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If you use the phones here alot you already get busysignals and every other from BTL except the call going through.

Interesting quote from Mark Espat, Minister of National Development:

"Mark Espat, Minister of National Development
"We all know that VOIP is not illegal in Belize and it should not be made illegal. Forty-nine countries in fact have legalised VOIP. What is illegal is B.T.L.'s blocking of VOIP. VOIP has emerged because of the exorbitant cost of long distance calls, in fact B.T.L. itself employs Voice Over Internet Technology and should offer this service to Belizeans at globally competitive rates. B.T.L.'s ownerships appears to be clinging to the past mainly to protect profits, but the march of technology and the tide of personal freedom that brought us from the Morris Code to the Telex to the fax machine to the email cannot and will not be halted. And so the Public Utilities Commission is oblige, I believe, if they are to remain relevant, to defend the interest of the consumers including the tourism related consumers.""

I saw this on another message board:

"There is one way to get at BTL if they continue the VOIP blocking: Move your accounts from Belize Bank. See how much money Mr. Ashcroft is willing to lose on the Belize Bank side in order to halt the march of progress in Belize."

Now THATS a good idea.

I am trying to read this thread, but my internet has shut down four times in the last twenty minutes - thanks BTL!!!

Following Chris's idea, also move your internet connection to satellite or cable - BTL still get something from these, but less.

Does anyone with cable have blocking problems? Cable is routed through BTL so it would be a simple task for them to block cable access as well. Satellite sucks for VOIP unless things have changed in the last 3 years.

Chris - In your quote of Mark Espat he talks about the freedom that brought us from Morris code... I wondered what is Morris code until I realized he was talking about Morse Code. Named for Samuel B. Morse. I am old enough to have used it.
From wikopedia:
"Morse code is a method for transmitting information, using standardized sequences of short and long marks or pulses - commonly known as "dots" and "dashes" - for the letters, numerals and special characters of a message. Originally created for Samuel Morse's electric telegraph in the mid-1830s, it was also extensively used for early radio communication beginning in the 1890s. However, with the development of more advanced communications technologies, the widespread use of Morse code is now largely obsolete, apart from emergency use and other specialized purposes, including navigational radio beacons, and by CW (continuous wave) amateur radio operators."

Perhaps BTL will force us to return to its use.

Simon, When I first started using Satellite internet 3 years ago the speed was 70 kbs, about 3 months ago it went up to 80, and now I sometimes reach 95 for big files that take over an hour to download... (average speed). I've got no problems with Skype or VOIP Buster anymore; only with MSN Voice and usually when I'm also using the webcam.

BTW
There is hope for BTL users:

Skype 2.5 proves harder to block

http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsID=5946&pagtype=samechan

By John E. Dunn, Techworld

The latest beta version of Skype has been well received by enthusiasts, but one important new feature has so far been ignored - the programme is now much harder to block.

The development signals another round in the small but fierce war between Skype's designers, and the growing band of security companies that sell products to block the software on corporate networks.

According to iPoque, a German company that ranks as one of only a tiny number that claim to stop Skype using traffic analysis, the beta of version 2.5 had been overhauled in important ways by its designers to make detection more difficult.

Company CEO, Klaus Mochalski, confirmed that the anti-Skype filter used on the company's PRX Traffic Manager PRX-250 would have to be revised to take account of the changes, which had only come to light with the beta's release this week.

"Skype has changed the connection setup procedure enough to circumvent our current filter implementation. We are currently working on a solution," he said.

"The only thing we already know is that not only the protocol has changed, but it is also more difficult to identify." His company would be producing a workaround for customers as soon as possible.

The market for Skype filtering products is motivated by a number of concerns. Some worry about the programme's ability to set up encrypted tunnels allowing VoIP calls, file transfers and instant messaging sessions, all of which are undetectable without filtering. Others have pointed to its tendency to hog bandwidth in unpredictable ways, even when not in use.

As with any software, it suffers from its own security vulnerabilities too.

Two months ago, researchers Philippe Biondi and Fabrice Desclaux published a document (PDF) for the Black Hat conference which outlined the highly complex and devious nature of the software.

Among a number of worries highlighted was the difficulty of probing the software in the event it became prey to subversion by a Trojan or other malware.

With dry understatement, the pair conclude that Skype use on a network made a proper network security policy "hard to enforce".