Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Discussion

Senior_Paper_Monitor

Yes there are ways around the Etisalat 'blocking' - but Etisalat also work surprisingly hard to identify these and extend the blockage.

I have stressed all along that my comment is 'general user level' and not a techy version - I suspect the term 'proxy server' will be beyond the majority of readers of this thread.

I can assure you that 'Skype in' was blocked by '3' for delivery to their mobiles - having thown away a considerable investment in a website/business model when it was discovered and confirmed at fairly senior technical level after lengthy and vitriolic investigations. I will be happy to check whether that has changed tomorrow (time - and '3's somewhat difficult to navigate access to anyone with above a minimal technical understanding - permitting) and report back accordingly - unfortunately we have just let our 'Skype-in' facility lapse on renewal, as we did for the '3' contract when it completed its 18 month lock in about three months ago, so I can no longer run a direct test. Please note I am talking about 'Skype in' (i.e phone number delivered to Skype - in this case via 3) not the basic 'Skype to Skype' service, which I have never suggested does not work (other than being of variable quality) on '3' or elsewhere.

As to my 'UW Rep' status - I don't hide it and have explained my fairly neutral (i.e 'not active' - reasons for that full explained on this thread) stance on the UW products/value. I have posted herein on the areas of which I believe I have some relevant experience/qualification (i.e CCL/data protection issues and telecoms), usually when there is an incorrect 'factual statement' waived around or some level of confusion - as in this 'is it VOIP?' issue.

I take some offence to Mr Noedel's inference that my posting(s) are driven by a 'UW promotional interest' (but based on the history of this thread and its trends will not be losing a lot of sleep over it).

... and now to Cardew's response which arrived while I was typing the first bit ......

The article to which you link states within its introduction ...

" Skype uses a proprietary Internet telephony (VoIP) network. The protocol has not been made publicly available by Skype and official applications using the protocol are closed-source. IRRELEVANT TEXT REMOVED. The main difference between Skype and other VoIP networks is that Skype operates on a peer-to-peer model, rather than the more traditional server-client model.

The Skype network is not interoperable with other VoIP networks. Numerous attempts to study and/or reverse engineer the protocol have been undertaken to reveal the protocol, investigate security or to allow unofficial clients."

.... this is exactly what I was trying to explain in my earlier postings - these definitions to most people mean that Skype is not a true VOIP application (the actual issue being questioned at the time was whether the UW product was or wasn't VOIP - which it is).

Can Skype be flaky ? Yes - that is based upon considerably testing within my previous international company/industry which were telecoms dependant and within my current somehwat more modest 99% UK based operation in a totally different line of work - despite this I went to some length to set-up a Skype based ('Skype-in' rather than 'Skype to Skype') business model which, as explained earler, 'crashed and burned' because the '3 Skype service' could not support it. Any vitriolic comment in my previous post with regard to this was clearly aimed at '3' (whom I consider to be the 'spawn of the devil') rather than Skype.

Is Skype acceptable for general (in particular, personal) use ? Yes (and I have clearly said so)

Is Skype to Skype free ? Is Skype to/from Landline reasonably priced ? Yes (and I have never said otherwise or commented on its pricing or UW's)

Is the UW product technically stronger than Skype ? Yes, as is virtually any true VOIP product (including your BT application).

Have I promoted or recommended one 'across the board' solution as better for everyone ? No - simply answered a couple of questions and given any one who cares to consider my information as even partially valid some further options/considerations to take into account when making their own decisions.

1carminestocky

'Banana VPN'? 'Proxy server' Etisalat 'blocking' I haven't a clue what the last few posts are about, TBH, and I suspect the vast majority of the GBP wouldn't either.

Anyway, back to money saving. My monthly consumption figures are in:

Gas 729
Electric 421

Including the phone line/unlimited broadband/24/7 calls element and after taking into account cashback card and referral discounts, my total monthly bill for the 4 services I take with UW should come in at under £45. As we are frequently informed this is the gas and electric forum (although a new reader would be confused reading this particular page, lol), if we strip out the phone/broadband/calls element which I'm convinced everyone would agree that £24.99/mth for unlimited broadband/phone line rental and all calls is more than competitive, the cost of the gas and electric would come in at approx £20.

I'm assuming we would also all agree that Cardew is currently paying the cheapest tariff rates of anyone in this thread on account of him paying these rates for the last 4+ years on his fixed tariff? Quick calculation reveals that I would be paying approx £50 this month on that tariff for my gas and electric consumption alone. I would then need to add phone/unlimited broadband/calls to that.

For customers like me, what's not to like about UW?

janninew

Why is this thread so quiet now? Where are all the regular posters at? I miss my daily read of the same arguments over and over again!!

