Summary WhatsApp,normally banned in the UAE, opened up briefly on Thursday
Joy. Jubilation. Excitement. Happiness. These are some of the words that described the mood in the United Arab Emirates when WhatsApp’s voice and video-calling services were accidently unblocked in the country. The video and call features, started by WhatsApp in November 2016, are blocked in the UAE as they are VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services which are restricted in the country only to state licensed providers such as Etisalat. Suddenly, without any fanfare or official announcement mobile users across the country were able to access the instant messaging app by early Thursday afternoon according to the Gulf News. People’s enthusiasm at the news was parable with many immediately calling their loved ones to spread the news. Especially excited at WhatsApp, s opening was the UAE,s large community of expatriates (which include over 1.2 million Pakistanis) who had for a long time grumbled over the high cost of international calls to family and friends back home.
While the more optimistic residents said that the incident was a Ramadan blessing and that WhatsApp was finally fully usable in the UAE more doubtful citizens said that the app being operational was probably only because of a temporary technical glitch and if the app was to be formally made operational than there surely would have been an official announcement made by the government beforehand. Unfortunately the pessimists were soon proved right on the point.
According to Gulf News by 1:40 pm (UAE time) residents begun to experience a drop in video quality while some users begun to claim that they were no longer able to use the voice or video call features of the app.
A statement by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) soon confirmed that there was no change in the official position of the government. As reported by the Khaleej Times a press release by the TRA clearly maintained that "there is no change in the UAE s Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Policy. TRA reconfirms that any applications or services of this type must comply with the applicable regulatory framework in the country." and “VoIP services are still a prerogative of the licensed providers who reserve the right to provide such services through their networks. Companies wishing to offer such services must co-ordinate with the licensed telecom providers in the UAE" .Later on other government officials also confirmed the news.
Telecommunication the UAE is almost completely controlled by big firms such as Etisalat and du who charge high prices for providing services such as international calls. This is the main reason why many residents in the UAE expressed such happiness when WhatsApp became operational as more than a few called it an early Eid gift on social media.
