KSA rings in joy, lifts WhatsApp call ban

JEDDAH: Users of WhatsApp were a joyous lot on Saturday as the call facility finally became available on the popular messaging service in the Kingdom. The facility, which is for free now, through WhatsApp was earlier banned in Saudi Arabia and only messaging service was available. “The ban has been lifted in the Kingdom,” said local media on Saturday. Riyadh-based software engineer Faisal Haleem termed it a good initiative which will “help open up the telecom market and bring the rates down for both local and international calls.” Sultan Abdullah, a student at King Abdul Aziz University, said: “I heard about the free call facility through my friend on WhatsApp. I tried and it was indeed working.” In the past, he said, every time you tried to call someone via WhatsApp, a standard voice message would tell you that this service is not available in your country.   Arab News