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Voiceover internet protocol (VOIP) - information

Peta's picture
Posted in:

I understand alot of expatriates use VOIP as a way of saving on phone calls. What can anyone tell me about it in Qatar?

I understand that Qtel may have blocked some sites that provide it.


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doug's picture

doug said Hi Peta, I believe that qtel ...

Hi Peta,

I believe that qtel does allow the use of Skype - but the site for obtaining credit has been blocked. Another option which possibly has not been blocked is Voipbuster.

 

Peta's picture

Peta said Doug Could one of my family ...

Doug

Could one of my family in Australia top up the credit for me. I am not sure what nationality you are, but Skype is a UK VOIP provider I think, do you know any reputable Australian ones?

 

butterfly's picture

butterfly said Hi Peta and Doug, You see, ...

Hi Peta and Doug,

You see, Qatar is such a poor country (3rd richest?hmmmm) that it needs to make a lot of money.
A good way to make money is by taking advantage of the poor expat that works here for a miserable wages and who needs to speak regularly to his wife and children back home so he can keep his sanity.

A couple of months ago, QTel had this wonderful idea that it would make more money if it disabled the internet sites that the poor expat with a misarable wages uses to speak free of charge to his family.

Genius, isn't it?

 

doug's picture

doug said Geography does not really ...

Geography does not really matter as far as voip is concerned, you could ask anyone who can get access to the site to update your credit. I would recommend both yourself and your friends/family in Australia download the client and see how the quality is; as long as both ends have a broadband connection calls will be free.

 

Qwerty's picture

Qwerty said Hello, Slowly, over the ...

Hello,

Slowly, over the years Qatari officialdom has seen fit to ban nearly all VOIP providers, from Net2phone to Phoneserve. Nevertheless, Skype still works, both the free service and the credit version.

If you want the latest version [1.4.0.84], search and download it load via a BitTorrent site.

I have tried to buy credit over the Internet whilst in Doha, using a locally issued credit card and it does not work. However, it will work if you have somebody outside Qatar buy the credit using the same card.

I spoke with somebody in Singapore the other day for an hour and forty minutes, the cost was only €2.42 or QR10.30.

Regrads,

 

Peta's picture

Peta said Qwerty Thanks this is really ...

Qwerty

Thanks this is really helpful. I will just get my parents in Australia to buy the credit with my card.

I am sorry for asking basic questions about VOIP but it isnt big in Australia yet:

1. Can I call mobile numbers for the same low rates?
2. Using Skype can I refresh the credit in AUD instead of GBP?
3. What hardware do I need to purchase or have on my computer to make the call and listen?
4. How much credit do you need to put on at one time ie is there a minimum?

Cheers

 

Qwerty's picture

Qwerty said Hi, 1. The rates (sorry, ...

Hi,

1. The rates (sorry, they are in €'s) for Australia are…

Destination Rate/minute Rate/minute incl. VAT

Australia € 0.017 € 0.020
Australia - Mobile € 0.165 € 0.190
Australia-Canberra € 0.017 € 0.020
Australia-Shared Cost € 0.017 € 0.020
Australia-Sydney € 0.017 € 0.020
Australian Ex Territories € 0.550 € 0.632

2. The credit is in $US only.

3. A simple headset and microphone. You do not need the Skype headsets that are widely available in Doha for QR200 plus. What I use cost me only QR10.00.

4. I think $US 10.00 is the minimum that you can purchase, it is what I buy.

Skype is owned by E-Bay, they purchased the company earlier this year.

Regards,

 

Qwerty's picture

Qwerty said Unfortunately, how I typed ...

Unfortunately, how I typed the above comment is not what it looks like above, it must be something to do with formatting.

Regards,

 

yahya's picture

yahya said After contacting customer ...

After contacting customer service today, I found out that Qatar is indeed blocking VoIP (including voice chat servers like MSN). This has been corroborated by several other sources at my place of employment and members of the Vonage forum. This is contrary to what customer service was telling us over the weekend: that the service outage was due to a loss of bandwidth. A QTel representativestold me that this is what they were told that they were as shocked as customers were. A Vonage forum member said a rep told him he was told to lie when questioned about the outage.

As an American citizen I intend to contact the U.S. Embassy about this as have several members of the Vonage forum. I hope other VoIP users will do the same and inform QTel of intentions to downgrade or cancel their internet subscriptions should the blockage not cease immediately. I know that, for myself, QTel is getting far more money from my internet subscription than from my trans-continental calls prior to activation of my Vonage line.

As a Muslim, if QTel fails to act, I intend to file suit against QTel in the Shari'a courts as the alteration of services without notification and the opportunity to cancel is a violation of divine injuctions regarding sale and contract in the Islamic Shari'ah (Religious Law).

We remain patient. "And God is with the patient."

 

tsgalang's picture

tsgalang said Sorry, I am just outsider ...

Sorry, I am just outsider never been to Qatar.
Hopefully in January 06 I will have site visit to Qatar for interview with my employer.

Is QTel the only Internet Provider in Qatar ?
Or maybe someone can explain to me about how can I get internet connection in Qatar.

Thanks

 

locutor99's picture

locutor99 said Voiceovers ...

If you need voiceovers Escena Digital is the first company in Europe. We are 4000 voiceovers/70 differents languages. The music, royalty free, is no charge. The budget is 0.05 USD.

http://www.locutortv...

I am Spanish voiceover. My web is http://www.locutortv.es and http://www.locutortv...

 

Bernard_Maalouf's picture

Bernard_Maalouf said Voip a lot ...

You can download voip a lot, voip a lot dot com (no space)
it is the cheapest & most probably calls to a landline in Australia is free.

If you face any blocked website, you can always use a VPN software, like hotspot shield, download it from BitTorent website & that's how you can use any service you like.

 

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