Costs Up As UAE Regulators Ban Net Phone (Skype)

[NVMojo]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - When telecom regulators in this country cut access to the popular Internet phone program Skype, the price of international calling skyrocketed.

The shutdown triggered an uproar among foreign residents who form about 80 percent of the population of the Emirates, a wealthy country with some of the world's highest levels of Internet penetration.

As the ban was phased in, Internet voice connections that cost about 2 cents a minute went dead. The remaining option was a bitter one: Pay about 75 cents per minute to phone Britain and 60 cents to call the United States during peak hours.

"It's infuriating to lose the freedom to call people," said Rupert Chesman, a 27-year-old Londoner who works as a TV producer in Dubai. "People just want to phone home and now they can't."

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/tech/2006/oct/18/101806072.html

[Eric J in MN]

1. Why we need "Net Neutrality."

http://www.savetheinternet.com

[Richard Steele]

2. No better than robbery at gunpoint, IMHO.

Thievin' corporate bastards.

[Psephos]

3. It's not corporate (for once)

Etisalat is state-controlled, and the VOIP prohibitions are direct from government telecom regulators.

What's happened here is that the state is using regulatory law to protect a state business.

Peace.