- Monday, 9 November 2009
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Simply put, you can't change a company without changing its management - Andy Grove - Only the Paranoid Survive
3 opens up to Skype
THE MOBILE PHONE NETWORK daftly called 3 has announced it's going to open up the network for free VoIP Skype calls for all its customers, challenging the normal way we all pay absurd call costs day in day out.
At a round table meeting in London, senior bods from both Skype and 3 made this world's first, trend setting announcement. This unlimited free Skype-to-Skype call offering with instant messages comes into play on the 1st of May, to anyone with a 3 SIM card from pay-as-you-go to contract customers.
How this going to challenge their bottom line has yet to be determined, effectively the firm is giving not only free calls between 3-to-3 customers but also from 3 to anyone else with Skype software installed.
What has yet to be made public is if users on the network 3 who have a paid for Skype account, with the facilities for actually dialling directly to landlines and mobile phones, could use Skype for this purpose as well. If they can, this could very well render 3's pay-as-you go service null and void - which we gravely suspect could very well happen here.
Skype's own tariffs are very competitive compared to others around today. This is a very brave move for any network, we're glad 3 has the testicular fortitude to start the ball rolling on this movement. µ
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I assume this articles for 3 in the UK, as 3 in Ireland has had free Skype and Windows Live Messenger for over a year now.
I've been able to make free skype-to-skype calls on 3 for months, simply add some element of data to your pay-as-you-go or contract tariff and you get it bundled in for 60 days!
Testicles... Balls.... Well played :)
"If they can, this could very well render 3's pay-as-you go service null and void - which we gravely suspect could very well happen here."
The way they do it is that Skype is free - but only if you top up with credit regularly!
See what they've done there?
Skype has been free for ages if you top up credit regularly on your account, but this announcement is to say that you do not have to top up your accounts for free skype from the 1st May. Although you cannot use your mobile to make skype to landline or mobile numbers.
This was the following announcement.
Europe UK : In a world first, 3 UK is opening up its network to allow anyone with a 3 SIM and a compatible handset to enjoy unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls and instant messages without ever having to pay.
From 1 May, there will be no data charges or top-up fees for either contract or pay-as-you-go customers who use Skype on 3’s UK network. Anyone with a 3 Skype-enabled handset will be able to buy a 3 SIM and talk as much as they want to other Skype users without ever having to pay another penny.
During the summer, 3 will expand its offer making it possible for anyone with a compatible unlocked 3G handset in the UK, to take advantage of free Skype calls, whether or not their phone is from 3. Anyone that wants to talk on a mobile for free will be able to use a Skype-enabled 3 SIM to make and receive totally free Skype-to-Skype calls and to use Skype’s instant messaging (IM).
By removing these key barriers to Skype-to-Skype calls, 3 UK is creating a compelling reason for new customers to join 3 and to enjoy all the products and services available on the UK’s biggest mobile broadband network.
Kevin Russell, Chief Executive Officer of 3 UK, said:
“Communication through the internet is exploding. Internet calling or VoIP, social networking, instant messaging and email are used by millions in the UK every single day. They are open to all on their PCs and laptops. We want people to be free to communicate from their mobiles in the same way as they do from their PCs.
“In future you will be able to buy a 3 SIM for unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls for less than the price of a cup of coffee and talk for as much as you want without ever paying us another penny. We won’t ask you for a top-up or a monthly commitment. If you want to talk on a mobile for free, just join us and give it a go. This is for everyone.”
Josh Silverman, President of Skype said:
“Demand for mobile access from our users has never been higher. The introduction of unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls and instant messages across all 3 price plans is a really exciting move from a key partner. 3 UK clearly understands the desire for people to use Skype wherever and whenever they want. This is the first mobile network to show this kind of innovation to enable their customers to access Skype.
“We believe this is how the future looks for the Internet on mobile. With this bold move 3 UK has again shown their willingness to be the customer champion for mobile services in the UK.”
Currently, 3 UK’s growing Skype community enjoys 1.5 million minutes of free Skype-to-Skype calls every day. The launch of the first 3 Skypephone in October 2007 really kick-started the growth of free internet calling on the 3 network. With over 433 million people registered on Skype worldwide, the new free Skype-to-Skype offer from 3 opens up a world of free calling.
Two years experience of providing open access to Skype-to-Skype calling has enabled 3 and Skype to better understand the behaviour of mobile Skype users. Success with an easy-to-use Skype experience on more specialised internet-enabled handsets, such as the INQ1 and the 3 Skypephone collection; has proven to 3 that enabling customers to make free Skype calls to other Skype users on their mobiles or PCs is a real benefit.
3 UK has found that regular Skype users:
* Are less likely to churn than non-Skype users
* Use more traditional voice minutes than non-Skype users in addition to calling their Skype contacts
* Use Skype IM, but also send more SMS than non-Skype users
* Are more likely to browse the internet on their mobile
* Are higher margin customers
* Are twice as likely to access social networking sites as non-Skype customers
“Today we are moving in a clear direction towards making Skype-to-Skype calling available to all UK mobile consumers,” said Mr Russell. “We know that Skype users are instinctive communicators, keen social networkers and mobile internet users. They love the things that we are building the UK’s biggest mobile broadband network for.
“Our network is built to deliver the benefits of the internet to the mobile. That’s why we’re removing the conditions and restrictions from our current Skype offer and opening up the opportunity to try free internet calling to all UK mobile users, whether they are currently with us or a competitor network.”
3 does not respect peoples privacy and make them subjects to laws in other countries, where it might be legal to spy on foreigners without a warrant. 3 tell their customers nothing about this.
I live in Denmark, and when I make a call through Skype using my 3 phone, the call will go unincrypted across the border to Sweden to a server there before it goes to the Skype network. I don't trust the laws of privacy in Sweden. We call it the last soviet state. Particularly not laws about privacy of foreigners communicating across the Swedish border.
Skype is unfair when they are letting people think, that they are communicating in one country and in fact they are communicating in another where they have no fair chance of knowing about laws protecting them as it is the case in the country they think they are communicating in.
Skype should make a server in each country so people know what laws they are under.