How good is the Vonage option?

I have been told by Qtel folks that they have messed with the bandwidth and latency necessary for VOIP. . .sad, and probably true.

From a technical perspective, its quite possible that Qtel maybe messing things up but I dont think they are outright blocking it. I'm not a telecom guy but I do have some understanding on how voip works. If any provider or middle tier was to block the portion they control, there would be no connection. It'd be hard to imagine that they block it and some communication goes through but its just bad quality... doesn't make a whole lotta sense...

Again... just my $0.02

Yeah, we used a Callback thing when we lived in Argentina. It was a lifesaver since there was no Skype, Vonage or any other Voip back then (at least not one that was commonly known). It was a bummer, though, because our friends/family typically wouldn't just pick up the phone and call like they do with Vonage.

Give them a call lordjosh. . .just make sure you skip right over the call center drones at Vonage who first answer your call. You might need to call via Skype if your connection is still really crappy. I gave them my land line number as well and they promised to call me on that if the connection died.

I guess i could try that...

hehe

i really hate Qtel sometimes

We had a system for calling the US many moons ago called Kallback and Q-Tel blocked it they could tell as you would call a computer for a minute in Seattle. Many people I know like Magic Jack but you have to have a dedicated computer for it. I hope Q-tel is not doing something but everything has ways to mess it up.

lordjosh - look up at my post that has the subject " Vonage update. . .success at last!" If you follow those instructions it should be cleared up for you. The difference is night and day.

here's the thing...

when they call us from the US.. it's fine at times..

but when I try to call..

it's like someone is jamming the signal..

they say it's illegal here in Qatar..

Well, I say it's the INTERNET..

if they don't want to use phone lines...

there is the Internet Line..

i've heard they are trying to block it...

i just hate it when Qtel thinks they are doing the right thing, when it really affects a lot of people...

sucks!

What have you heard, lordjosh? Any inside scoop on whether or not they'll stop blocking it?

Qtel is blocking vonage.. i hate Qtel sometimes

That's great news Bilabong! I have to wonder if Vonage or Qtel made a universal change for the Doha users of Vonage.

I'm betting on Vonage since Qtel still won't admit they had caused the problem. . .

Vonage is working just fine for me now. I left Doha 1st week of August (with Vonage going belly up at that time). Came back yesterday fired it up and it works like a charm.

Eve - take a look at my post above (Thu, 27/08/2009 - 11:47pm). I had thought that it was Game Over for Vonage, but after making the two calls last night it has returned to normal (or close enough).

uzee - like SpikenButchsMom said, it's well worth the cost for Vonage. I read somewhere (probably on QL) that MagicJack is great for cheapskates who care more about the bargain than the sound quality - which explains why my ex-boyfriend thought so highly of Magic Jack :op You won't regret going with Vonage :)

I am sure Q-tel messed up the Vonage its so bad now its almost impossible to have a decent conversation.

Just to know all the options.. has anyone tried magic jack in Qatar?? the quality in US has certainly improved quite a bit, don't know how it will hold up in Qatar...

The packetization was something that Vonage did on their end - some setting that they have access to but customers don't.

My Vonage is still working well today - woo hoo!

we recently got Vonage set up, transferring my US cell number (which all the fam/frineds have) and it's been wonderful. The first day, I had some trouble talking to my sister on her cell, but I lowered the bandwidth and it's worked like a charm for me since. However, I have the newest equipment from Vonage, and I wonder if the "packetization" that Expat Sueno refers to isn't doing something to the older equipment that makes it run more like the newer equipment? Just speculating here. Anywho, it was wonderful on my son's birthday to be able to have all the family call and they were thrilled with a much clearer tone than we've had with Skype to land-lines and cells - er, mobiles. ;-) Bottom line, I'd recommend it - worth the very reasonable monthly charge.

OK, I think I got it sorted.

