Voice and video chat platform IMO has reportedly stopped working in the United Arab Emirates.
A report this week at local news source Emirates 24/7 said that several enterprises in the country found not even a ring tone since the early part of Monday, July 27. This may come as no surprise to anyone who follows news from the UAE because its Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) has long argued that such VoIP services are illegal. Other similar apps including WhatsApp, BBM Voice, and Viber, Emirates 24/7 says, are also blocked throughout the country.
This latest outage has apparently hit some individuals hard. One dedicated fan, Sadiq who works at an Abu Dhabi bank, commented, “I don’t even hear a ring tone now. Looks like it has been blocked.”
Another citizen, Mustafa Ahmad, reported his similar experience: “It was the only VoIP messenger that worked flawlessly from my phone, until yesterday.”
TMC (News - Alert) reported this past May that the TRA blocked WhatsApp within hours of it becoming active in the country. The regulatory body appears to only allow VoIP services through licensed providers. The caveat for end users is that there are only two options on that list: Etisalat (News - Alert) and du. This has left people such as Sadiq and Ahmad without options and use of the apps they prefer.
There is an expectation that the global VoIP market will triple in revenue and users by 2019. The world over, it is becoming a popular option for consumers and businesses to use VoIP for daily communications with one another. The platform is flexible, reliable, relatively cheap, and works with almost any existing broadband network. The only groups standing in the way are regulatory bodies such as the TRA. It appears unlikely that the UAE will lessen its crackdown on these apps, and users may ultimately be left in the dark.