Morocco’s three telecoms providers, reeling from the effects of free VoIP services, have blocked VoIP services such as Whatsapp, Viber, and Skype. The move has been supported by the country’s telecoms regulator, to protect the local telecom operators and help boost their voice revenues.

Morocco’s three telecom companies’ decision to block the use of voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) services, accessed through free applications such as Whatsapp, Viber, and Skype has put telecoms providers on a collision course with citizens.

Three telecoms providers, Maroc Telecom, Meditel and Inwi are reeling from the effects of “free” VoIP and IP-based services, directly affecting the telecoms providers’ premium international calling services.

The move to block VoIP came into effect at the beginning of this year and the decision has been supported by Morocco’s telecoms regulator, to protect the local telecom operators and help boost their voice revenues.

In statements supporting the telecom companies, national regulator, the Telecommunications Regulatory National Agency, (ANRT), reaffirmed that like telecoms providers, VoIP also require licensing. The regulator reportedly said, “all providers of public communications services must conform to the legal and regulatory obligations covering the sector and that terms of their agreement”.

The decision to block VoIP services has angered Moroccans Photo: Egyptianstreets

ANRT also said, “In addition of the losses for the telecoms national market, the free internet voice calls do not respond to the required legal gateway,” Reutersreported.

The decision to block VoIP services has angered Moroccans who have taken to social media to campaign against the ban. The move has been criticised by some online users, who see it as a “dangerous precedence”.

South Africa recently announced its intention to regulate Over-the-top (OTT) internet services, and reports say the decision will depend “on the outcome of planned Parliament hearings this month”. The proposal was also met with widespread criticism from users and analysts.

With mobile phone and smart phone penetration rates on the rise across the continent, coupled with decreasing data and broadband prices, the wars over VoIP and OTT services are likely going to intensify.