Middle East

SPOTLIGHT: UAE to liberalize VoIP regulation

Doug Mohney — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:21:48 -0400

The United Arab Emirates telecom regulator should decide by the end of year to allow international phone calls via VoIP. Currently, telecom operators can only provide domestic VoIP calls. The director general of UAE's Telecommunication Authority expected to upgrade VoIP regulation to include international calls for licensed operators by the end of the year. A plan is expected to allow local and international companies with a local presence to provide VoIP services after being licensed.

For more:
- Qatar's Peninsula says UAE may ease Net call rules

SPOTLIGHT: Israel greenlights VoIP over WiFi test

Doug Mohney — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:36:17 -0400

Israel's Ministry of Communication has granted a special license for a "marketing experiment" to deliver domestic fixed-line phone services using VoIP through a WiFi hot spot.

Under the license NSR Ltd is providing VoIP through end-user equipment, including a WiFi "interface." The experiment is supposed to examine "participants' motivation" to use the service, plus operational and marketing aspects.

Last week the Ministry published a document on amending the country's wireless LAN policy draft on hotspot telephony.

For more:
- Cellular-News UK reports on Israel's changes in WiFi VoIP policy

SPOTLIGHT: VoIP calls legal in Qatar; resale needs license

Doug Mohney — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:39:20 -0400

The Supreme Council for Information and Communications Technology (ictQATAR) has said the use of VoIP technology in the state of Qatar is allowed. However, the telecommunications laws on the books make it illegal for any person to provide services to the public for either a direct or indirect fee without a license from ictQATAR.

Currently, the only two VoIP licensees are Qatar Telecom and Vodafone Qatar. A "large number" of Qatar residents use VoIP to make cheaper or free international calls and it's OK to use VoIP services, but selling VoIP calls or services to either the public or businesses is a no-no without a valid license. Skype seems to fall into a gray area, with personal use OK.

The ruling hasn't shut down Internet cafes in Doha from offering phone services to the public.

For more:
- Gulf Times reports on Qatar clarification on VoIP legality

Related articles:
Living with VoIP in the Middle East
Net2Phone drops prices, gets credit for breaking Kuwait VoIP blockade

Living with VoIP in the Middle East

Doug Mohney — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:48:19 -0400

IP telephony has been bad news for many Middle Eastern carriers, but regional operators also stand to gain from the technology, says CommsMEA reporting from VoIP World 2008 in Dubai.

With pent up demand for cheaper international calls and growing regulatory reform the across the region, the Middle East and Africa present a huge opportunity for VoIP. It doesn't hurt that there are over 130 million consumers using VoIP and international VoIP minutes already account for 21 percent of total international minutes in 2006. By 2010, VoIP minutes are expected to exceed circuit switched minutes.

Fuelling optimism in the Middle Eastern market is the rapid growth in Internet users and telephony competitive environments in Bahrain, Jordan, Turkey, Palestine and Algeria. Over the past two-and-a-half years, VoIP has captured 60 percent of the international minutes in the Bahrain market and about 40 percent of the revenues.

VoIP services offer immediate costs savings as compared to legacy technology, says one carrier, allowing incumbent operators to mitigate potential losses in a fully competitive market. Savings comes from less labor and decreased capital expenditures to maintain legacy hardware. On the other hand, a transition to VoIP can be painful for an incumbent carrier that may lose both market share and revenues. Staff reductions can also cause problems with unions.

For more:
- Living with VoIP in the Middle East by CommsMEA

Related articles:
Net2Phone drops prices, gets credit for breaking Kuwait VoIP blockade
Cape Verde, South Africa Advance VoIP