Q-Tel doesn't plan to stop VoIP in Qatar
The Peninsula is reporting that local telco Monopoly Q-Tel isn't planning to block VoIP access in the country. Thousands of expats in Qatar use VoIP services such as Skype, Vonage and Yahoo Messenger to keep in touch with family and friends back home. Blocking VoIP would almost be inhumane (especially given how much profit Q-Tel is reporting these days!).
And hey, VoIP is just data on the network and we're paying Q-Tel for bandwidth anyway!
Full story below via The Peninsula:
DOHA • Even as Internet telephone services have become popular in the country, a senior official of Qtel said yesterday that there are no plans or proposals to block or curtail the facility so far.
An increasing number of residents are now using either PC-to-PC or PC-to-telephone facilities to make international calls, since they are much cheaper compared to the Qtel charges. Outlets offering the service have sprung up all over the country, catering to mainly low and middle income expatriates.
Talking to The Peninsula yesterday, Qtel Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Al Thani said, to his knowledge, there is no proposal currently under consideration to curtail the services.
"Our Internet service is basically designed to access data and not make phone calls. So if there is so much traffic on the Internet lines, people trying to make calls may face interruptions. This has sometimes led to rumours that Qtel is deliberately interfering in the service," said Sheikh Fahad.
Asked if the popularity of the service had affected Qtel's business, Sheikh Fahad said: "Anyway, we are not losing since people are using our Internet lines to make the phone calls."
