Skype Competitor? Carrier Voice Peering?

AT&T, in conjunction with some 10-15 incumbent telecom carriers, said to include British Telecom, Deutsche Telecom and NTT among them, is plotting to launch a Skype competitor, according to ThinkEquity analyst Anton Wahlman.

It's a speculation at this point, but note that BT has discontinued its original BT Communicator and is rolling out a new soft client on May 28, which removes free calling functionality to people who are not users of the new BT soft client, using BT broadband access.

At the very least, the move suggests an attempt to tie soft client use to BT's broadband access service, which also would be a logical move for any broader consortium of carriers. Basically, it would be a big move into voice peering.

Some observers say carriers will have a hard time creating such a venture. Others say disruption, even to such a popular application as Skype, is less a hurdle than many think.

To answer the obvioius objection that carriers will not want to cannibalize their own long distance calling revenues, the requirement to buy broadband access from one of the participating peering members is the answer. Lost revenues on global long distance hopefully are balanced by increased uptake and reduced churn for carrier broadband offerings.