Rumours That WhatsApp Calls Are Now Working Have Been Dismissed
Rumours that WhatsApp calls are working have been dismissed by the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).
News reportedly spread on social media this week stating the ban on calls could be lifted, however local Arabic newspaper Emarat Al Youm quoted a TRA source saying this information is “fake” and “just rumours”.
Debate regarding the use of WhatsApp calls was sparked last week after local Emirati businessman Khalaf Al Habtoor urged service providers to lift the ban on the WhatsApp calling service.
Voip calls are currently blocked in the UAE, the region’s service providers currently reserve the right to provide the services
His video received an overwhelmingly positive response
Thank you so much for this appeal. It is so hard to keep in touch with business partners around the world without video calls. FaceTime, Skype, WhatsAppCall .. would be nice to use it from UAE as a pioneer country like UAE ????????.
— AW (@albinwiesmann) September 9, 2018
“We aim to be number one in everything – why are we at the back for communication”
In a country like #UAE, where we aim to always be pioneers in all we do, #WhatsAppCall should not banned when it is accessible everywhere else in the world. I urge mobile carriers in the UAE to lift the ban, a service free to use in the top nations of the world. #KhalafAlHabtoor pic.twitter.com/Lzx0w24rL5
— KhalafAhmadAlHabtoor (@KhalafAlHabtoor) September 9, 2018