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UAE Relaxes VoIP Position: But Only For Incumbents: UPDATE3 |
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Written by Adam Gosling
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Thursday, 02 November 2006 |
The United
Arab Emirates may be poised to ease its ban
on IP Telephony, but that mayonly apply to incumbent licensed telcos Du and
Etisalat.
According to this
report, which cites Gulf News, which cites Reuters (sorry I'm not willing
to chase that up for you) the UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA)
officials have said the ban will be lifted from December this year.
The relaxation is likely only to extend as far as licensed carriers,
keeping the likes of Skype out of the picture for the time being.
The officials said the TRA would publish call rates in
November.
Expatriates in the UAE (which make up some 80 percent of the
population) are already angered by the clamp down on access to Skype services which
many used to keep in touch with friends and family back home.
Though this decision may go some way toward making calls
back home cheaper, the services offered by incumbents are unlikely to match the
potential for free Skype to Skype calls many expats were used to.
The UAE is not the only country trying to shut down Skype.
In mid-September another Middle Eastern country, Jordan forced local
ISPs to block Skype traffic. Amid a hail of criticism the ban was in affect
for about a month, before the local Telecommunications regulator lifted the
ban.
That lifting came only a week before New York-based Fusion announced it
had acquired a licence to operate a VOIP service in the country and was establishing
Fusion Jordan as part of its global expansion.
UPDATE: Okay so it's not really an update, but its a confirmation. According to this news report the lifting of the VoIP ban has "not been decided in any way at all" according to an unnammed TRA source. The ban on Skype looks like it will remain even if the licensed carriers Etislalat and Du get the green light it is unlikely Skype will said the source.
UPDATE2: The Gulf News now quotes Reuters Arabic and Albayan as carrying a report that TRA Officials have now confirmed the relaxation of laws preventing the use of VoIP in the United Arab Emirates. However, reader comments note that this relaxation may apply only to domestic calls not international.
UPDATE3: Maybe this is a no go after all. Website AME Info now quotes the Minister of Communications, Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, saying there is
currently no plan to permit VoIP in the UAE. He says the country's
incumbent telcos would be 'badly affected' and a decision will be taken
at the 'right time' through the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA).
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