A couple of weeks back Fasttelco hooked me up with a product they have called Aloo ISDN. Aloo ISDN is a phone line to use when traveling which will allow me to make and receive unlimited calls to and from Kuwait for free. It’s a really great simple product but a bit complicated to explain so I will try my best to be very clear.
– When you sign up to Aloo ISDN, Fasttelco will provide you with a local number, in my case its 22200XXX (XXX because I don’t want everyone to have my number)
– Once you get the number you then need to download the free app “Media5” from the app Store and follow Fasttelco’s setup instructions. I am personally using the application “Bria” instead of Media5 but it isn’t free. Both these apps work on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
The product requires the internet to work so your device needs to be connected to WiFi or 3G/4G LTE. I used Aloo this past weekend while in Lebanon and I thought it was great.
Before I left Kuwait I forwarded my Viva number to my Aloo number so that any phone call I receive while in Lebanon I would get to answer using my Aloo number. You don’t have to do that but I found it easier than giving everyone my “travel number” and that way I also avoid getting calls on my regular number and paying roaming charges.
The product works. I didn’t have access to WiFi while in Lebanon but I did have a 3G connection. I used the Aloo number a bunch of times and only on one occasion did I have a connection problem but at the time I was driving on a mountain road so my guess is the 3G connection was dropping. Using the number is fairly easy. When you get a phone call the app would pop up and ask me if I want to answer the phone call. To make a phone call I just launch the app and either dial the number or find one from my contact book. I was actually surprised I was able to use the service with a Lebanese 3G connection since the connection in Lebanon isn’t that fast. If it works in Lebanon it should work even better in European countries or the States.
If you travel a lot and pay a lot of roaming charges then this product could save you a lot of money. For a regular number is costs KD70 the first year and then KD60 every year after that so unless you make and receive over KD60 worth of roaming calls a year Aloo is not worth getting. They also have more premium numbers, the number they gave me for example is a silver number and costs KD120 the first year, gold costs KD200 the first year, platinum 500, diamond 1000 and royal 5000. All the numbers then cost KD60 a year after that. If you’re interested in signing up or getting more information you can call Fasttelco on 1838485.
29 replies on “Aloo ISDN by Fasttelco”
nice. Do they provide a standalone device, for example for your home or office?
No idea, the product I got is meant to work with a smart phone and is aimed towards travelers
Lol Mark, why are you deleting my comments =(?
I’m a big fan of your blog and check it everyday.
You got to know that people sometimes disagree and thats just life. Its not like I’ve been insulting people..
Which comment? I didn’t delete anything
you can get the service buy a sip device for your home hook it up to your internet router and connect a regular telephone device to it. It will be a regular home phone. I have the same setup but with a canadian number. You dont have to travel to make use of it. When im in a wifi zone or Im not driving I use the service to save money on my voice line and not use up my minutes. So even in kuwait its a good service.
You can also configure with the sip settings on to your smart phone without using third party softwares(like media5 etc) which will make your phone to use it with normal phone dialer. (Compatible with smartphones with inbuilt sip functionality tried on Samsung s3.note2)
isnt this illegal? as voip is banned in kw
Thats a lot
you can have Skype or get a sim card which includes (data + line)
oh by the way Viber does the job as well :>
Al the alternatives you mentioned are completely different products. Skype and Viber don’t give you a local Kuwaiti number.
Plus ISPs such as the one providing Aloo is blocking Skype.
Skype isn’t Aloo’s competitor since Skype doesn’t offer a similar product
whats the difference between this service and tango or viber??? since all of them need an internet connection but even better they are free…
Those don’t give you a Kuwaiti number. Both parties need to be on the same application to talk to each other. Aloo works exactly like a regular phone line. People call u on a Kuwaiti number and u call back from a Kuwaiti number.
so how would that differ from Skype or any other Voip? they also can give u a number etc etc etc
Skype and VOIP are considered illegal by the Ministry of Communication and hence it is illegal to use VOIP at your establishment if u are a business or a government organisation. Skype website is blocked for everyone else.
Of course, all of the above has been done so people behind Fasttelco, Qualitynet and other service providers pocket our money.
And that is why the bastards are blocking skype. They would not allow us to connect with our family members for free and chat with our kids and loved ones and see them cam to cam because the blood sucking bastards want our few dinars.
الله لا يوفقهم ولا يهنيهم.
anything blocked in Kuwait is due to Ministry of Communications. And by the way, only the website skype.com is blocked. If you have the application it works fine
@ me : you can make unlimited free calls to any local mobile/landline ,also while roaming incoming and outgoing calls are free too.which makes unique from other voip services.
So basically FT is offering you a phone number; because everything else is available (for a lot cheaper) from other VOIP providers.
Here is a free tip – Skype isn’t VOIP, and neither is Viber.
Not really. 70KD a year is less than what I pay for my voip plan for my canadian number
Bingo, you deserve a prize.
So, he did get the number right? 🙂
Qualitynet already have this service now it’s called qcall:
https://www.qualitynet.net/?page_id=5779
it works on Symbian, IOS, Android, windows mobile which pretty much all smartphone devices. I tried it out while on travel and life couldn’t be more easier 😀
Does it have caller ID? do you get a message when ur offline telling you what calls you missed? What does it say when you someone calls you and ur offline?
It works like your regular phone so caller id works. Not sure what message u get when you’re offline, probably not available or something.
you could use “zoiper” istead of media5 or other apps..its way faster and easier and better to use..
How does it compare to Bria? The advantage I found in Bria is you can download an extra codec that does an amazing job at compression so that when you’re over 3G you don’t notice a drop in quality or signal.
quick question. what is the domain for aloo on bria? thanks
For your information,
The ministry has stopped this service from being provided by ISPs.