Dubai takes a step back in to the Internet dark ages with Skype ban.

January 5th, 2018

Awake Goy

Both Etisalat and Du telecom, the two providers of telecoms communication within the UAE have blocked the use of Skype and other VoIP software.

Users report that pretty much all VoIP technology has been blocked, including Discord, TeamSpeak, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, Whatsapp. As WebEx and Zoom meetings also use VoIP, one would assume these are also illegal under the ban.

Etisalat responded to the blocks with the following comment “The access to the Skype App is blocked since it is providing unlicensed Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Service, which falls under the classification of prohibited contents as per the United Arab Emirates’ Regulatory Framework.”

Hi,
The access to the Skype App is blocked since it is providing unlicensed Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Service, which falls under the classification of prohibited contents as per the United Arab Emirates’ Regulatory Framework. Thanks

— Etisalat UAE (@etisalat) December 30, 2017

@profamii Hello, Please note that any unauthorized applications or services that are providing VoIP calling services are not supported in UAE. For our Internet Calling offer, please visit: https://t.co/HRMxiwEN73. Thanks

— du (@dutweets) December 30, 2017