http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20050719\ACQBIZ200507190932BIZWIRE_USPR_____BW5510.htm&symbol=vper&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&selected=VPER&selecteddisplaysymbol=VPER&coname=Viper%20Networks%20Inc&logopath=&market=Other%20OTC&pageName=Company%20News&kind=&mode=basics&formtype=&mkttype=&pathname=&page=news

this non bahamian company claims it is setting up shop here, but how can that be since the PUC sais it is a $300,000 fine for anyone to sell VOIP services in the bahamas ..???

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20050719\ACQBIZ200507190932BIZWIRE_USPR_____BW5510.htm&symbol=vper&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&symbol=&selected=VPER&selecteddisplaysymbol=VPER&coname=Viper%20Networks%20Inc&logopath=&market=Other%20OTC&pageName=Company%20News&kind=&mode=basics&formtype=&mkttype=&pathname=&page=news

this non bahamian company claims it is setting up shop here, but how can that be since the PUC sais it is a $300,000 fine for anyone to sell VOIP services in the bahamas ..???

Apparently they have registered the name of the company and have a local Bahamian contact, but they cannot be touched by the PUC until they sell their first system in The Bahamas.

Perhaps what they are trying to do is gain a bit of publicity, while having no intention of actually using their "local" business registration to sell systems. I do not think that anyone will pay them any attention though, especially with companies like Vonage (http://www.vonage.com), Packet 8 (http://www.8x8.com), and Skype (http://www.skype.com) (whose free software now features a phone number service for only $52 a year).

The PUC is fighting a losing battle on this one in any event, for they cannot stop Bahamians from signing up for US-based services. The law states that it is illegal for local businesses to provide and sell VoIP. The PUC has no jurisdiction in the U.S.

The PUC is fighting a losing battle on this one in any event, for they cannot stop Bahamians from signing up for US-based services. The law states that it is illegal for local businesses to provide and sell VoIP. The PUC has no jurisdiction in the U.S.


This is a great explanation. It was what I was querying about all along (in RL that is). Thanks YB. :heartbeat

Ah...loopholes, where would we be without them!

check out how he sais its "illegal". Does anyone in the government know how to use a computer???

http://www.thenassauguardian.com/national_local/303657037713942.php

They still can pick up the slack if they want to. Like I've said many times before, all they have to do is offer an all-inclusive package - phone/internet/unlimited long distance to US & Canada/plus reduced rate to the rest of the world. They can do that for $150 a month and still get a lot of customers to buy into it. That rate can be reduced or raised to suit different market segments quite easily, and it locks consumers into BTC. Add a free cell phone account(s) to the mix and those packages will sell like hotcakes.

The all-inclusive package can be done quite simply, but they are probably so busy charging these insane rates (despite the 70% drop in prices) that they don't pick up on it. I can't wait until dual WiFi/GSM phones come out into the mainstream at the end of this year. Then I can make local calls for less than 10 cents a minute on my cell phone and free calls to the US and Canada when I'm in range of a WiFi signal! :shhh:

Mark my words, the WiFi/GSM phones will be the next thing that they will be complaining about in a year or two. Bradley Roberts needs to shake up BTC from the top down and put some young, fresh blood in that company. It's the only way they'll ever survive! Anyway, I know that their Batelnet people know about all of this new tech coming out, so why is BTC laggin' behind so much?

They still can pick up the slack if they want to. Like I've said many times before, all they have to do is offer an all-inclusive package - phone/internet/unlimited long distance to US & Canada/plus reduced rate to the rest of the world. They can do that for $150 a month and still get a lot of customers to buy into it. That rate can be reduced or raised to suit different market segments quite easily, and it locks consumers into BTC. Add a free cell phone account(s) to the mix and those packages will sell like hotcakes.

The all-inclusive package can be done quite simply, but they are probably so busy charging these insane rates (despite the 70% drop in prices) that they don't pick up on it. I can't wait until dual WiFi/GSM phones come out into the mainstream at the end of this year. Then I can make local calls for less than 10 cents a minute on my cell phone and free calls to the US and Canada when I'm in range of a WiFi signal! :shhh:

Mark my words, the WiFi/GSM phones will be the next thing that they will be complaining about in a year or two. Bradley Roberts needs to shake up BTC from the top down and put some young, fresh blood in that company. It's the only way they'll ever survive! Anyway, I know that their Batelnet people know about all of this new tech coming out, so why is BTC laggin' behind so much?
Boards! a bunch of politically appointed cronies,that have been keeping govt. corps. in the dark ages from time eternal. :screw:

Boards! a bunch of politically appointed cronies,that have been keeping govt. corps. in the dark ages from time eternal. :screw:

That makes sense, but what good is a board if you have a bunch of "yes men/women" on it? That's why certain services in this country will always remain stagnant and out of date - They don't want to appoint the people who will tell them that what they are doing isn't working and how to fix it.

My patience with some things in this country is wearing real thin.

Here's some updated info.

If anyone is experiencing "problems" downloading SKYPE from the www.skype.com website, just go to http://www.download.com and download it from there.

What is Skype-In?

With SkypeIn, you can get your own, regular phone number. So if your friends who aren’t using Skype want to call you by dialing a regular number, you can still receive the call in Skype. No matter where in the world you and your pc/laptop are.

Plus, you dont have to worry about missing calls when your pc is off or internet is down because you get a free voicemail account as well!

Correction: I stated an incorrect yearly price for the phone number from this new Skype-In service. It's $32 a year for a US/UK/China/Denmark/Sweden/France/Finland/Poland/or Estonia number.

BTC, are you listening yet? Time to partner with one of these companies and provide that all-inclusive local/long distance/internet/cellular package before it's too late!

Yorick,
Great information. I use skype without skype out and call people all over the world who have the skype program for free. Its fabulous. I'll soon get skypeout service and save tons of money. BTC needs to wake up and upgrade Bahamians to world class first grade, inexpensive services like skype. Why don't they develop their own VOIP service. That would be truly illuminary for us in the Bahamas. Can we compete on this level? I don't think so. Keep up the good reporting of information Yorick and others.

Change has got to come to the Bahamas.

gemmanyah

Yep, never been able to download skype from skype.com ... always download.com, think it might be a cable thing??

i know one thing, the Taiwanese love Skype :-)

Yep, never been able to download skype from skype.com ... always download.com, think it might be a cable thing??

I called and asked them yesterday, but they said that they aren't blocking that website in any way.

After someone told me about the download problems I checked it out and also found that the account interface almost always "times out" as well. My next step is a quick email to Skype tech support.

Scratch that email to Skype tech support.

I was able to download Skype successfully from www.skype.com by using an offshore proxy. The problems with the web interface were also solved. This means that there might be a filter of some kind in place at Coralwave...perhaps "accidentally on purpose"?

That bothers me.

thats what i figured .. thankfully we have download.com :-)