UNBELIEVABLE. Instead of pushing telecom companies towards more innovation and lower prices for consumers, the TRC, the supposedly independent body that is charged with regulating the Jordanian telecom market, is busy ORDERING ISPs to try to stop the Skype free telephony service and to CENSOR its site.
The letter above, sent by the TRC to Batelco proves our worst fears. I found this here. It originated from here:
Skype Journal: Jordan regulator blocks Skype.com:
I called the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, and they confirmed that they had ordered it banned, for “security reasons” responding to concerns of the government of Jordan. Most folks here don’t believe this ridiculous justification; they believe that the state communications companies are upset about losing long-distance customers to Skype.I’ve been told that complaints should be directed to the director of regulatory department of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, Dr. Al-Ansari. His email address is alansari.almashagbah@trc.gov.jo. The contact information for the commission is on the attached fax; Dr. Al-Ansari’s extension is 2300.
So.. While the Jordanian government is trying hard to promote Jordan as an forward looking, liberal, business-friendly country, our telecom regulator is issuing military style decrees to Jordan’s ISPs. The ‘security’ excuse is ridiculous. If security is a concern why not go ahead and ban the whole internet. We can go back to using fax machines.
I really believe that each Jordanian internet user should complain to his/her ISP and the TRC. The damage they are doing by trying to ban a modern telecom innovation is immense.
Comments
16 responses to “Who wants to take Jordan back to the dark ages of telecom?”
we are so pathetic, aren’t we?
man, u never comment on my blog
It’s ok, I know u might be busy to comment on a silly one
Well, this is not as easy and simple as some would like to think of it.
You see, Skype is not free! No matter what people say about its free PC-to-PC calling, or its one year free calling to landlines and mobile phones plan or how cheap it is when you buy credit, it’s still not 100% free. So this company is making profit, and is ironically in direct competition with the companies that facilitated its entire existance; telephone and ISP companies.
In most countries, phone companies were the first ISP providers. They built the infrastructure of wires and land lines that people could use for internet. These companies had to establish a pricing model based on the number of subscribers to telephone lines, and those who subscribe to internet services too.
Then comes this new technology of VOIP. The companies that sell this technology don’t have to lay down any wires, they don’t have to do anything because it’s already been done for them. All they have to do is write the software and for the few who actually sell VOIP phones, make the simple hardware. Their costs are very small, so they can charge very little. But is that fair for the ISP’s and telephone companies? The ISP’s built their pricing model on exchange of data. Now they find other things being “smuggled” down the pipe as well (voice). The telephone companies laid down the infrastructure, and now they’re gonna loose their customers because of the infrastructure they made available?
I think ISP’s and phone companies have a good reason to fight this. It’s not really realistic of people to expect other companies to build their entire business model on the assumption of the presence of this big internet infrastructure and end up robbing the people who made it available of their customers and to have it all happen without a fight.
I’m not saying VOIP is bad, or prices should be high. I’m all for doing things for lesser cost, but there is a big shift in paradigm here and surely companies in countries like Jordan can’t cope with it easily and come up with the new pricing models that would enable them to survive. So you end up with this.
Hmm,
I know how frustrating this Bully-Style order is,
and I know it might affect us a bit, but I seriously
think there are security measures they are trying
to control.
I mean, radical groups would be able to contact
overseas without being tapped whatsoever.
I don’t know,
it’s quite a complicated issue. I personally never used the Software
it’s blocked here at the Uni…
omar
I think that we should “complain” for this stupid decision.. I thought about emailing Dr. Al-Ansari, but I think we can think of a better way.. any thoughts on that ?
Hey Moey.. I hardly comment on any blog at all. I really have no time.
And BTW I think your blog is cool..
Hamzeh N.
I don’t think what you’re saying is correct for the situation under discussion. I think you’re talking about the issue of net neurality that is raging these days (that some telcos want to charge more for traffic on their network).
In Jordan we are being already overcharged for the bandwidth we get. And the bandwidth is metered for goodenss sake! So they really have no right to start blocking services or censoring site.
Everything we send is data. Nothing is getting ‘smuggled’ here.
This is simply misguided and greedy bahaviour.
Omar,
Please don’t buy too much in the ‘security’ thing. Radical groups using Skype. Give me a break. There a dozen alternatives. Thy could even build their own applications.
