Google Duo Now Blocked in Morocco

Google Duo works on iOS as well as Android and offers unlimited free video calling to anyone using the same app on their device. However, since its release, Google Duo has been blocked in Morocco

Duo is a video chat mobile app developed by Google was announced at Google I/O on May 18, 2016 alongside Allo, an instant messaging app. Duo launched in the United States on August 16, 2016 and globally a few days later. Duo quickly climbed to the number one free app on Google Play within two days of its initial release

It worked in Morocco for the first month before the National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT) found a way of blocking it. It took the ANRT some time as the app uses a slightly different technology from the other VoIP apps - Skype, Viber and WhatsApp.

Alaa-Eddine Kaddouri, software architect and entrepreneur in the information and communications technology explained to Telquel.ma that it was technically "a little more complicated to block such communications,"  however he said that it was "quite possible".

Unfortunately for the ANRT, Moroccans took only a few days after its blocking of VoIP services to discover ways around the blockage by using a VPN.

The use of a VPN (Virtual Private Network) creates a tunnel on the network and overrides the limitations established by the ANRT. To use a mobile VPN, is extremely simple. Once downloaded and installed, VPN apps automatically configure the VPN. Once connected to a network, users place a call normally, whether you are connected over 3G / 4G or WiFi. The most sophisticated of the VPN apps have the ability to disguise the fact that they are a VPN and are therefore undetectable.

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Anger Grows Over Call Blocking in Morocco

This weekend saw Moroccan telcos extend the blocking of VOIP (Skype, Viber, WhatsApp) calls from phones to Wifi connections. The result was that around the world thousands of expat Moroccans were unable to contact their families back in Morocco

Moroccans living in Europe, America and Australasia were understandably angry and have been using social media to call for the government to quickly fix the problem and amend the laws effecting VOIP calls..

The anger spread to Moroccans throughout the Kingdom who were also unable to use Viber or Skype to talk to each other.

While the Telcos - Maroc Telecom, Meditel and Inwi - are indulging in blame shifting, saying the problem is the fault of the regulator, Morocco’s National Agency for Telecommunications Networks, for their part the regulator claims the choking of calls is “in accordance with the law, and that regulations governing the provision of telephone services (VoIP or other) are clear and those services can be provided only by holders of telecommunications licenses operators.”

 It seems to have escaped them that none of the Telcos at the heart of the mess offer any such service.

The situation is proving to be an embarrassment for Morocco, which in so many other areas is embracing new technology. However, this step backwards, fuelled by the desire for increased revenue by the telcos, is the thing that needs to be blocked - not Viber, Whatsapp and Skype.

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Has Skype Been Blocked in Morocco?

There is something odd happening with Skype in Morocco. According to several blogs and the MoroccoBoard site in the USA, Skype and several other VoIP services have been blocked by Maroc Telecom. However, when The View from Fez tried making several short Skype calls today, we encountered no problem. However, other VoIP providers such as Viper and Tango did experience connection problems, particularly from smart phone. So has Skype really been blocked?

Among the blogs reporting a blocking of VoIP services are popular Moroccan blog, Moroccan Geeks [French], who say that Skype and all other VoIP services have been blocked in the country. The blog points to an article from Moroccan newspaper Al Sabaheya confirming the news [Arabic].


The MoroccoBoard News site says:

...telephone operator, Maroc Telecom, has blocked access to several sites that provide free VoIP telephone service to its users. The ban has affected the Skype service that is used by most Moroccans to call their friends, relatives and customers overseas. The ban has also affected access to TeamSpeak and many other services that provide the VoIP functionality.

This decision has been taken by Maroc Telecom, which is know for its predatory commercial practices, for the purpose of shielding itself against competition and pushing its users to pay for its services and stop using free online services, like Skype, TeamSpeak, Viber and others.

The Maroc telecom is the former state telecom monopoly that has been sold to the French Company Vivendi. It has been a cash cow for Vivendi for many years. it has been producing unusually high profits for the company. Maroc Telecom is the default internet providers for Most users in Morocco.

Users on a number of sites have reported that:

Teamspeak.com is censored, Ventrilo and Mumble cannot connect to the servers. Viber cannot connect anymore from smartphones. Skype bandwitch has been limited in June 2011 and now reduced again in November 2011 which causes disconnections every 10 minutes and poor call quality, it's a progressive censorship to make it seem like it's just some technical problems, that's why some users say "oh well Skype is working fine for me" That's Maroc Telecom objective.

If Maroc Telecom is blocking VoIP calls, then this would be serious for hundreds of thousands of Moroccans who use the services to make calls as they are unable to afford the cost of mobile calls. The View from Fez would like to hear from VoIP users. Please leave a comment or email us.

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