skype is fine.

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

We're on DIC and can log in to Skype and use SkypeOut to make cheap calls to telephones, but we can't make any Skype-to-Skype calls - all our contacts appear as offline, even when we know they're online.

The Skype support forum is full of people all over the world complaining about this exact problem... seems to have existed for over a month now, and it's slowly spread among users. Skype say they're working on it. If other people with DIC can use Skype normally, then I guess they're the lucky ones who haven't been affected by the software bug, and we've just got to wait until Skype fix it :(

EDIT - fixed now :cool:

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

There are similar complaints about Skype in the UAE going on forum.skype.com. It is hard to tell who is in the free zone and who is not because people are sometimes just saying they are in "Dubai." Plainly, Etisilat is doing some stuff at the switch level. Here is a link to a two day old Gulfnews article on the subject:

Tecom apparently buys its pipeline access from Etisilat much like the Universities do. Tecom is blaming Etisilat. There was an article on it two or three days ago in the Gulf News.

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

Tecom is my ISP both at home, and at work.
I can't log into Skype at either location.
It's been like this for several days now.

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

Since the days of VOIP calls out of Dubai appeared number or even DOA, let me pass on my other approach for cheap calls.

I purchased a roaming SIM from globalsimcard.co.uk. I wind up with a UK mobile number issued in the 02 number range +44792.... The number actually belongs to an MVNO so 02 doesn't treat it as in network call but it is covered by all plans that include internetwork minutes.

It gives me free incoming calls in roughly 80 countries including the UAE. Here is the kicker, I can divert that number to my Etisilat mobile at no charge.

My best friend has a cross-carrier plan and can call me for no more than he would pay to call any UK mobile. The call costs me zero.* Now, let me go one step further...

I signed up for an account with voipcheap.com using a UK credit card and mailing address. They gave me a free 0208 number (greater London, not within the square mile, but who cares) which will forward to this number for 5p a minute. It is not as cheap as Skype but it doesn't utilize any VOIP in the UAE and as far as I can tell is perfectly legal.

I've been using this on the go and it has worked well. I never treated it as my main way of calling, but I thought I would pass it on.

Stu

____________
*Don't feel to sorry for my friend getting the short end of the deal on phone charges. I lined him up house sitting a Jumerah Beach Townhouse this Christmas.

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

Does all this forwarding of calls affect the quality at all?

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

On the mobile to mobile route, it is only one forward and I'm not sure if the call really would take a different pathway then if you just called the UK SIM roaming in the UAE (remember that is also a free incoming call). The call quality is as good as a Skype Out call. I'm not sure if I could hear a pin drop on the other end, but it is completely serviceable.

My +44792.. started out as my roaming SIM. I used to carry two phones for the first couple of days after returning from abroad. One time I just diverted it to my Etisilat SIM because I just wanted to carry one phone. When I checked the price of the call and saw a "0" in my statement, I decided to just leave the calls be diverted to my UAE SIM. When I leave the UAE, I turn the divert off and roam with it in most countries. It is free incoming in Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Saudi (haven't been there, but a friend who has the same SIM has), Egypt, the hum hum -- place north of Egypt and South of Lebanon, Cyprus, the EU, etc. It is inexpensive in Kuwait. It is an expensive roam in the US and Canada, but a free divert to a US or Canadian prepaid SIM.

With this strategy, it is the one number I can reached around the world and my insurance against VOIP be shut down.

When I read this post on forum.skype.com carefully, it was interesting:

http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=54627

there is no consistency between who is blocked and who isn't. Many people have managed to cure the problem by uninstalling and reinstalling Skype or retrograding to version 2.0x. Lastly, one person claimed that Skype worked on his Linux box but that his Windows version was being blocked. I don't know what to make of this, but I thought it was worth passing on.

Stu

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

I'm starting to get the idea that the more options the better, thanks though am at least starting to get an idea of where I want to live to try and use SKYPE and VOIP, like the tip on the mobile will sort that out before I leave.

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

According to Vonage Forum, Banks and financial houses in the Financial Centre just lost their VOIP today. While it doesn't address the technical issues of Skype, vonageforum.com has a lot of discussions going on about the blocking in general.

Stu

Re: Skype in the freezones?
 

Cheers, am trying to be just a little bit more organised than I usually am before I move out which I'm being made to work by my old company up until a week before I come out may prove more difficult than the move. Any other info or sites that you thank may be useful please let me know.

Thanks