CAIRO: The National Telecommunication Regulatory Agency's (NTRA) enforcement of the ban on internet-based telephone services such as Skype, has gone into effect, according to all three Egyptian mobile network operators.
"The ban is on Skype on mobile internet, not on fixed, and this is due to the fact it is against the law since it bypasses the legal gateway," said Amr Badawy, the executive president of the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA), told Reuters.
"We are targeting any illegal voice traffic on the mobile (internet)," Badawy said, adding that the ban was communicated to the three mobile operators earlier this week. "Any traffic outside the international gateway is against the law."
The NTRA had tolerated mobile internet telephony until a drop in international call volumes over recent months pushed them to tell Egypt's operators to enforce the ban, Badawy said.
While Skype may no longer be accessed on USB internet modems, the service can still be reached by users on a wireless or a DSL connection by any internet service providers in Egypt.
Emad Elazhary, TE's chief commercial officer (CCO), told Daily News Egypt, "I don't believe [Skype has] negatively affected us. Many people would never have made international calls; there was additional international traffic due to Skype being free."
He clarified that the Egypt Telecommunication Regulation Law of 2003 stipulates that only licensed providers may offer international telephone services, adding that he did not know why the NTRA finally decided to enforce the law.
"Obviously the banning of illegal voice services is a plus for the whole industry. Banning Skype on mobiles makes people use phone services, and as Telecom Egypt provides an international gateway, of course we encourage the enforcement of this law."
"And they wanted to shut down certain sections of the site, especially the news, so people were concerned that they would have more editorial control," the editor added.
As for El-Qaradawi's position, the editor said, "It was communicated to us that Sheikh El-Qaradawi wanted us to hold off talking to the media until everything was finalized because it is fueling rumors and speculation. What we have been told is that he is not happy and he might resign as well."
El-Qaradawi did not have much say over the current impasse because "he's become a more symbolic figure and does not have much managerial control."
IOL was founded by El-Qaradawi in 1997 and became a popular Islamic resource on the internet that fielded questions on religiously risqué topics such as sexuality that were not discussed as openly before. It developed into a wholesome website, offering news, commentaries and analysis.
In a pioneering move, the IOL protest was streamed live online and IOL staff continuously updated news of the sit-in on sites such as Twitter.
By Annelle Sheline
© Daily News Egypt 2010
