The UAE is notoriously known for not allowing citizens to make use of the call feature on apps like Skype, WhatsApp Viber, Tango and more. Due to security reasons, UAE is one of the very few countries that doesn’t endorse this particular feature. But this might soon be changing. From what we hear, the country is considering removing the ban on the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) for WhatsApp alone. This will make WhatsApp the only free app to have VoIP applicable in the UAE.
Why Is The Ban Being Removed?
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the UAE put the ban in place back in September 2017. The only applications to have VoIP in the UAE currently are Botim, C’me and YzerChat. They are currently in talks to have the ban removed from WhatsApp though. The executive director of UAE’s National Electronic Security Authority said that the country has partnered with technology platforms on the subject of the country’s security initiatives. Speaking to CNBC, he said, “The collaboration now happening with WhatsApp has increased and we are working on many aspects. (We are) collaborating here in the UAE and in many of those (aspect) we saw a very good understanding of the concept. There might be a lift of that ban for (WhatsApp) voice calls or broadcasting of many of the things that they do.”
Also Read: 6 Reasons Why Your UAE Visa Can Be Rejected
Microsoft has also been in talks with the TRA to have the ban lifted from Skype as well. This comes as good news for the citizens of the UAE who have been using government-sanctioned applications until now. Removal of the ban will mean that people will be able to make free calls to family, business partners and more who are based abroad. We hope that the new law gets implemented soon as it only spells good things for the residents of the UAE.