212 arrested for providing VoIP

Author

All Replies

tazzman

join:2009-03-27
Garnavillo, IA

Oman - 212 arrested for providing VoIP
ShareThis Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:50:39 -0400

MENAFN has an article by Rahima Al Balushi on the arrest of 212 people in Oman for providing VoIP services.

Excerpt from the article:

(MENAFN - Times of Oman) The Royal Oman Police (ROP) raided 121 cyber cafes throughout the country and arrested 212 people for providing illegal Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoiP) service, a senior police officer said here yesterday.

Many cyber cafes and individuals were found using VoIP technology to provide cheap international phone services to customers, resulting in huge losses for local telecommunication providers, the officer said.

Speaking to Times Of Oman, the officer, on condition of anonymity, said: "Around 212 accused of various Asian nationalities have been arrested since the beginning of the year till October 26."

Of the 121 cases, Muscat reported 42, the highest. "Nineteen cases were reported from Al Dakhilyah and Al Batinah, 18 from Dhofar, 16 from Al Sharqiyah, four from Al Dahirah and three from Al Wusta," the officer said.

"Most arrests were made after the Directorate General of Inquiries and Criminal Investigation was tipped off about people using Internet and some technical devices to sell the cheap calling cards," the officer said.

to forum · permalink · 2009-11-18 20:31:11 ·

yahoo

@rogers.com

It only helps to reinforce stereotypes that these countries are stuck in the dark ages.

to forum · permalink · 2009-11-20 14:27:52 ·

Trev
IP Telephony Guru
Premium
join:2009-06-29
Victoria, BC
kudos:3

If the US telcos had their way it would be just the same in the USA. The only difference is that the telcos on this continent haven't lobbied (or perhaps bribed) as well as the Oman telcos have.

It's not about living in dark ages, it's about corporate greed.
--
Wondering what I do? Find out at »www.digitalcon.ca

to forum · permalink · 2009-11-20 14:34:31 ·

IanR

join:2001-03-22
Madison, NJ

reply to tazzman

Re: 212 arrested for providing VoIP

Notice the police were seemingly careful NOT to arrest a single Omani. Given that it's difficult to operate any business in the Trucial States without a local sponsor it shows the value of a holding the right passport.

to forum · permalink · 2009-11-20 16:11:33 ·

burgerwars

join:2004-09-11
Northridge, CA

reply to tazzman
Thanks for the info. I'll be careful about using VOIP the next time I'm passing through Oman.

to forum · permalink · 2009-11-20 18:35:12 ·

PX Eliezer
Premium
join:2008-08-09
Hutt River
kudos:12

Reviews:

·callwithus

·Callcentric

·voip.ms

·Vitelity VOIP

·Optimum Voice

·Gizmo5

4 edits

UAE on left, Oman on right, easy to make a mistake, border is in red, note the concrete border marker

said by burgerwars:

Thanks for the info. I'll be careful about using VOIP the next time I'm passing through Oman.

You have to be careful where you step. The borders are messy.

Oman (Muscat and Oman) never did join the UAE.

Within UAE territory there is actually a piece of Oman called Wadi-e-Madhah.

And to confuse things further, within Wadi-e-Madhah (which as we said belongs to Oman), there is an area belonging to the UAE called Nahwa.

So some would say that Wadi-e-Madhah is both an exclave and an enclave, and it surrounds Nahwa which also could be considered both an exclave and an enclave.

IIRC, there are few places in the world where an enclave is within another enclave.

And let's not forget Oman's larger exclave, Musandam, of vital importance these days because it partly controls the Strait of Hormuz, off of Iran.

(Sorry, folks, boundaries have been a lifelong interest of mine).

to forum · permalink · 2009-11-20 18:45:11 ·

pandora
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Outland
kudos:1

Reviews:

·ooma

·Google Voice

·Future Nine Corp..

·Comcast

reply to tazzman

Better to be arrested or taxed to death?

In the U.S. we'll just regulate small VOIP providers out of business, keep the cost of entry high, then tax the heck out of any company foolish enough to survive. Aren't we a superior nation.