It’s summer, it’s hot and who wants to wade through an 800 word article? So I’ll base this article on the infamous segment “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney” from the hit show 60 Minutes, and I’ll simply give a series of light vignettes to whet the appetite and stimulate thought, without overwhelming the senses.
The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority frequently bans voice and video over IP (VoIP), a cheap way to communicate with the world. This is significantly beneficial to the oligopoly of Etisalat and du. Yet a regulator is supposed to be protecting the consumers. Banning VoIP because it competes with regular phones is like banning email because it competes with faxes, telegrams and letters. Dear TRA, that was a plea to allow VoIP, not an excuse to ban email. It was also a polite reminder that the consumer is your client, not the telecom companies.