U.A.E. Lifts Ban on Google Hangouts Meet, Cisco Webex, BlueJeans

(Bloomberg) --

The United Arab Emirates further relaxed its restrictions on internet telephony apps as the country encourages people to stay at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Google Hangouts Meet, Cisco Webex, Avaya Spaces, BlueJeans and Slack are now accessible in the U.A.E., the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said on Monday.

The regulator last week lifted a ban on Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, Zoom and Blackboard. The country is home to more than 9 million people, mostly expatriates.

The government has restricted the movement of people between 8pm and 6am until April 5 as it carries out a massive public cleaning program.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.