Dubai : Talking to friends and family on the phone offers a much-needed comfort to many people who live far away from home.
However, that joy tends to disappear, almost in all cases, when the phone bill arrives.
In this light, Gulf News readers have welcomed the expected launch of voice over internet protocol (VoIP), as it would not empty their wallets every time they call.
Alma Oville Llena, a Filipina based in Dubai, is anxious for the initiative to be implemented soon.
"I call my family at least once a week and every call costs me at least Dh25, which eats up a lot of my money," she said.
Llena uses a programme to communicate with friends in the Philippines. However, that limits her to the people with an internet connection.
Convenience
She said: "This initiative will give people the option of communicating between the internet and mobile phones... as it would be affordable and convenient."
Dhanya Dharmaraj, a homemaker residing in Abu Dhabi, also welcomes this move, as it would allow her to communicate with family and friends more often.
Dharmaraj, an Indian, said: "I usually wait for off-peak times to call my family back home. However, it would usually be too late for them to pick up the phone."
She believes that technology is the way to the future, especially if it means saving money.
However, this initiative might not be suitable for all.
Nasser Othman, a Pakistani based in Dubai, does not believe that the new service will serve him.
He said: "It might help some people. However, it would not work for me as I only speak for a few minutes with my family back home."
Othman has also had trouble when downloading programmes that enable VoIP as his computer would become vulnerable to virus, thus reducing its level of performance.
The civil engineer said: "I think it would be more beneficial if phone-to-phone international call rates would decrease."
Firas, a Dubai resident, does not agree with Othman.
He posted a comment on gulfnews.com saying that the initiative would be beneficial for all.
"This encourages... efficiency of communication. What was a luxury yesterday will be standard today," he said.
