The computers are ringing again in the Persian Gulf’s sovereign emirate.
Nearly a year after the Kuwait government blocked Internet phone services on a vague legal premise, its Ministry of Communications today re-opened telephony Web sites, according to an area newspaper.
Some suspected that the ministry bucked when cheap Internet telephony services such as Net2Phone began seeing frequent use in Kuwait, undermining the agency’s hold on international calls from the emirate.
According to the Arab Times, Kuwaiti police are accused of confiscating thousands of telephony pre-paid cards last year as part of an effort to bolster the ministry’s revenues. Shipments containing the cards were seized, according to the newspaper. Now, the cards are being manufactured within Kuwait, the paper said.
According to the paper, calling cards now are being sold for 2.5 Kuwaiti dinars, or about U.S. $9.40, for 80 to 100 minutes.
But the ministry’s move has created a competitive black market for cheaper Internet call providers, according to the paper. Some are charging as little as 35 fils, or U.S. 13 cents, per minute to countries such as Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, the paper said.
“Recently, people patronizing illegal call centers were rounded up by the police,” the Arab Times reported.
Call providers doubt that the government can do much to halt the black market, however, saying that it’s difficult to stop Web connectivity and cell phones, according to the paper.
The United Arab Emirates had joined Kuwait in its telephony blocking, and took the further step of blocking Skype (News - Alert).
Some suspect political motivations for Kuwait’s ban, saying the nation was trying to oust migrant workers, mostly from Asia, by forcing them to call home at expensive government rates.
Michael Dinan is a TMCNet Editor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
