UAE to lift ban on internet telephony from December

[Krazy]

Internet telephony to be opened next month

Dubai: The UAE is to lift a ban on internet telephony or Voice over Intenet Protocol (VoIP) from December, according to the latest announcement by government officials.

Gulf News earlier reported that the VoIP might be allowed later this year.

Reuters Arabic and Albayan this week quoted officials from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority as saying that the ban would be lifted to allow the two licensed telecom operators, du and etisalat, to use the technology.

The news follows earlier hints by the TRA in October that it was considering lifting the ban.

VoIP is a means of transmitting telephone calls over the internet for little or no cost to consumers, a technology which has proliferated in recent years with free-to-consumer VoIP providers such as Skype and Net2Phone.

The reports say the TRA will publish VoIP rates during the GITEX expo running from November 18 to 22.

[Naz UK]

Publish VoIP rates? I hope this is for ringing landlines, and not VoIP to VoIP calls. Otherwise it would defeat the object.

[smussuw]

havent u heard Naz?

Du CEO said that fixed phones rates, which are free within the Emirate, have to be raised to give them the chance to compete Etisalat.

and guess what, Etisalat and Du agreed on that and the new rates would be issued soon.

only in the UAE consumers are the last people to benifit from competition.

[Naz UK]

Well then they (Etishite and Du) can go f*** themselves!
I for one will be looking for ILLEGAL ways to use proxies to get past the ban. If they (the imbecilic backward camel jockies) wana stop me..they can.

[dubaiflo]

you'll be back in the UK faster than you can say "Naz_Dubai" .. don't fuck with Etisalat..they already fuck you

[Alle]

Viva La Technologia (or something). Would be a more progressive decision to let other companies introduce their solutions. When u already pay for broadband and there is technology for calling through it, why not.

[Naz UK]

Originally Posted by dubaiflo

you'll be back in the UK faster than you can say "Naz_Dubai" .. don't fuck with Etisalat..they already fuck you

It's already in hand. Cheers Samir!

[ragga]

I have heard a few rumors... one is that, it is only for local calls, and the other is they are going to be charging over 200 dhs per month.... supposedly... lets see what they come out to be.

[Emirati_Girl]

what about using this program??

This letter is from Skype blog..

After a recent trip to Dubai, we have received a huge number of enquiries from citizens in Dubai who wish to use VoIP.

Would you (or anyone else reading this) be prepared to test the operation of our service in Dubai?

The test would be to download a free Mobiboo account from www.mobiboo.com , install one of our soft phones on your computer (also available from www.mobiboo.com) and make a test phone call to 199.

You can have a look at our website to see who we are www.mobiboo.com

If you want to call me you can, on +44 7911 246600

Thanks

www.mobiboo.com


i think this is working as what some ppl say..

[Krazy]

No immediate plan to lift ban on internet telephony

Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Communications and Chairman of Emirates Post, said yesterday there are no plans to lift the country’s ban on Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone calls.

VoIP enables users to make phone calls via the internet.

This service is free when calling other internet phone users and cheaper than dialling conventional landline or mobile phone numbers and many expats are keen to see the ban lifted to reduce the cost of calling back home.

“Both du and etisalat will be badly affected by the introduction of this service here,” said Mansouri.

“This is a decision that has to be decided by them, the government and the users.

“We are discussing it and at the right time, through the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) we will take the decision.” Mansouri said nothing has been finalised yet about ending free landline calls within the UAE, ahead of the forthcoming launch of du, the country’s second mobile phone network.

“It is a matter of balancing the cost operations of du and etisalat. If they come to us with a convincing argument that we need to do that, we will look at it.

“We will make the decision that does not jeopardise the phone operators the private sector or the individual.” Mansouri said Emirates Post will be offering an initial public offering (IPO), but said a date has to be agreed, with the company set to undergo restructuring first.

Emirates Post is looking to expand into overseas markets, but cannot do so as a government organisation. He also said the introduction of doorto-door-postal delivery service was still on the agenda.

“The UAE is a growing market.We need to have some kind of stabilisation in the construction situation in Dubai, Abu Dhabi so that we can organise coding to provide this service.

“It is very important to look at needs of our clients. Many people prefer to receive mail from a PO Box rather than at their homes.

“With the traffic problems, with all other issues, it is not something we want to start right now, but in the future.” Mansouri said a home address postal service could be introduced in the other emirates before being expanded to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

He said the prospects for postal services in the UAE and the world remains good despite email largely replacing conventional letter writing and said the internet had actually fuelled demand at Emirates Post for direct mail services, with companies keen to exploit its address database.

“The solution is diversification into other services.

Mail delivery did not start as a letter transaction business, but for money transfer. If you look at the wagons of the Wild West that is how they used to transport money.

“A lot of postal services, including the UAE, are going back to that side of the business,” he said.

“The UAE, with a large expatriate population, has focused on money transfer business. It provides a substantial income to the UAE postal revenue.”

[Naz UK]

Why am I not surprised?...

[Krazy]

Free calls banned in free zones

he telcoms provider that supplies internet services to users based in Dubai’s Free Zone and Emaar residential buildings, DIC Telecom, will block voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phone calls from the end of this month.

VoIP services - such as those operated by Skype - allow users to make free calls to other users over the internet, and very cheap local and international calls to landlines and mobiles.

Such services are banned elsewhere in the UAE, but not in free zones - such as Internet City - which have different rules on web use. The UAE's state telecoms operator Etisalat and newcomer du are both thought to be considering launching VoIP services.

The move, briefly outlined in an SMS message to customers yesterday, is being made in order to comply with the UAE regulator’s instructions.

The full text of the SMS sent reads: “As per TRA instructions, starting Jan 07 we will prevent the ability to make PC to phone internet VoIP calls. For queries, call Customer Care on 04 390 5555.”

A customer service representative from the company said that this block will cover all forms of internet-to-phone voice calling, meaning consumer VoIP services such as Skype will no longer function properly anywhere in Dubai (Etisalat having blocked such services several months ago).

DIC Telecom’s owner, EITC (which operates under the brand name 'du'), provided Windows Middle East with the following statement today:

"Following specific instructions, du has selectively blocked VoIP calls on the du Broadband Internet Services. More specifically, VoIP calls made from the UAE using du Broadband Internet to a PSTN or mobile phones are blocked."

The statement continued, "Other VoIP calls such as those from a Personal Computer (PC) to another PC worldwide are not blocked. Calls could also be received from overseas Internet users; however, this service could vary depending on other countries’ VoIP policies."

EITC was unwilling to comment on whether it will offer its own consumer VoIP solution once its internet services are up and running.

[malec]

How the hell will they ever fill all the business bay towers if this is the way they force business to be done.
Another step backwards for the uae

[ragga]

Mine is still working... pm me :-)

[docc]

Friggin backward dumbasses!

[dubaiflo]

sure. idiots.

worst thing etisalat and du tie up now.
but then again PC to PC is still working and they are going to lauch their own VoIP service.

[DubaiMarina]

Do Skype work in Dubai? Some say yes and some say no.

[ragga]

It works in some areas, in most areas NO, howver in a few weeks they will be completely locking down all areas.

[Anjam]

When I am in Dubai I VPN back to my PC at home in the UK, SKYPE works fine. Wouldn't work direct.
I am sure there is a lucrative (may not be legal) business plan there somewhere!

[ragga]

you do illegal things in the UAE you will run into major problems... thats the only fear.