UAE | General

Residents speak about VoIP

The ban has definitely affected me especially as it was so cheap and I have so many friends on Skype, who I now cannot reach.

  • Residents speak about VoIP
  • Published: 00:00 October 8, 2006
  • Gulf News

  • Alexander Mandarovski, 29, Macedonia
  • Image Credit: Gulf News
Image 1 of 4
1234

“I mostly used VoIP for messaging and calling my friends because it is so cheap and easy to make international calls. The ban has definitely affected me especially as it was so cheap and I have so many friends on Skype, who I now cannot reach.

"It is just about politics and money, because even though Etisalat has a monopoly, they still don't want people to speak for free. It has also affected me in terms of my friends who are all over the world.

"Really, VoIP services have created an open world, so the ban is very disappointing, especially as there is no choice in operators here and no competition, so prices will remain high.''
Alexander Mandarovski, 29,
Macedonia

“It is terribly inconvenient and very annoying that we cannot access Skype and other services, because there just seems to be no real reason for it.

"It doesn't really make sense, and is especially frustrating as I used to use it everyday to speak to people. Now I don't make as many international calls, because the alternative is just far too expensive.''
Fiona Whittman, 28,
Australia

“The issue is that the telecom provider wants as much money as possible and to secure their monopoly. But, this shouldn't be an issue because people are still paying their internet bills to the company and just logging onto a site and accessing an online service.

"It should be no different to logging onto hotmail or yahoo and checking your mail.''
Jamil Hassan, 25,
UK

  • Rate this article
  • Average reader rating (0 votes) 0 Stars
Tools

Emailing an article to friend is a simple way to share a news item. Your friend will receive an email with your name and email address as well any personal message you choose to send.

The information you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited emails.

This service is not intended to encourage spam, and action may be taken against individuals who maliciously enter personal details of another individual.

Share this article

Related Articles

  1. Telecommunications body defends ban decision

    Telecommunications body defends ban decision

  2. Residents angered by blocking of VoIP

    Residents angered by blocking of VoIP

    Blocking of VoIP makes communication hard and causes residents misery

More from UAE General

  1. Emirates Palace gears up for festivities

  2. Emerging writers to get networking opportunities

  3. Large crowds join in Eid festivities

  4. For many, it's business as usual

All articles in General

More from UAE

Gulf News
Popular in UAE
Readers' pictures
Your pictures

Readers' pictures

A Selection of the best Gulf News reader pictures this week

Latest news
Community Reports

More from Community Reports

Weather

More from Weather