abu dhabi // The telecoms provider, du, denied yesterday that it had unblocked the internet phone service, Skype.
On Tuesday, subscribers to du’s mobile and home broadband services found they could access Skype’s website, and make calls from Skype to mobile and fixed phone lines – which they were previously unable to do.
The service was still available yesterday.
But du insisted yesterday: “There has been no change in the treatment of VoIP (voice over internet protocol) traffic, including Skype, on our networks.”
Asked when the block was lifted, a company spokesperson said: “There are no details available.”
While smartphone users have long been able to download the Skype app from foreign-based app stores, the PC application has to be downloaded from the Skype’s website. This was previously impossible for du subscribers, and remains so for Etisalat subscribers.
Once the application is installed, on a phone or computer, Skype calls have long been – and remain – possible to other Skype users.
However, calls from Skype to fixed or mobile phones were blocked. They remain blocked for Etisalat users, but are now possible on du.
Etisalat says that it blocks the site and service because they violate regulations set by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) on unlicensed VoIP products.
The TRA says there are no such regulations. Its website says any decision to open up VoIP services is a matter for Etisalat and du.
Both Etisalat and du currently offer limited VoIP services via their Five and Hello cards, which give cheaper calls to selected countries.
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Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
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Shortlisted novels: 66
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In%20the%20Land%20of%20Saints%20and%20Sinners
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Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
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Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
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