Skype-Verizon Wireless over 3G
Written by Peter Brockmann Wednesday, 17 February 2010 21:52
Skype and Verizon Wireless are making a connection - they announced an alliance at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.
The relationship allows Verizon Wireless users to load up Skype onto a host of mobile devices supported by Verizon Wireless and lets users with a data plan interconnect with the Skype service over 3G. Some have argued that this is the end of wireless as we know it, while others suggest that Verizon hopes to make more from 3G service than they would have made from the calls that otherwise might have gone over the telephone network as a roaming call, international dialing or SkypeOut call.
Verizon Wireless also doesn't expect users to use Skype over WiFi (I have done this with my iPhone, but the battery life is greatly impacted negatively).
Actually it's about creating greater value by allowing Verizon Wireless users to interconnect their Skype service. It's about expanding the value of the Verizon Network a la Metcalfe or even Reed, but allowing mobile users to connect to the 520 million Skype users, which is 5 x larger than the 91 million Verizon Wireless subscriber base.