It is a ban in guise. The Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) of UAE has asserted the VoIP market is open only for the incumbent telecom service providers, such as Etisalat and du. Thus, there is no scope for the other companies to enter into local market.
Al Ghanim, Director General of TRA was quoted while saying,
Some of the press misinterpreted our press release [regarding VoIP] by suggesting the technology would be opened up to all companies. This is not the case. It will only be Etisalat and du that can provide VoIP.
It is not a healthy trend. No competition means monopoly. The customers will be the ultimate losers since they will be left with no more options but to accept what is being provided to them.
The market should be liberalized for the growth of emerging VoIP technology. The regulatory authority will closely monitor the activities of service providers to prevent illegal VoIP.
