# Good news for SKYPE in the UAE?



## Yoga girl (Oct 19, 2008)

Thought you might all be interested in reading this article in The National today. It seems we no longer break the law when we are using Skype...
Are things a-changing I wonder?:confused2:

Regulator loosens grip on Skype ban - The National


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## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

There's nothing about them not making it hard for people to use Skype though. Connections to Skype are sometimes a hit and miss thing.

Actually it says that it is an offence to use Skype BUT it will no longer tell Etisalat and Du to block the services. What this means is, it's still technically illegal but it will no longer force the telecom companies to block the service and leave it up to them to block if they wish. So Etisalat and Du can still block it and it's still "banned" but probably not actively enforced.


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

Interesting read but ultimately all the TRA are doing is passing the buck as to who is viewed as "the bad guy" in this whole VOIP thing. If they really want to make a statement they should just open up VOIP services and get it over with and stop living in the 90s.


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## Yoga girl (Oct 19, 2008)

Moe78 said:


> There's nothing about them not making it hard for people to use Skype though. Connections to Skype are sometimes a hit and miss thing.
> 
> Actually it says that it is an offence to use Skype BUT it will no longer tell Etisalat and Du to block the services. What this means is, it's still technically illegal but it will no longer force the telecom companies to block the service and leave it up to them to block if they wish. So Etisalat and Du can still block it and it's still "banned" but probably not actively enforced.


Reading between the lines in the press here is a skill... How can you be charged for an illegal activity on this basis? They can but enforcement is next to impossible.
Secondly, there has long been talk now of the Skype team setting up offices in the Middle East and more importantly their choice would be Dubai.
Third. The skype connection is bad because let's face it.... broadband is crap. Unstable and slow at the best of times.....!!!
Let's not forget the authorities here will never come out and say: we have backed down. Like they did with the Blackberry Ban... Notice how they "solved" it? It is all press and media wars and PR.

Conclusion: this region has realised the loss of money because of their high prices for international calls is too big to ignore. As a business model the way they run telecommunications is definitely not working well. They cannot be seen as progressive and in step with the times when the rest of the world is quite happily living in communion with Skype (and believe me telephone companies are not going bust, quite the opposite!!)

Small steps.. so that people (well known to believe things at face value and to have very short memories) won't notice the turnabout. Soon they will turn it into their own idea and allow Skype. I am prepared to bet on this.
Just you watch...


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## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

Yes that is true but it is still technically and offence as they say. They're probably paving the way for something to happen eventually so we might see Skype legalized but at this point they're really not saying anything much except that they no longer require Etisalat and Du to actively ban its usage/access here.

Skype is still being used regardless of the legality so I'm pretty sure they're going to find a way to capitalize on its usage as they have been saying for years that they will find a way to utilize VOIP legally.

So if Skype does establish offices here, they will probably be asked to monitor usage like was done with RIM.


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## suzeq (Sep 13, 2010)

I have Skype on my computer but it is not working well. I was told to get a VPN (I think) like hot spot shield but I cannot do it in Dubai. It says it's blocked. Is there anything I can do to make it better while in Dubai? Anothe VPN perhaps? Any suggestions? THanks!


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## Yoga girl (Oct 19, 2008)

The biggest problem is that internet connections are terrible and unstable especially since the beginning of the year!
There are other threads on this which have been closed down because Skype is still (and so is VPN) officially illegal in the UAE. It is never a good question to pose on the forum!


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

Hi, I do not share that broadband is bad. I had problems once but it was fixed and I am enjoying pretty good speeds. I understand some people are not happy with the service. Well gotta file complaint right I don't see any other option. Worse case file a complaint with the watchdog TRA

Also, TRA's decision in regards to VOIP does not help. They could have canceled the licenses. Why would the operators stop enforcing them ? Makes no sense.

Why would you sell a license to block a VOIP service and not block it ? With this news TRA just brings more confusion on the table unfortunately. As a business , I would not stop blocking VOIP because VOIP will ( and is) reduce (ing) revenues for these operators. 

When does the license expire ? If TRA is serious in eliminating the VOIP barrier they gotta say it clearly. The news is no news to me...


