TRA unblocks Skype for Business, Google Hangouts

UAE telecom regulator, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), announced that it was making available specific online applications to aid in distance learning for students and help in the work-from-home activities of employees across the private and public sector in the UAE.

With companies, schools and offices increasingly working from home, TRA has announced that five applications will now be available to use.

It said that the following three applications would be available across all networks in the UAE: Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Blackboard.

The following two applications would be compatible with fixed line networks: Microsoft Skype for Business and Google Hangouts.

The TRA added that it would periodically review the list of available applications and that the apps would remain unblocked “exceptionally and until further notice.”

A TRA statement said: “In the context of the current situation, and as part of the TRA’s efforts to support distance learning and working from home, the TRA – in coordination with the UAE telecom operators – announces the availability of a group of applications until further notice.”