Sunday, June 13, 2010

Verizon Wireless Extending Skype Functionality

Skype isn't the danger telecom service provides once believed it was. There are lots of reasons, including the growing importance of data plan revenues and the decline of voice revenues. Basically, it now makes more sense to "merchandise" voice calling as a way of building data plan penetration.

Also, Google generally has replaced Skype as a significant worry. That isn't to say executives worry more about Google than they do the instability of communications regulation and policy. But after regulatory threats and competition between cable and telcos at the local level, Google--as a proxy for "over the top" applications--probably is an issue.

That worry likely will fade over time as well, however. Over time, as access providers figure out better ways to expose core access functionality to business partners, and executives start to see a path forward in the new ecosystem, fear about displacement from the likes of Google will recede, as it in many ways already is at companies such as Verizon Wireless.

Verizon Wireless now has partnered with Google to create new handsets and applications, as it also is doing with Skype. Verizon Wireless has since integrated Skype into 12 smartphones and says it will add the feature to a number of "3G multimedia phones" soon.

Apart from being available on normal feature phones, the Skype expansion will also support Korean and simple Chinese languages. Skype will also be upgraded to include a better user interface with drop-down menus and flags for international calling, Verizon Wireless says.

“The value prop is that we have 90 million customers who have in-calling, and now it expands to 580 million Skype users," John Stratton, EVP and CMO of Verizon Wireless, recently said.

Skype-to-Skype calls and chats are unlimited and free when users have a data plan. Skype mobile calls made to landline and wireless numbers in the United States ("SkypeOut," in effect) use minutes from customers’ voice plans.

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