Can you use these down there with the local phone/internet company? Or is there a work around. I read somewhere that people were using their computers to place calls like we do here in Oregon. I'm coming down in Jan for good and need to figure something out.

Thanks

Generally you need to route via a VPN to avoid the block that officially has been lifted but which still seems at least partially in place. The simplest way to do that is to use a phone service which inherently routes via your computer, and run the appropriate VPN software on that computer. Skype is one of those services, and certainly seems to be the market leader world-wide. I daresay there are others. Vonage is different in that (usually) it doesn't route via a computer, so applying a VPN becomes technically more challenging. Not impossible, just harder and more costly). If you use their "softfone" service I believe that does route via a computer, but I'm not sure because again it's more costly. But Skype is free to implement, free to use to call another person on Skype, and cheap to call a standard phone line. Just remember that you don't (usually) have a phone number to give to people.

I am sending a majic jack down to someone to try after Christmas. In theory it should work, but as per their website you must set the majic jack up in the states before taking it abroad. Once they get back to Belize, all they have to do is plug it into the computer and they should have a state side number that we can call. Will it work? Lets hope so, but only time will tell. I will update once the unit gets down to paradise.....

I should add, I already own the majic jack so this is a really low investment test....

Because it is SIP-based, it will work only in conjunction with a VPN service - as Peter has mentioned.

Please stop posting specific workarounds on this site, you just give BTL ideas. PM it if you want but don't post it.

Officially BTL is out of the blocking game.....

Let's hope so, because blocking VOIP/VPN is ILLEGAL! They will NEVER mess with me!.....NEVER!!





--------------------------------------
"I only fish on days that end in "y"

Does that mean that Vonage will now work in Belize without a VPN?

Er..... not exactly.

So what did you mean?

Skype has not been working today!

I sent you a PM earlier today...regarding Vonage. When you get a chance have a look at it. Gracias.




-----------------------------------------
" I only fish on days that end in "Y"

Please can anyone PM me if they know a good work around for Skype? We have always used this and are shocked to find it is STILL blocked here.

I have been told about setting up a VPN but am concerned there would be too much lag with this????

Why isn't more being done to campaign or protest about the very poor internet service here, and the blockage of Skype? I have never know anything like it, how the internet connection is so inconsistent (no matter what speed you have!), drops constantly, is ludicrously expensive considering how poor it is, and they can still get away with blocking Skype VoIP??!!!! I can understand corrupt Lord Ashcroft being greedy.....but why is the Belize government not trying to help it's country move into the 21st century?

A VPN will not slow things down at all and should prevent the blocking of Skype. The best VPN's cost about $49.00 annually.....well worth it.

Can anyone show me a demo of VPN and skype? I would much prefer to 'see it working' before I commit to a VPN service for VoIP.

Skype not working was a great disapointment for us when we where there, however, that being said, the actual connection itself was the worst I have ever experienced.

Without knowing much about VPN's as a way of getting Skype to work, I would be quite sure that a reliable internet connection would also be very important.

You should have a VPN service as a matter of course, to prevent people from reading what you're doing on your computer.

I was given an work around for skype - I have not used it but friends who do say it works.

If anyone wants it just pm me.

read on Belize Forums...

Thanks for THIS ARTICLE ! I've been in tech for 20 years and recently switched to a well paying remote position. In theory I can work from anywhere. So I decided to try this out and work from Belize for several weeks... here are my discoveries...

1. Internet is pretty darn stable. There are decent internet cafe's in most larger towns. The best I used was the office supply in Placencia and second, an internet cafe in Belize City that used some cable satellite dish. The cafe's are good, but can get loud-ish. Terrible if your trying to have business calls.

2. Regretfully I used my mobile phone (an iPhone 3G) for most calls. BTL was perfect and never dropped a call. My caller-id worked great back to the US. I'm scared to see what my bill is going to be.

3. I found the internet pretty darn good in most hotels. Hotel Mopan had a good signal (once they fixed it due to some power surge that knocked them out for a few days). I stayed in a cabin in Placencia where the owner/associate had DSL. It worked, and I got to execute my dream - working right on the beach. I only got nervous when the power went out once or twice - didn't last long though.

4. I brought double power supplies and double important cables as I use a MAC. Next time I go I'll bring 2 MACs. The computers there are fairly old - you see the tech people in the internet cafes fixing 5 year old systems (maybe older). If my MAC with it's fancy VMs died, I would be stuck - need redundancy.

