Skype comes to call on the Middle East

Internet communications firm Skype is looking to dial into the Middle East to help grow its business and says the UAE is a small but developing portion of that region. “I don’t want to single out the UAE, for me the important thing is the 300 million Arabic speaking people and the 1.2 billion people that live in the Middle East and Africa region,” Rouzbeh Pasha, head of Middle East and Africa for Skype told 7DAYS.

Despite this, Pasha seems open to the idea that Skype might partner with a UAE telco a move that was made possible in March when the Telecoms Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced a change to regulations to allow calling from computer to computer over the internet - or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) - in the UAE.

The TRA, which classes Skype as a telecoms operator, added that VoIP firms such as Skype would only be able to enter the market by way of collaboration with a current licensed UAE telco.

The UAE’s largest telco Etisalat currently offers business customers VoIP services, while du says it is working on VoIP plans, which means a tie-up with Skype might be looking less likely.