Some folks are having trouble with the BTL - Facebook connection this evening, is anyone else having that problem?

I wouldnt know, Marty. They booted me.

Yup

As far as I can tell almost everyone in the country I know hooked in through btl has been blocked from Facebook. I wonder what that is about. There are exceptions, which I don't want to state here as that would be giving away the secret!

Yep. They are trying to block the video chat is my guess.

That's exactly what I thought Simon. I'd suggest calling btl. The more people who complain, the better. I've called them. They said they know nothing about it and will call me back.

Just confirmed by testing that's what they are trying to do. Problem is that they have a techie working there who's big joy in life is finding ways to block anything they can but has all the work arounds for him/herself...

The more people who call and complain the better. 119. It's free.

The girl told me that I was the second call she received. She doesn't know and the manager is on break. When he returns...they will call their managers. Ugh. CODE RED! NO FACEBOOK!

This is really disgusting. It is no big deal to me as I just use it recreationally but I know so many people who use it to stay in touch with family and friends abroad. People really do need to complain.

It has nothing to do with btl as people think.. Facebook has been having a problem with a worm and is currently working to make the site better. Belize along with tons of other countries are currently not able to access the site:

http://www.facebookdown.com/

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Hori...45-000-accounts

So how come people in Belize who are not using BTL have no trouble accessing the site FyreDragn?

Very coincidental then that when I loaded work arounds (more than one) and was able to connect with no problem and then when I shut them down I couldn't load FB...

People accessing Facebook in Belize via cable not associated with btl, people on smart phones, people using 'get arounds' can all access Facebook. Anyone using btl directly cannot. As btl has blocked skype, google chat and many other pages in the past, why wouldn't they attempt to shut down the Facebook video chat service and through incompetence or for any other reason end up blocking Facebook as well. They certainly appear to be messing with video chat on Facebook, so it seems to make sense. Yes there is a worm problem on Facebook but that does seem to be a red herring in this instance.

Just curious; what is "Former U.S. Army OIF? 2 tours ?

What about those of us who never use video chat (I don't even use Facebook text chat) but use Facebook? This is just wrong. Fortunately I have a workaround but not everyone does.

They'd better fix this SOON.

BeBelize.This is my guess. They have a tech who spends their time blocking various things. There are and have been all sorts of btl blocks. This was probably a mistake. The tech may be the only one who knows what he has done or how. As they've actively blocked all other means of free audio and video chat, it would seem reasonable that they would do this eventually, but it has ended up with Facebook being blocked completely. Anyone not using btl is not affected. I'm sure it will be fixed and I have no doubt they'll use a recent virus scare as a cover story.

Me too. Thought it was a personal problem but I guess it's not. The strange thing is there's no problem with my Ipad.

I was unable to connect until I got Anchor Free to connect (for some reasons it was having issues too) which makes me think that it is indeed, btl blocking it. Or, at least, people who connect through btl are blocked.

BTL is the only local network provider out of Belize, other sources are based elsewhere and not in Belize. Other countries were able to access facebook. This also goes for those using VPN's to access the site (uses a different country/IP address to bypass the local country issues).

US Army OIF 2 and 5 (both 15 month tours) in Iraq + 3 years as a civilian contractor out of Iraq - Satellite Systems Analyst for a defense contractor.

Thanks, but what is "OIF" ?

Operation Iraqi Freedom

FyreDragn,

There are other get rounds than VPNs and they do not bypass the country. We could access via those means. Funnily enough, this morning Facebook video chat has been blocked. There is no reason to think that if they actively block Skype, google chat and have blocked other sites that they wouldn't block Facebook accidentally or otherwise while attempting to block video chat, which coincidentally is exactly what has happened.

Got it, Thanks !

No problem! Glad I could answer your question

I know.. VPN's are the most commonly used. Onion routing, proxies, Satellite internet, 3G hotspots (which typically use nearby providers), Setting up your own SSH server, Anonymous Browsing (proxies), and more.

I could see BTL blocking video chat, but its not a coincidence that other countries at the same time were not able to access Facebook as well.

