Monday, March 15, 2010

Harder To Call Home?

A recent article on TheNextWeb says that Telecom Egypt is blocking Skype after March 13. Whether this will include Skype on computers as well as on iPhones and mobiles remains to be seen. As someone with a couple of kids in North America, I'm sure not happy about it. I'll be interested in hearing comments from people who find that this is true...and even more interested if it isn't.




copyright 2010 Maryanne Stroud Gabbani

7 comments:

vagabondblogger said...

We have Skype, but quit using it a couple of years ago. Now we have Vonage. Your N. American kids) can buy a subscription from Vonage, with their local area code number. They hook it up to their computer, bring a box to you (you'll need a separate phone), hook the second box to your computer, and you can talk via the Internet, with only monthly "local calling subscription charges." It works great for us, it's cheap, and it's so much better than using Skype. You should check it out.

Gem said...

Hi,
I am in Spain and I have been using Skype with my Egyptian boyfriend. I haven't had any problem during these days...

Linda said...

Thanks for your entry on Skype. I sure hope that is not true. My husband uses Skype (Internet) to call his family in Egypt since it is very expensive to call via telephone lines. That would be a major blow to everyone. Let's hope it is just a rumor.

linda said...

Just an add-on to my previous post. My husband did use Skype to talk to his family on March 14. So maybe it works for people outside Egypt to talk to people in Egypt. I will have to try this tonight.

Colleen said...

Hi there! :) I got the Magic Jack for my inlaws. It's so cheap ($19.95 a year). It hooks up to ur computer and it has an American phone number. So you can call them and they can call you without having any long distance charges. It's really clear and I love it. I'll be bringing one over when I move back to Egypt. They sell them at Walmart (that's where I got it at) for about $30. You can find out more on the web. magicjack.com

I don't know if it is available in Canada. But we couldn't be happier with it.

Good Luck!

masai mara safari said...

You blog on life in Egypt is an interesting blog to read. Quite a difference from what i read about safaris.

Suz said...

Hi Maryanne.

I love reading through your blog, it's a great insight into life in Egypt. I think it's even more commendable what you do for horses and animals in general.

I just read your comment on the Skype posting, and I've actually had to do some research into that issue myself. (Although I'm not sure if you have already been given this information!!)

Skype itself is not being banned, it is being able to call cell phones from Skype. It's apparently a Legal issue, but who knows where the kickbacks are really going. Regular computer to computer skype will continue as normal.

:) Thanks for blogging.