Back in April I wrote that the United Arab Emirates was blocking VoIP traffic and the Skype.com web site. They still are. The latest of many comments:

Damian:

My hopes of broadband quashed in UAE as I read the terms and conditions set by Etisalat which makes VOIP basically "illegal" or against the ISP's policy. When calling a rep to confirm this I was frankly told "NO We do not allow any such Voice Telephony Services being used through our networks. eg VOIP. And if you are found using such services (refering to VOIP), including bypassing our services through the use of VPNs to disguise these activities, we will promptly cease your internet services and may well be prosecuted and fined. Hmmmm. BOO!!!! And in addition to that, their tech are consistantly monitoring such activities (refering to VOIP).

Firesupport:

2006 the Asian games will be in Qatar. lots of guests and tourists will come here in this situation Qtel can run their monopoly bad telephone network with high rates. even now they are charging a very big amount on international calls with their land and mobile lines nobody to ask if somebody ask or right about this their life will be in trouble.. the time is now someone should come to distroy this kind of monopoly systems

So who should organize an Internet Freedom protest at the Asian Games?

• UAE Etilisat moving forward with Skype call blocking. (GulfNews via BlogRamble)
• Skype Bug allows you to listen to music. (Sermonade) My WinAmp on your speakers.
• Sony to put Instant Video Everywhere on their Vaios. VoIP/Video softphone has multichat video.
• The reason webcams need blinders. (User Friendly)
• Skype rivals: Monster Communicator, JSkype, vBuzzer. Anyone try these Skype rivals?
• The GestureBank, a service of the Attention Economy (Steve Gillmor)
• Advice for working through a bad situation. (Mena Trott) Hard earned truths.
  1. Read what your customers have to say
  2. Ignore the tone of nasty complaints, but pay attention to the underlying messages
  3. Understand that the people giving feedback represent many who remain silent
  4. Don’t spend too much energy on distractions
  5. Don't be afraid to communicate
  6. Trust your customers
• At Traditional Phone Companies, Jobs May Not Last a Lifetime (New York Times). They blame fiber!
• 45k new Chinese Skypers daily. Skype may launch translation service in 2006. (Time Magazine)