FyreDragn, but not everyone in Belize was blocked from the site. Also, Facebook goes down intermittently all the time in various parts of the world. I don't think yesterday was much different, just that people are aware because they were looking for it. All interesting stuff. I'm open to the idea that btl wasn't behind it and there are some things I like about btl, but given their history with VOIP and the manner in which the site was blocked - as well as the blocking of VOIP through Facebook starting this morning, I just don't know. We'll probably never know anyway.

We have never had any problems connecting to Facebook from here until last night. Slowness, yes, but inability to access, no. Fortunately I don't use the chat service, so that won't bother me. Glad to find Facebook accessible again this morning, though, whatever the reason it was down!

I don't use the chat service nor do I use the video chat either. I use Skype chat, Yahoo, or MSN if I need to and use a work around for Skype calls if needed. I was also able to access FB by using a VPN last night.

According to the Mayan's 2012 perdictions Facebook is the just beginning of pandomonium leading to the 21/12/12 melting of the earth's crust.

LOL Buzzard...and the world will continue to carry on just fine without Facebook!

Awesome, Elbert!

Good laugh here, Elbert...that is what I am talking about! Too funny!

Heheh, I posted your picture on Facebook (gave you credit). It just had to be seen there too...

video chat is disabled

Like just about everybody else with common sense, I can't understand BTL's obsession to block VOIP: It doesn't bring more business (telephone calls) because VOIP conversations would not be done on telephone. VIOP usually replaces email and on-line chats. It is just like stone carvers trying to ban (that devilish) paper when it was invented in ancient times.

All they accomplish is holding an entire nation hostage and keep modern technology that is available everywhere in the world from the Belizean people and businesses. Just imagine what a boost VIOP could give to our failing economy in terms of communications by just catching up with the rest of the world.

When BTL would use their energy end resources to improve, rather than sabotaging their, often poor, services they would make more money too! And I am not only talking about VIOP but also about Smart. I for one would immediately connect to their internet services when they allow VIOP for starters and I am not alone.

I am not a Face Book addict and use it only when necessary but - that said - this morning I found it works fine and from what I read it was not a Belize problem - but all of Central America.

When we jump to conclusions we discredit ourselves when we have real grievemces.

ScubaLdy,

Facebook has worked fine since yesterday morning. You should have had no problems accessing it today. Facebook video chat has been disabled, as with other VOIP services that are available freely in other countries, but not in Belize. There was not an issue in Central America, though there was some problems in parts of Latin America. Belize, nor Guatemala were affected by those problems. I don't think anyone is jumping to conclusions. We're looking at BTL's record concerning VOIP, as outlined above by Short and asking whether or not it is likely that they could have been responsible for the most recent outage. We're also looking at other evidence, such as the fact that not everyone was unable to access Facebook during the outage in Belize, which indicates the problem was related to BTL - not necessarily intentional but possibly. The truth is we'll probably never know. You may not use Facebook a great deal but many of us use it for business on a daily basis as well as to communicate with family, friends and loved ones abroad.

I use it to make cheeky remarks :-)

Elbert, you? Cheeky? Never? tee hee.

Sorry Bud - but why else would they do it? Skype, Vonage etc came into Belize with a force in 2003ish. BTL saw their casual international phone revenue take a nose dive. Once it became clear to users that VoIP technology was stable/clear, BTL started to see their business revenue from international crumble. As a provider with a very low average revenue per user (from locals) and an even lower user base, this was a problem. Did you know that telco companies in Belize pay 19% GOB tax on all revenue? Imagine US$20 million leaving BTL in the form of VoIP switchers - which is a very reasonable number. Almost US$4 million in lost tax revenue. This is why the government has never done a thing about VoIP blocking...

I'm not saying it's right, but don't fool yourself. It is ALL about the money.

You know more than me about this subject, Caye Connect, so you must be right. We do use Skype and in my opinion most of these conversations would not have been done by phone. I do still think it would be better for BTL and Belize to stop the blocking. I have seen many potential residents who depend on internet for their business choose for another country to reside in only because of the internet situation in Belize.