Abu Dhabi - Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director-General at the General Authority for Regulating the Telecommunications Sector (TRA), said VoIP services "require approvals from UAE's service providers".
Published: Wed 13 Apr 2016, 12:00 AM
Updated: Wed 13 Apr 2016, 6:58 PM
There are no plans to unblock free VoIP services, featured on Whatsapp, Viber and Snapchat in the UAE, a top official has told the FNC.
Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director-General at the General Authority for Regulating the Telecommunications Sector (TRA), said VoIP services "require approvals from UAE's service providers".
He was responding to a question raised by Saeed Saleh Al Remeithi, an FNC member from Abu Dhabi. "Why are VoIP services prohibited in the country, despite the fact that there are many countries that still provide the free calling services?"
Al Mansoori replied: "Some countries stopped these services and some are considering to stop."
He also pointed out that VoIP would continue to be prohibited due to security reasons.
Apps that allow free calling are blocked in the UAE. Most recently, telecom operators blocked the newly introduced voice and video calling features on Snapchat 2.0.
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