Cardew

janninew wrote: »

I miss my daily read of the same arguments over and over again!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y

janninew

Cardew wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y

Thanks for that! Very funny!! :rotfl:

Cardew

janninew wrote: »

Thanks for that! Very funny!! :rotfl:

Oh no it wasn't!!

Hit thanks in error;)

janninew

Cardew wrote: »

Oh no it wasn't!!

Hit thanks in error;)

Yes it was funny!!

You can thank me now you know, I no longer use UW for gas/electric!!

Senior_Paper_Monitor

Well, I said I would check with 3 about Skype-in when time permitted - not so difficult as I expected due to an insomniac night generated by the 'snore fest' being held adjacent to my 1/4 share of the bed and '3' now fessing up on their FAQ section. I quote .....

"Skype on 3 is a free internet service that gives you free Skype-to-Skype calls and free ‘chats’ (instant messages) from the UK to other people who use Skype in the UK or around the world. You can also make low-cost international calls and chats with Skype ‘Call Phones Abroad’ to people who aren’t using Skype, whether they’re on a mobile phone or a landline. To use Call Phones Abroad you'll need Skype credit, available from www.skype.com. With Skype on 3 you can also see your Skype contacts and update your status.

The main differences between Skype on 3 and Skype on your PC are that Skype on 3 doesn’t support video calling, SkypeIn, Skype SMS (texting), Skype voicemail or SkypeOut to UK landlines and mobiles."

....... which is what I clearly stated my post 8844.

Incidentally, with regard to the 'blocking' of Skype by certain countries, in particular UAE (and the ongoing 'block/workround/block battles) some may find the following thread of interest ...

http://www.pprune.org/middle-east/266153-etisalat-skype-uae-telecom-issues.html

Cardew

I don't think anyone was disputing your statement about 'Skype on 3'. I didn't even know the service existed.

The salient point for most people is that Skype is excellent for free calls to other Skype users around the world. - with Video asd well.

If you want to use Skype to a landline, most international calls are 1.2p a min.

Senior_Paper_Monitor

Looks like a dispute (albeit not yours) to me .....

"Quote:

Originally Posted by Senior Paper Monitor
Also be warned that if trying to use 'Skype in' with the '3' mobile Skype offering - it is blocked. It does not work.

A further possible problem for some is that some government owned networks (in particular Etisalat - who are the monopoly provider in the UAE) are now blocking Skype - because of potential loss of revenue.

Funny that, it works perfectly for me and did so when I was abroad,"

As reards your "salient point", I quote the relevant items from my posts, namely:

"Skype has a real place (primarily in the personal market)"

"Is Skype acceptable for general (in particular, personal) use ? Yes (and I have clearly said so)"

"Is Skype to Skype free ? Is Skype to/from Landline reasonably priced ? Yes (and I have never said otherwise or commented on its pricing or UW's)"

Exactly what is it you are argueing with me about about (with the possible exception of whether Skype meets the generally accepted industry term of VOIP - and your referred article confirms it is at least 'different' to ther VOIP technologies)?

What really makes a mockery of this thread as an exchange of useful information is the apparent need for exponents at the opposite ends of the 'UW is good v. UW is bad' argument to immediately leap on anything that they see as supporting the other faction (often, as in this case, without apparently reading the actual comment to see what it really says) and trying to rubbish it by whatever distortion they can manage.

I will clarify this one more time (and then retire to do something far more useful):

There are small technical differences between Skype and what we can call 'most other VOIP applications' - these really do not effect the layman user one jot and he/she has no need to understand them.

I believe that for the majority of personal users Skype is an excellent and low cost (although not necessarily the case at the Skype-pro and Sype-In end of the spectrum incidentally, particularly if used as a full telephony solution).

I have some doubts that Skype is a good total solution for many business users - this is for both technical and image reasons (the latter might be improved if the '3/Skype-In' solution was available). I have in my past existence used Skype as an additional component for key staff (often travelling) to speak with each other and regular support customers and I can see many possible circumstances where similar uses could be made primarily with established customers rather than new/potential ones).

The UW VOIP system is in my opinion technically (therefore reliability and sound quality) better than Skype.

UW VOIP has to be set up (I think this can probably be done direct to a wi-fi connected laptop but have not tested this yet) to a router - there is no totally portable (such as the '3/Skype' package) alternative so picking up business calls on the road is not necessarily easy.

I am not offering price comparisons - as this will vary dramatically depending upon the type of activity (primarily who you are calling or being called by) and the details of an individual's account with UW.

I can really see no way that I have previously or currently "promoted" UW or any other provider on here - I just try to provide balanced information to make their own decision.