![]() ![]() Analysts believe the rampant use of apps like Viber among this community has led to a decline in revenue for telecom players. International calls and texts make up a large chunk of revenue for Saudi telecom operators thanks to nearly 9 million expatriates in the kingdom. Surely, a big chunk of that comes from services like Viber, WhatsApp and other IM apps that allow users to share images and videos. Marco says the ban was introduced after Saudi officials. Interestingly, the Meeker Internet Trends Report, which was released last week, found that over 60 percent of Saudi Arabians share everything or almost everything they see online. Iran, Syria and Lebanon have all lifted previous blocks on Viber, but the service was recently barred by the Saudi Arabian authorities. Saudi Arabia has some 15.8 million Internet subscribers and despite heavy restrictions on use of Internet, the average user watches three times as many online videos every day as users in the United States, according to a YouTube survey. So tools such as WhatsApp and Skype could also be under the scanner. The regulator’s directive also mentions any other applications or services that are similar to Viber may get the axe. Viber’s website also beamed a message saying the service had been banned in Saudi Arabia. ![]() Reuters reports that attempts to use Viber on two different smartphones and to download it onto a computer in Saudi Arabia did not work. ![]()
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