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Probably a load of old tosh! But worth a read if this is your thing...taken from the Gulf News

Want to use Skype in Dubai? Just say HeyU
By Ivan Gale, Staff Reporter



Dubai: A new service is testing the limits people will go to use Skype's free PC-to-PC telephone calls in the UAE.

etisalat blocks Skype.com, the website for a service that provides calls over the internet, known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

The blockade prevents web surfers from downloading the software, upgrading to newer Skype versions, or adding credit for paid Skype services such as PC-to-mobile phone calls.

Bypassing etisalat's blocks are not easy, but a company called HeyU is saying it can, with a fair bit of effort, help people around them.

Customers can go to a UK-based website, Mathaba.net, and get an email address for HeyU, which bills itself as an "Asian group." HeyU appears to have no website of its own.

etisalat continues to emphasise that access to Skype is not permitted.

"Internet telephony is technically a telecom service," said Abdul Rahman Al Mulla, head of regulatory affairs at etisalat.

"Anyone other than the two licensed telecom service providers etisalat and du offering internet telephony to another person is doing so illegally."

However, companies will always find a way to deliver services to their potential markets if, and when, there is money to be made, said Carmi Levy, a senior analyst with Info-Tech Research Group in Canada. "Many entrepreneurs see state-imposed restrictions as opportunities to deliver services that otherwise would not have seen the light of day, and this is just such a case."

Victor Font, managing director of Delta Partners, a Dubai-based telecom consultancy, said VoIP firms are threatening companies like etisalat with new service offerings.

Font could not assess the trustworthiness of HeyU, but said it faced an uphill climb. "When you see services like HeyU it's difficult to predict whether a service like this will succeed in the mid-term," he said.

If the telecom operators launch services, being seen in the more liberated markets, he said, the end user would receive services like VoIP for a flat fee.

Gulf News was unable to reach anyone from HeyU.

On call: How it works

For between 20 to 50 euros (Dh90-Dh230) payed through an e-payment site such as Paypal HeyU will send out an email with an unblocked link to download Skype. The service supposedly uses a secure proxy website to bypass etisalat's filters.

I have Skype and credit, but am I going to get in trouble for using it here?

Stan wrote:I have Skype and credit, but am I going to get in trouble for using it here?

I don't think they know if you are using it. They block the payment site, so once your money is finished you can't top up again using Etisalat.

the problem seems to be that you cannot conncet to skype even when you have downloaded the software.

there is any easy way that is what i do simply goto DIC/Media City or if some of ur friends are working there ask them to help u to add the payments to your account and even they can download the software for because ETISALAT doesnt work in DIC/Media City ..

lostguy wrote:there is any easy way that is what i do simply goto DIC/Media City or if some of ur friends are working there ask them to help u to add the payments to your account and even they can download the software for because ETISALAT doesnt work in DIC/Media City ..

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Actually Etisalat has bocked the direct communication / TCP connection to the IP address of the site (skype.com) thats y when u open skype.com u get a TCP error rather then a blocked site message. If u have good knowledge of TCP IP u can fix it and offcourse i wouldnt tell here how i m doing that

lostguy wrote:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actually Etisalat has bocked the direct communication / TCP connection to the IP address of the site (skype.com) thats y when u open skype.com u get a TCP error rather then a blocked site message. If u have good knowledge of TCP IP u can fix it and offcourse i wouldnt tell here how i m doing that

Fair enough. click pm button...Thanks in advance.

sorry ..i didn't understand just a little info

but is that means that using the skype program is illegal??

i have skype and i am using it everyday ..

Peach_Girl wrote:sorry ..i didn't understand just a little info

but is that means that using the skype program is illegal??

i have skype and i am using it everyday ..

Skype is banned by Etisalat