Non-Licensees Remain Prohibited by UAE Government from Offering Telecom Services despite Etisalat's Recent Actions

Etisalat may have stopped blocking Skype in the United Arab Emirates, but the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced this week that only Etisalat and Du can provide telecom services in the Middle Eastern nation.

That includes Internet telephony.

“Non-licensees are prohibited from offering telecoms services, and the TRA stressed that this policy has not been amended,” the agency said in a statement quoted by Telegeography.com.

“As to what the licensees have done in unblocking Skype’s website in the UAE, this action does not change the position of the TRA or amend the policy as this service is considered a Regulated Activity, therefore, it must be provided by a licensee,” the statement added. “Should the service be provided through a partnership with a third party, both Licensees must seek approval to provide such service after fulfilling the regulatory and technical requirements of the TRA, which has not happened in the case of Skype. VoIP services through Skype are still unauthorized.”

This means that mobile-to-mobile or mobile-to-landline calls remain blocked in the UAE, according to the Gulf News.

The nation’s telecommunications law and the VoIP policy govern the issue. TRA has not changed the nation’s policy on VoIP since 2009.

“The situation with reference to VoIP topic remains unchanged. That has not stopped us from offering unique VoIP solutions to our customers,” Du told Gulf News in a recent statement. “We are taking into consideration the growing customer interest in the VoIP area and are working on a few solutions for the UAE market.”

Users may be able to enter the Skype website as well as download the Skype application, MobilityTechzone reported.

On Monday, Etisalat said on its Facebook page that it had unblocked access to Skype's website, according to Reuters. Last week, Etisalat announced it unblocked access to Skype's website, but later deleted the tweet.

Overall, VoIP’s popularity is forcing fewer restrictions.

"It is becoming less sustainable to maintain restrictions on VoIP because the way people use communications is rapidly changing," Matthew Reed, an analyst at Informa in Dubai, told Reuters. "So there is an argument that it's better for operators to find a way to work with over-the-top internet players such as Skype, rather than forlornly trying to fight market trends."