A lot has been written about Microsoft’s decision to buy Skype for $8.5bn. Microsoft’s willingness to pay such a vast amount for a loss-making business is but another sign that content and social networking is an area for growth and an essential part of the internet. Skype, the service that provides free voice communication online is one element of this new internet space.
It is nearly-impossible to download Skype in the UAE without proxies and virtual private networks and even if you manage to access the service, the quality of the calls is not great.
The fear is VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services will cut into telco earnings. With the overwhelmingly large expat community in the GCC, this is understandable, nevertheless it goes against fair competition.
The Arab world is asking for freedom, democracy and openness and it began doing so online. If the world’s largest software manufacturer takes over one of the world’s most popular internet services, it should have anyway some sort of impact in the Middle East.
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