[Satellite News 02-19-10] Verizon Wireless’ agreement with free-to-download VoIP service provider Skype to bundle the application with high-end Verizon 3G handsets, announced Feb. 16, elicited a substantial wave of response from the mobile industry analyst community.
    Under the terms of Verizon’s Skype service bundle, U.S. voice service subscribers will be able to make calls over Skype using Verizon’s 3G wireless network without being charged to their voice plans. The functionality of Skype mobile covers several areas of voice connectivity service. Callers will be able to make and receive unlimited domestic and international Skype-to-Skype voice calls as well as receive instant messages to other Skype users with the ability to monitor the online presence of their contacts.
    Informa Telecoms & Media analyst Dario Talmesio said the deal marked a catalyst in the way the mobile industry approaches VoIP. “The Skype/Verizon announcement demonstrates that mobile operators are beginning to change their attitude towards VoIP providers — they have gone from blocking to managing what they consider to be an issue. … Blocking VoIP is a short-sighted strategy. Those operators fearing VoIP providers need to be able to provide a compelling service competing with VoIP. Blocking VoIP simply doesn’t work for customers,” said Talmesio.
    Will the Skype hype spread to satellite hybrid networks? While Skype representatives could not confirm any satellite-related plans in the near future, Talmesio warned mobile operators from all sectors about the consequences of ignoring VoIP service bundles. “The majority of mobile operators have yet to make a firm decision, but market forces are such that mobile operators can’t avoid Internet-based VoIP.  Those operators wanting to be serious players in the mobile Internet need to embrace openness and they need to allow Internet services on their devices — this includes VoIP.” 
    Apple, along with its service provider, AT&T, may be taking Talmeio’s advice. In report by GigaOm, Skype CEO Josh Silverman confirmed that a 3G network version of the application would be coming to the iPhone “very soon.” Skype already has a similar application on the iPhone, but AT&T’s service only allows calls over Wi-Fi.
    Mobile applications similar to Skype, including the various application stores available to mass consumers, have helped the mobile industry grow dramatically in a period of recession and reduced consumer spending associated stores.  Informa forecasts global non-SMS application revenues to grow 12 percent in 2010 to $224.1 billion, with Skype’s cellular invasion coming at a time when competing with Apple’s App Store dominates mobile business models. Google’s Android platform entered the market as an iPhone rival but has been hampered by billing system delays and congressional regulation issues in the United States.
    Mobile technology companies also seem to be getting on board with the release of Skype-centric solutions. Embedded IP communications software developer D2 Technologies announced Feb. 18 the release of its next generation mCUE product line for the Android platform. The upgrade includes Skype interoperability, video call/chat, seamless call handover, cross-service conferencing and HD voice. The service aims to optimize converged IP communications on new applications, including digital TV, IPSTB, networks media player and IP media frame/phone applications.
    Also this week, handset developer INQ announced the release of its 3 INQ Chat 3G miniature social media handset with Internet access. The data service is being marketed specifically to target users of Facebook, Twitter, Windows live and Skype with interoperability features and integrated GPS satellite navigation capabilities.
   According to Informa, the keys to a successful challenge are high-demand applications and social-networking services. In 2010, these services will be “the main driver of mobile-Web traffic in many parts of the world with Web 2.0 brands such as Google, Facebook and Twitter increasingly dominating the mobile-data-services arena,” the analysis firm said in its 2010 mobile services outlook. “It is inevitable that the business model on which much of the online world is based — advertising — will come to play a dominant role in mobile services as well
   Silverman believes that the true power lies in the demands of the consumer. “People want to take their Skype conversations with them wherever they go, whether it’s on a PC, TV or increasingly mobile phones. [The Verizon service] will truly change the way people call their friends and family internationally.”