Regulator backs VoIP phone calls

Qatar’s telecom regulator said on Sunday that it is legal for private individuals and companies to make telephone calls using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, cheering homesick expats amid rumours that the service is illegal.

The Supreme Council for Information and Telecommunications Technology (ictQATAR) said that any person or business within the country may use VoIP services for voice calls for their own use, but that businesses can’t sell VoIP calls or services to the public without a license.

The only two companies currently licensed for that purpose are QTel and Vodafone, The Peninsula wrote on Monday.

The ictQATAR statement is seen as a set back for QTel, the incumbent telecom provider for domestic, international fixed line and mobile services in the country, the newspaper wrote.