Call Vonage and get through the call center drone layer. Tell them you're in Qatar and that your ISP has reduced your bandwidth available for VOIP and that reducing the "bandwidth saver" to 30 (or to 50) has not helped.

They'll walk you through a serious of tests - a speed test, a Ping test, and a bandwidth test (I think there were three tests) to determine the nature of the problem. The conclusion will be that your latency is much too high (mine was 250 rather than 100) and that your bandwidth is no sufficient (mine was 63 vs. 90). Provided you get someone who knows what they're doing, they'll adjust your "packetization" (love that word!) and your voice quality (which you've probably already done. Within an hour or so my voice quality was almost normal.

Caveat: right after I spoke with Vonage I called Qtel and read the guy (a "supervisor") the riot act. They continue to claim that they're "investigating the problem", but when I told him I knew Qtel had been messing with the available bandwidth he seemed to acknowledge it. Who knows. . .

Anyway, give Vonage a call and see if it helps. It's a long phone call - a good 30 minutes - and you need to be able to focus on the computer. Having kids around while you're on the call is not advisable because you'll need to focus on what they're asking you to do, read to them, etc.

OH - and my cordless phone was dying so I asked him to call me on my Doha land line in the event of a disconnection. . .he seemed willing to do this, though we never had to test it.

Good luck everyone!

I'm definitely holding onto it. . don't give up yet :)

(But call them and make a fuss!)

bummer...Vonage was my window to the world as it exists on the other side. Thanks for the feedback though.

It is now functional, but it sounds like everyone is underwater. You can definitely have a two-way conversation, but it is somewhat labored because the gurgley voices seem to step on one another more than normal. I'm not about to cancel it at this point, but I do hope that Qtel owns up to changing their settings.. .and changes them back. Every time I call they say they're "still investigating to find the source of the problem". My source is a Qtel employee, who tells me that Qtel knows *exactly* what the problem is. . .grrr.

Expat S. I left Doha 1st week of August and at that time Vonage was as good as not having it at all. People on the forum have reported "some" improvement. What has been your experience? Any improvement at all over the past few days? Is it now functional to the extent of atleast having a two way conversation?

You got it right, Bilabong.

Qtel denies having anything to do with it, but "sources" tell me that they reduced the bandwidth for all VOIP because people had opened what amounted to "call centers" here in Doha.

If you call Qtel they'll have you adjust the "Bandwidth" setting in your Vonage "Features" (log into your Vonage account). This does *nothing* to help. I keep calling every couple of days to ask them about it. They are well aware that Vonage customers are ticked off, but perhaps if we continue to bother them then they'll do something about it.

I have also heard that Qtel can correct the issue on a customer-by-customer basis. I don't know whether or not this is true, and Qtel (not surprisingly) continues to deny it.

If your Vonage is not working. . .call Qtel and complain LOUDLY. Ask to speak to a supervisor. Ask to speak to the supervisor's supervisor. ..

Expat Sueno...Is Vonage working now? I am currently out of the country and have been reading on the QL forums that Vonage (and other VOIPs) have hit the bucket due to some jazz by QTEL.

The best option is the free option....

Buy 2 netbooks (2 x QR 1500 = QR 3,000)

Put a netbook at both ends....talk your hearts out for free....if you plug in a USB WiFi Phone its as good as the cordless phone!

there are 101 VOIP software and payment options Skype is the most costly. Yahoo too has Yahoo Messenger with Voice

I love, love, love Vonage. It is on the blink right now, but otherwise it has been great for us. Yes, Skype is free, but for US$31/month you'll find it worthwhile to not be tethered to the computer. I use it almost every day - no kidding. You'll find that you friends/family are more willing to contact you if they can just pick up the phone vs. sit in front of the computer, too. I've used Skype all of twice since I've been here.

Vonage does have int'l plans that you can check into for making calls to India/Pakistan. I know that there is one plan for which UK calls are included as "local" - or pretty close to it, anyway. (I seem to remember that they're free on that plan, but don't quote me on it.)