ABU DHABI // Restrictions on voice and video-call services that use the internet are hampering entrepreneurial start-up businesses and slowing the growth of small-to-medium companies.
Large corporations do not have to rely on public voice over internet protocol (VoIP) applications such as Skype, Apple’s FaceTime, Viber or WeChat, but smaller businesses want them because they make calling abroad affordable.
The telecommunications regulator, the TRA, has spoken since 2008 about allowing competition to Etisalat and du, the only VoIP licence holders. In 2010 the regulator said it was in talks with Skype and other VoIP providers, but no action was ever taken.
The expansion of the small-to-medium private business sector is viewed as crucial to the non-oil economy, but small-business owners say their growth is being hamstrung.
Ambareen Musa, founder and chief executive of the financial products comparison website souqalmal.com, expanded her Dubai company abroad, but she said not being able to use VoIP apps as she can in other countries is both inconvenient and expensive.
“It has to be through Etisalat and du, through an actual phone line, and the cost is a lot, it’s not cheap. And the more we expand, the more expensive it’s going to become.”
Ms Musa uses Skype for computer to computer calling, but connectivity issues often result in poor call quality.
“You will find on the mobile trying to do a Skype call over VoIP is quite difficult. You can’t call an actual number. FaceTime doesn’t work. As a business owner and someone who’s always on the run, it’s definitely a hindrance.”
Ahmed Dawood, who started his PR and social media marketing company in Dubai four years ago, said the restrictions affected his company’s budget.
“I could control the cost of my office phone bills if I was legally allowed to use these technologies to communicate with my overseas clients. I have to pay thousands of dirhams in making international calls.
“I doubt if will happen soon as apparently it hurts the business interests of existing communication companies. However, if they added these services into their packages then it would benefit both users and suppliers.”
Seema Sangra, a designer who started her fashion brand Choe’l Dora last year in Dubai, said the legal availability of VoIP apps would help designers whose workshops were overseas.
“It is not just about phone bills, it is also about the add-ons that you get with Skype and FaceTime. It would also cut my travel expenses as I would not have to be physically present in a factory or workshop for design approvals.
“I need to communicate with my factory workers twice or three times a day and this becomes next to impossible due to the high cost of regular calls.”
Mohammed Shehata, who started his consulting company C-suITe few months ago, said: “It is not a luxury any more. It is now a necessity that every entrepreneur needs. If the technology is available then it should be allowed to be used.”
Mita Srinivasan, director of public relations firm Market Buzz International, said not having the full capability of VoIP technology was a hindrance, but she has found ways to get around it by using email and Google hangouts.
She has also become used to the higher rates charged by Etisalat and du, compared to overseas. “This is what you have to work with, you don’t have much of a choice, it’s a duopoly.”
Krishna Chinta, a telecoms analyst with IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa, does not expect a change any time soon.
Although data revenues are increasing, he said the telecom companies could not afford to share their international voice revenues because they were so profitable.
“Looking at the size of the market and the population, it gives the impression the TRA really doesn’t see much value in further liberalising the market,” he said.
“With expatriates accounting for more than 80 per cent of the population, the existing VoIP policy is clearly in favour of safeguarding the operators’ international voice call revenues.”
The TRA declined to comment.
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Comparing cost of calls:
• Etisalat charges from 30 fils to Dh1.80 a minute for international calls, depending on the country.
• Du charges 36 fils a minute, plus a Dh1 “set-up charge” to call Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Iran, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Other countries cost from 90 fils to Dh1.80.
• Both companies offer packages or deals that may reduce these rates.
• Calling a UK or US landlineon Skype costs 8 fils a minute, plus a small connection fee.
• Du says: “PC to telephone VoIP services are not supported on our network. However, PC-to-PC VoIP, such as Skype, MSN messenger or Google Talk, will work just fine.”
• Etisalat has the same policy for personal users, but offers businesses “intra-office VoIP-based international video & voice connectivity between the UAE and your international offices”. The minimum line rental is Dh820 a month.
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