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

suzeq said:


> I have Skype on my computer but it is not working well. I was told to get a VPN (I think) like hot spot shield but I cannot do it in Dubai. It says it's blocked. Is there anything I can do to make it better while in Dubai? Anothe VPN perhaps? Any suggestions? THanks!


VPN is illegal in the UAE, hence please do not discuss on the forum. Thanks


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## suzeq (Sep 13, 2010)

Maz25 said:


> VPN is illegal in the UAE, hence please do not discuss on the forum. Thanks


I saw that after I asked and appologized once already. Sorry!


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

Is VPN actually illegal or the act of using it to bypass blocked sites? So if I use a VPN to surf to google am I committing a felony?


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## Ozpat (Dec 12, 2010)

As someone about to move to the UAE this thread is extremely concerning. If you cannot use Skype to video call to your home country, what do you use?


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

Hi Ozpat,

Using VOIP software such as Skype is prohibited by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the UAE. However Skype does work here, although people often report having issues. 

The use of VPN's is also seems to be prohibited since it allows bypassing blocked content (see below), having said that, many people use them but of course we must remind everyone that IT GOES AGAINST THE LAW and we also are not allowed to discuss those here at the forum. 



> Prohibited Content Categories
> 1. Internet Content for Bypassing Blocked Content
> This category includes Internet Content that allows or assist Users to
> access Blocked Content.


http://www.etisalat.ae/assets/document/blockcontent.pdf

Zin, I've actually tried finding the 'official' answer for your question for quite sometime but I haven't been able to. This issue arisen at my company a few months ago because if you read the blocked content policy (link above) it doesnt mention the word "VPN" however since it allows the access to blocked content is safe to assume the fall into that category. My work laptop used to have a VPN so that we could have secure email/internet/servers access, especially when traveling. However since nobody was ever able to find an official posture regarding this, or a paper that said that VPN's are allowed/not prohibited, they just decided to remove the VPN's.

Anyway, just a gentle reminder to everyone, due to the above we really can't discuss here how to access Skype or other blocked content, etc. as allowing those kinds of topics could mean WE eventually get blocked as well and we don't want that therefore no skype/blocked content/VPN discussions are allowed at all, even that often these topics fall in a 'gray area' (take for example that recent article regarding Skype being still illegal but not really blocked?? so confusing!!!


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## cami (Aug 11, 2010)

Ozpat said:


> As someone about to move to the UAE this thread is extremely concerning. If you cannot use Skype to video call to your home country, what do you use?


msn works great. it works so well (touch wood!!!) that my dad said i should reconsider spending money to go back home as he can see and talk to me every week for hours.


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## Ozpat (Dec 12, 2010)

cami said:


> msn works great. it works so well (touch wood!!!) that my dad said i should reconsider spending money to go back home as he can see and talk to me every week for hours.


LOL Thanks for that. You've settled me down again. I have a 9 year old boy who is incredibly upset about moving from his best friend. And his best friend was up in the middle of night crying so much his parents got on the PC to prove to show him how Skype worked. I was so worried I was going to haveto tell them that they wouldn't "see" each other anymore.


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Computer to computer works fine. What is blocked is voip. Calling a cell phone or land line to another country usually doesnt work too well.


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## cami (Aug 11, 2010)

Ozpat said:


> LOL Thanks for that. You've settled me down again. I have a 9 year old boy who is incredibly upset about moving from his best friend. And his best friend was up in the middle of night crying so much his parents got on the PC to prove to show him how Skype worked. I was so worried I was going to haveto tell them that they wouldn't "see" each other anymore.


no worries mate. just get high speed and you and your family will be fine. i've never had to use skype since using the audio/video in msn serves the same scope. 

hope everything works well for you and you guys won't regret coming here. if it's just you who works, you'll be kept busy for a good few months marvelling at things at work ; try to keep your wife and kids entertained though, as whining is the major factor of stress in dubai.


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Jynxgirl said:


> Computer to computer works fine.


Skype doesn't - Not for me and a number of other people on this forum. Some kind of bandwidth throttling going on


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