Skype eyes Middle East

Skype is looking to dial into the Middle East to help grow its business and says the UAE is a small but developing portion of that region, reports Zawya.

Skype head of Middle East and Africa, Rouzbeh Pasha, is open to the idea that Skype might partner with a UAE telco, in a move that was made possible in March when the Telecoms Regulatory Authority (TRA) revealed a change to regulations to allow voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) in the UAE.

The TRA, which classes Skype as a telecoms operator, says VOIP firms would only be able to enter the market by way of collaboration with a current licensed UAE telco.

Wholly-owned Pervasip subsidiary Vox Communications has introduced a mobile VOIP service and smartphone application to US military personnel and their families, states Mobile Enterprise Mag.

Kevin Sullivan, president of Leading Points, which specialises in marketing to the military on a global scale, says: "Vox is offering a 10% discount to military members, and has a special landing page for military personnel and their families.”

Paul Riss, chairman and CEO of Pervasip, says: “As the mobile VOIP market grows, we expect to quickly take a dominant share of the military portion of the market.”

Entel Systems, a distributor of digital and IP phone and voicemail systems, has partnered with M5 Networks to offer hosted business VOIP, says TMCnet.

Entel Systems focuses on providing communications networking solutions for small to medium-size enterprises.

Don Giordano, co-owner of Entel, says: "Hosted VOIP systems are gaining traction, and for many of our customers, VOIP is the optimal solution. We took a hard look at the market. M5's smart business phones and their dedication to reliability were exactly what we were looking for in a partner."