5. No Skype AND even worse, no PPTP. Major drag, but seems like a tunnel will work. I didn't try it but people recommended this. This was the thing that made me most nervous. Also what sucks is I can't bring down my VOIP desk phone. They filter VOIP traffic. I figure the tradeoff is BTL with no dropped calls as they are raking it in.

6. Wi-Fi can be touch and go. We are spoiled in the US with good, cheap, Wi-Fi routers. Some peoples routers in Belize were perfect. Others were unbelievable bad - like you had to be 5 feet from them. Some were mysterious and didn't work with some devices. Odd.

7. Oh and I was stuck in the airport for a few hours due to the normal delays. Had lots of Belikin to keep me correct till my next visit. Was pleased to have nice high speed internet in the international airport. Sucked when I got the $16 bill on my credit card.

Anyway, I was pretty nervous as first but my main VPN connection didn't use PPTP so I was lucky (uses some Java Juniper client). After that things got easier.

I'm building a house there and not sure what connection I will choose. Seems like Satellite gives you peace of mind but is expensive and low bandwidth. DSL is doable, need to tunnel. But Cable Dish would be the best - get TV and seemingly the best speed + tunnel.

Anyway, high tech workers can indeed work with a backpack and a Belikin in Belize (with some creative problem solving).

Keep us posted Marty, we are following in your footsteps!

Anyone familiar with this company? http://www.sdnglobal.com/overview.asp They operate all over the world including Belize, and supposedly even if they are satellite, can configure things so that you can use Vonage, etc....in addition to Skype, etc. I'm talking to a sales rep there, not cheap but worth it if you can share with others or are running a business.

Yes SDN is a very expensive service, similar to what the Oil Companies use.

For many years we have provided Starband, Idirect and also HughesNet service throughout Belize, Mexico and Central America (mostly Hughesnet). Sometime later this year we are supposed to have the capability of providing a newer HughesNet service that will carry High-quality Voice/Voip. We have a new FaceBook page in order to keep people up on the progress of this new system. The Facebook page is called " Satellite Internet in Mexico & Central America

For those of you that stay away from such websites please visit our consumer forum at DBSTV Consumer Forum

One of the exciting features of this new service is you may use your existing StarBand or HughesNet Antenna/Transmitter to switch to the new service when ready.

Thanks

Mel Berry
Houston Media Systems
www.dbstv.com

What is the bottom line - the cost of a reasonable domestic installation for internet (& TV) in San Pedro? Ball park numbers.

http://dbstv.com/new/images/b_hughesnet_consumer_pricing_sheet.jpg


** looks like they changed the site, this link is no longer valid.

When it comes to the VPN companies do your own research. Some are not as reliable as others and can be hard to get refunds even their service isn't reliable. Be careful with the free VPN services as they can load unwanted/unneeded software on to your PC/Laptop.

On a brighter note, there are a lot of good VPN services available that do work well here in Belize. I wouldn't pay more than $100 a year for a good service.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

So does magic jack work?

short answer, yes. if you want details PM me

I was reading about Magic Jack, elsewhere today. The home page advert says it is for long distance in US and Canada. Does anyone know if it is installed in Canada, if it can be used to call Belize?

I use my magic jack whenever I travel to call home to the US (most recently Costa Rica, it dialed just like a local call), I still can't believe how easy it works. I haven't tried it to call Belize, I've always used a calling card.
Since we have 2 feet of new snow this morning, I think I'll be staying indoors. I'll hook it up later and try to call La Isla Bonita. I'll post back the result!

Thanks pnut! I'll look forward to your response.

*

I tried the link to the pricing sheet and all I got was a thumbnail image

I'd be surprised if it didn't work calling to Belize. The issue is whether it'll work calling from Belize.

It does from Belize.

Does Skype for Android or iPhone directly through those phones? I'm having a whale of a time trying to sort it all out...

If you have a working VPN, when you turn the VPN connection on, it doesn't matter where you are at, once turned on you are "virtually" sitting at a computer wherever that VPN server is located. For example, if I'm in Belize and start my VPN connection to a VPN server that is located in the U.S., then I am "virtually" sitting in the U.S.

So if Magic only works for calls in the U.S. and Cananda and I'm on a VPN server located in the U.S. then it doesn't matter where I am physically located once the VPN connection is started, Japan, China, Cuba, etc... once the VPN connection is started I'm "virtually" located where ever that VPN server is.

Make sense?

Not all VPN protocols are the same. BTL will block the protocol that the iPhone uses for VPN connections if connected over the BTL data network. If at home, assuming you have a router with the capabilities, you can use Skype on your iPhone via Wifi if you have your VPN setup on your router.

I can't speak for the Droid but this is how it works for the iPhone.