dubai • The United Arab Emirates’ telecom regulator expects to decide by the end of the year on a proposal to allow international calls through the Internet, the head of the regulator said yesterday. Currently, telecom operators Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) and du can provide only domestic calls using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. “We have been doing consultations with the sector ... We want to upgrade the VoIP to include international phone calls for licensed operators hopefully before the end of the year,” Mohamed Al Ghanim, director general of the Telecommunications Authority, said.

The TRA is working on a plan to allow local and international companies with a local presence to provide VoIP services after being licensed, Ghanim said. In October 2006, Ghanim said the ban on VoIP would be lifted that year, allowing the expatriate population to make cheaper overseas calls over the Internet.