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.

Your comments

It is ridiculous to use only two licensed providers!
S Walk
Dubai,UAE

It's a good move by the government. The lifting of this ban will help many middle class and low class people to call up their families and loved ones abroad and talk to them more frequently. Cheers to the TRA.
Simi
Sharjah,UAE

I believe the announcement was to allow VoIP for local calls only. They are still considering opening the service for international calls.
Samer
Dubai,UAE

Hooray! I applaud this ruling. I will be able to resume my calls to my mom and daughter in the states for those necessary long chats without paying the exorbitant etisalat rates.
Pamela
Dubai,UAE

Great news, but let's wait and see what the rates are going to be and how they are going to be applied.
Shuaib
Sharjah,UAE

"The reports say the TRA will publish VoIP rates during the GITEX expo running from November 18 to 22" So they say they will allow VoIP, but then mention publishing rates in November. Does this mean that they are actually only going to allow du and etisalat to provide the service, or will it be a free market where Skype et al will be available?
Derek
Dubai,UAE

Better late than never. Could someone tell me why this ban was imposed on Skype calls?
V Nambiar
Dubai,UAE

Does that mean they'll allow Yahoo and Skype to be used? If not there is no use of opening voip as the rates are going to be decided by TRA and rules will not allow them bring down the rates as low as competitors.
A Gafoor
Sharjah,U.A.E.

It's a very good idea but it has to be inline with other providers elsewhere in rates and services.
Jassim
Dubai,UAE

I hope lifting the ban will enable us access to programmes like Skype.
Murali
Dubai,UAE

This is a very good news for us expatriates as now we can talk to our loved ones back in our country for longer time. With normal phone we can not afford to talk to them for a long time due to high telephone bill. So thanks a lot to UAE officials for the same. May Allah bless them and make them think more about poor people.
Julius
Ras Al Khaimah,UAE

It will boost commercial business activities.
Maksoom
Dubai,UAE

This is good decision finally taken by etisalat. Everybody uses Voip calls anywhere through Internet. I support it.
Anwar
madinat zayed,uae

This is very good, but they need to give licenses to stores who have these systems. It should not just include the net cafes. It should be legalised.
L Hussain
Dubai,United Arab Emirates

They should remove this now - why wait till December?
N Mohammed
Abu Dhabi,UAE

If Dubai is ready to compete like cities like Singapore etc, then it should be a democratic change in policy in all fields, especially for all in the Internet VoIP sector.
B Fernandes
Dubai,India

Nice move, in this technology the UAE was going slow when countires like Bahrain have gone far more forward.
Sooraj
Dubai,U.A.E

Lifting the ban is a positive step forward for all people. As the world progresses and changes, if we fail to change with it, we will be left behind. Many major counries already allow it, allowing both rich and poor easy access to information, and communications with family and friends worldwide.
Ismail
Jeddah,KSA
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