Now, make video calls in UAE for just Dh5 a day

Dubai - A low-cost plan will make the app attractive to cost-conscious consumers.

UAE residents can now make voice and video calls to their loved ones for just Dh5 for the whole day - and that too legally.
Launched by Yzer Group on Wednesday, the cloud-based message app Yzer offers automatic translation, video calls, voice calls, texts, group chats and more to the users. The app can be downloaded from Google Play Store (for Android) and App Store (for Apple).
Du's mobile users can subscribe to Dh50 a month and Dh5 per day packages, while home WiFi users will have to shell out Dh100 a month to enjoy the VoIP service. It excludes the five per cent value-added tax.
The single-day package of Dh5 will be attractive to cost-conscious consumers and blue-collar workers in the UAE.
Etisalat subscribers will be able to use this messaging app in the near future once the two companies sign up.
Osman Sultan, CEO of du, said the company is open to every app that is compatible with the UAE regulations.
"Yzer is a partner and we don't see it as a competitor. We welcome it because our partners have extra features. Translation is an added value. We are a channel partner and we want to offer as many possibilities to our customers as possible," he said.
The UAE is now seeing the entry of third party voice over internet protocol (VoIP) service providers, giving more economical options to the residents to make audio and video calls.
Currently, VoIP is blocked in the UAE, but local telecom providers have introduced their own apps - Botim, C'me - to make international calls.
The app currently supports 16 languages for chat translation including Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Farsi and others. Urdu, Malayalam and Bengali will be introduced in the near future.
Commenting on the launch, Alibek Issaev, Founder, Chairman and CEO of YZER Group, said "We are confident that we have developed a promising and technologically advanced product, and are thrilled to introduce such a dynamic product to the UAE. Moreover, the interest in the product from such a large player in the UAE market shows the high potential of the application not only in the region but also globally."
Dubai-based businessman Balvinder Singh Sahni (popularly known as Abu Sabah), partner and Co-CEO of YZER Group, has acquired a 10 per cent stake for Dh400 million in the Yzer Group.
"This investment is not just an investment into an application, it is an investment towards the future of UAE. I see this as an opportunity that will be a key driver in bringing people and businesses closer. This application has every chance to become the most popular means of communication globally," said Sahni.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com