A Facebook campaign is hoping to drum up enough global support to convince the government of Morocco to overturn its VoIP ban.
Net neutrality (News - Alert) and competition may be issues near and dear to the hearts of citizens throughout the United States and Western Europe, but the stranglehold of monopoly is still apparent elsewhere. Morocco’s regulator, ANRT, passed a decision in January to block residents from using Skype (News - Alert), Viber and WhatsApp, among others, to make free phone calls.
ANRT said in its decision that VoIP calls don’t meet “legislative requirements”—a rather nebulous assertion. It also however said that local telecom companies like Inwi, Maroc Telecom and Meditel were losing revenue in the face of VoIP, which is an issue for state coffers as well as the companies themselves.
The ”Stop the VoIP ban in Morocco” Facebook page, one of many online protests, features photos of young children appealing to Morocco’s King Mohammed in English, French and Arabic to allow them to communicate with their relatives overseas. Often, VoIP is the only option for the less well-off.
The decision has clearly been controversial in Morocco, but by no means does it exist in a vacuum. Last year the United Arab Emirates also began banning over-the-top (OTT) VoIP services. The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority indicated in a statement that it does not consider Skype and its ilk to be legal services because they are operating outside of the UAE’s regulatory framework (and presumably, its fee structure).
Referencing the Viber ban specifically, it said, “We have recently seen local newspapers and social networks publishing news with regards to the Viber service being blocked in the UAE. We would like to clarify that the service was never licensed in the UAE. Moreover, the VoIP regulatory policy has only licensed Etisalat (News - Alert) and du, the Licensees, to provide telecommunication services in the UAE, including VoIP services. This policy still exists and has not been amended.”
That state of affairs has not been popular amongst the citizenry, but UAE’s two telecommunication companies – Etisalat and du -- have been pointing the finger at each other and right back to the government for the VoIP ban. It’s a similar issue in Morocco which has sparked the protests.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson