Saudi Arabia lifts VoIP ban on FaceTime, Snapchat, Skype

Sep 21, 2017 (LBO) – Saudi Arabia has lifted the ban on the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications that meet their regulatory requirements, country’s Communications and Information Technology Ministry said. These applications include FaceTime, Snapchat, Skype, Line, Telegram, and Tango. Widely used WhatsApp and Viber have been excluded from the list citing regulations. Releasing a statement, the ministry said the ban was lifted within the context of enhancing the value of "Customer First" as a strategic business methodology. “This step is an extension of previous steps to promote "transparency and clarity" in the sector,” the statement said. “This step will be followed by several initiatives that are developing in partnership with the telecom operators and develop a digital society in line with the objectives of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.” Saudi Arabia is one of the world's fastest countries in terms of growth in the use of smartphones and participation on social networking platforms with the average mobile internet use is among the highest globally.