When you think about the UAE you probably end up thinking about tall buildings, extravagant shopping malls, fancy cars as well as a lot of other things that come together to make this country one of the most fabulous places to live at least if you look at its outward appearances. However, one thing that a lot of people don’t know about the UAE is that you can’t make WhatsApp calls while you are in the country. Not only this but calls made over most Voice over Internet Protocol services such as Skype are also blocked and banned.
The official reason that the country gives for this is that VoIP services don’t follow the regulations the cover communications in the country, but it is widely understood that the main reason why WhatsApp calls are banned in the country has to do with the fact that the state owned telecommunication companies charge users exorbitant prices in order to make calls and access to free calling via the internet is the sort of thing that would cut into the profits that these state owned enterprises generate.
However it seems like all of these problems that people are facing while trying to make calls via the internet are soon going to become a thing of the past. According to Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, executive director of National Electronic Security Authority who recently talked to CNBC, UAE has been collaborating with both Facebook and WhatsApp and thus the country is planning to start allowing WhatsApp calls soon. Gulf countries have been trying to modernize for quite some time now and a big part of this has been embracing the advances made in telecommunications through the internet. The UAE might be a little later to the party, but the fact that WhatsApp calls are no longer going to be banned is probably going to be something that brings the people living there quite a bit of peace.
Photo: DPA picture alliance / Alamy Stock Photo
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The official reason that the country gives for this is that VoIP services don’t follow the regulations the cover communications in the country, but it is widely understood that the main reason why WhatsApp calls are banned in the country has to do with the fact that the state owned telecommunication companies charge users exorbitant prices in order to make calls and access to free calling via the internet is the sort of thing that would cut into the profits that these state owned enterprises generate.
However it seems like all of these problems that people are facing while trying to make calls via the internet are soon going to become a thing of the past. According to Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, executive director of National Electronic Security Authority who recently talked to CNBC, UAE has been collaborating with both Facebook and WhatsApp and thus the country is planning to start allowing WhatsApp calls soon. Gulf countries have been trying to modernize for quite some time now and a big part of this has been embracing the advances made in telecommunications through the internet. The UAE might be a little later to the party, but the fact that WhatsApp calls are no longer going to be banned is probably going to be something that brings the people living there quite a bit of peace.
Photo: DPA picture alliance / Alamy Stock Photo
Read next: WhatsApp brings fingerprint lock for Android
