Rabat, Morocco (TMT)- Moroccan telecommunication companies Maroc Telecom, Meditel, and Inwi have recently blocked some world renowned applications that use the Voice over IP technology (VoIP), a move that triggered a wave of discontent in the country.
Moroccan Magazine Telquel contacted the three aforementioned telecommunication operators, who refused to comment on the decision.
Said outlet also contacted the National Agency for Regulation of Telecommunications (well known under its French acronym ANRT), who said the decision was lawful as article 1 of the decision ANRT/DG/ 04-04 of April 6, 2004, relating to the Status of IP telephony, states that “companies using the VoIP technology in Morocco should hold a license to operate.”
Some Moroccans whom VoIP constitutes an important part of their daily bread –they use it for commercial purposes to contact clients worldwide– were caught very angry at the decision.
One told The Moroccan Times that the decision was “irrational and blind and that it may have very bad consequences on the Moroccan economy.”
“Now I am sending emails to get orders and buy my products with my international clients and customers. It is taking me more time to do the job than what it used to be,” the man furiously said.
“During the first days, when the communication with my international partners did not go through, I thought I had a problem on my phone, then after using my laptop, I thought I had a nasty virus on my LAN network. I also re-installed and uninstalled many times many applications thinking that they may use a port number that block the communication from going through. I even thought of some time of buying a new laptop and using it in a café for fear of catching what I thought was a virus circulation on my network. Then after three days, some Moroccan friends told me they have the same problem. We then understood that something was wrong, and then the news of the blocking started to spread.
“I am mad at my operator. I wasted 4 days trying to find out what was the real issue, with all anxiety and stress that goes with it. What a shame. They could have told us earlier at least. This is very very unprofessional,” the man angrily told us.
The Moroccan Times.