The security excuses (if it truly was mentioned) is just ridiculous. If they are serious they should ban email and text chatting as well (good luck with that).
Issam..
We need to complain and we need to start talking to industry leaders..
This is very serious.
Next thing we know they will be censoring youtube and google video for their competition against jordan tv.
Good investigative reporting Ahmad.
This decision is akin to outlawing fax machines. The spirit behind this decision is dangerous and if it becomes the norm, it will spill over to other tech areas and possibly retard the forward movement of IT in Jordan (is if it were not bad enough for jordan to lose the IT lead to other Arab countries. But that’s what happens when you have people without vision calling the shots.
I think everything boils down to money making when it comes to such decisions, even if security is given as a justification.
Here is another scam that is committed in the name of security. A number of express mail delivery services, such as DHL and ARAMAX, now intercept your incoming goods, even if not commercial, and charge you a fee to clear it. They make money out of the clearance fee, even when the goods are deemed non-commercial and non-taxable, and they say the interception is for security reasons.
The office of the Audio Visual Commission also intercepts films even when there is no commercial value and no plan to screen those films commercially or otherwise in the public. They will almost always release the film but will charge a clearance fee.
It’s about money making and it is rarely about security. Because in the case of Skype, there are alternative cheap communications and phone calling schemes that are hard to intercept or to block without blocking the internet or using supercomputers. Most are low tech and can be found on the web. Heck you can get freeware PGP software and communicate more safety than with Skype. Security my ars.
If true that Skype was banned because of security concerns, then this is consistent with the comment I hear often that in Jordan, Jordanian are smarter than their government. This is a product of lack of democracy and transparency. The official establishment wallows in stupidity, and the people just marvel at the harebrained regulations.
Ahmad, yeah here in the US it’s known as net neutrality. Telecom companies want to create tiers of service and charge differently. I look at it as these companies’ way of coming up with a new pricing model, but of course the plan’s biggest problem is that it gets rid of the neutrality of the internet. Privacy advocates oppose it, and CEO’s of companies like Skype oppose it too but for different reasons (the chiching $$$).
It’s the same issue I’m talking about (try googling skype and net neutrality), but like I said companies in Jordan are incapable of producing a tierd solution like the telecom giants in the US want to do by themselves, so you end up with them resorting to banning domains.
If ISP’s are overcharging in Jordan then that is a separate problem that can be addressed separately. You can argue that it’s unfair that the TRC is jumping on the companies’ side against Skype and is not doing the same with the consumer who’s being overcharged. But so far, in all the stories about this issue in Jordan, have you heard anyone say it that way? No, it’s only been “they’re stupid! They’re dumb! They’re thieves! They’re corrupt! Don’t do it!”. We need to know how to address problems correctly.
Hamzah, you missed the TRC response to David M. DeBartolo. The TRC says it’s a matter of security not money. Are you saying you wish to undermine our security for a cheap phone call? Where is your patriotism dude? (kidding)
jajaaj (good name
), in Jordan there’s a tendancy to blame anything on others. If you ever had a business at a governmental office and it didn’t go smoothly, and in the end you managed to gather enough leverage (a nice word for wasta) to make it go smoothly, the always apologitic people at that office will try as much as they can to blame it on those who can never be held accountable (it’s an easy way out), by saying “e7na bteejeena el ta3leemat wo bel nafez ya baik!”.
Granted there might be security concerns here and using technology such as Skype’s might be a way to get past the security measure (ethical or none) even if for a while. But I believe, like so many here do, that the real reason is money.
And I argue that even there, ISP’s and phone companies have a point that’s worth discussing.
This is the good old Jordan that we almost forgot existed. It shows there is not single person in the TRC or the MoICT with vision farther than his nose.
This is very pitiful. All the efforts and work put into the REACH initiative which was supposed to lift us out of the dark ages of IT and Telecom. They better call it “SHOVE” not REACH, then it would have an more easily attainable objective.
HOT FROM JORDAN’S REGULATORY OVEN:
TRC considering banning email and fax to boost declining revenues for the Jordan Postal Service.
Seriously
So France Telecom is now a big decision maker in the country. They have bought the only fixed telecommunication company and now they want to kill competition. This is globalization and free market the Jordanian way.