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Coinciding with the Arab Deaf Week, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TAR) has instructed the telecom service providers in the UAE to support people of determination, by eliminating the monthly fees of AED 50 for using the applications of video calls available in the UAE, namely C’Me and BOTIM. This would help the people with hearing disability to use the sign language by visually communicating with each other.
H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Director General, stressed on the need to provide all the support to enhance the participation of people of determination, and their integration into society, by taking care of them and meeting all their needs. This is in line with the directives of the wise leadership, as well as the UAE Vision 2021, which focuses on the welfare of citizens, raising their living standards, and raising the happiness indicators in the community as a whole.
H.E. Al Mansoori said: “In TRA, we are aware of our social responsibility, and we focus on doing everything that would enhance our role in the framework of this responsibility. We have accomplished several projects and initiatives in this context, and we will do more. Our efforts in this regard are inspired by our long tradition of social integration, equal opportunities and care for all citizens.”
Saleh Al Abdooli, Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Group, said: “Etisalat has the honor today to be an integral part of this noble national initiative by providing monthly subscription for audio and video packages offered through the CM’e and BOTIM applications for people with hearing disability, free of charge, in conjunction with the Arab Deaf Week. This is in line with the Etisalat active national role in supporting people of determination, which is part of the strategy of social responsibility adopted by Etisalat in supporting people of determination and facilitating their integration in communities to achieve national goals in this regard.” He indicated that visual communication will be an important factor that enhances their communication tools and support their social integration, as sign language is among their rights to interact with others, by enabling them to use advanced communication technology to do their work and live their life normally.”
He added: “This initiative comes as a result of a series of initiatives that Etisalat has offered for people of determination. Etisalat throughout its history has offered them a number of advanced services or special offers at a discount rate of 50% on the subscription rates of selected packages that suit their different needs in order to facilitate communication with the rest of the community.”
Moreover, Osman Sultan, CEO of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC (du), said: “As a national Emirati company, we always strive to contribute to providing innovative communication services to all segments of society, as we believe that communication services are a basic right for all. Thus, based on our keenness to support initiatives aimed at empowering people of determination, we welcome the distinguished initiative announced by the UAE TRA. We are happy to contribute to providing free video call packages to the deaf, which will undoubtedly contribute to enhance their capabilities and activate their role in the development process in the UAE. Since the beginning, du has been committed to provide all kinds of support to people of determination, enabling them to communicate with their surroundings in a smooth and efficient manner, and a good example of this would be our BabNoor cloud application. We will continue our commitment to support people of determination because they represent an important segment of our society.”
Etisalat and du have reacted to a previous request by TRA last year by offering discounts up to 50% on subscription prices on selected packages offered by the service providers in the UAE, including voice, data, and other packages, post-paid and pre-paid services.
TRA commends the joint efforts made in this regards, in cooperation with the strategic partners, and calls for further support in the joint projects to achieve the noble goals in serving the society.
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