UAE could lift ban on WhatsApp calling

Regulators in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could soon lift the ban on VoIP calling via the WhatsApp platform. A report from Khaleej Times cites Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, executive director of the UAE’s National Electronic Security Authority (NESA), as saying: ‘The collaboration now happening with WhatsApp has increased and we are working on many aspects. [We are] collaborating here in the UAE and in many of those [aspects] we saw a very good understanding of the concept. There might be a lift of that ban for voice calls or broadcasting.’ At present UAE residents can only access VoIP services as part of licensed service packages from cellcos Etisalat or Du.