Skype access could be returning to UAE soon

BLOCKED SITE: UAE users could soon be given access to VoIP sites like Skype. (Getty Images)

UAE residents longing to regain access to popular internet phone service Skype could eventually see their wish granted, the head of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has announced.

Mohamed Al Ghanim, director general of the TRA, told Arabian Business that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services had been unlicensed in the UAE since the TRA began operations in 2004.

“Customers and even those (VoIP) companies think that we are blocking them, but we are not blocking them – we are putting a process together for those companies to be licenced and this will take some time. There are challenges associated with it.

“When we licence a company in the UAE, we make sure they have a presence, so if you pay your bill and the company does not provide you with a service, there is a way to recover your money. Customers need to be protected.

“There are many issues to be considered. For example, some of those companies provide very bad voice quality. If you are providing telecom services you have to be licensed as per the UAE Telecom Law," he said.

Popular website Skype allows users to make cheap international phone calls via the internet, rather than fixed phone lines.

Al Ghanim said the TRA was developing a framework for VoIP providers.

“Once we finish our work, then these providers can come to the UAE. We are working on it and we will announce it in due time.”

Meanwhile, Etisalat and Du are licenced to provide some aspects of VoIP services to their customers, he added.

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READERS' COMMENTS

VoIP
Posted by Jack, Abu Dhabi, UAE on Thursday 11 September 2008 at 18:46 UAE time


You can still set up web connect like calls using products like AIM Call Out. It calls one phone then connects it to the other. So that you are not using the typical PC to phone set up. Its a novel way at getting low rates. Plus the quality is pretty good!

TRA nonsense
Posted by Clay, Dubai on Thursday 11 September 2008 at 09:53 UAE time


TRA blocked all voip services since 2004 and its taking them 5 years to come up with a "framework" and licensing procedures? How bold they are to come up with an unbelievable reason like this! I say WHATEVER!! I will continue to use voIP through other means!

Ditto on all the comments below
Posted by Aadil, Johannesburg, South Africa on Wednesday 10 September 2008 at 22:12 UAE time


I agree entirely. End the Telecoms Duopoly.

Skype for the masses
Posted by Graham Plater, Munich, Germany on Wednesday 10 September 2008 at 18:44 UAE time

Come on, Andy - the "hard working people" you mean are not very high on the UAE agenda. They're treated as disposable and not as a valuable "human resource" deserving appreciation or, dare I say it, respect. The first time I saw Wafi, visions of ancient Egypt sprang to mind - and history repeats itself whichever building site I see...

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