Another reason to delay flat-rate subs

NOC - News & Updates: "Skype not ready for mobility
16 January 2007

Oops - another reason to not introduce flat-rate data plans....

Skype's head of mobile access has said that until network operators stop charging by the quantity of data transmitted then Skype won't be available on mobile phones.

Skype is a popular VoIP service which offers free calls to other Skype users, but if the user is paying their network operator for the data they use then the calls can be anything but free.

'We don't want to be in a situation where we say: 'Skype is free' and then at the end of the month the user gets this huge broadband bill,' Eric Lagier told Reuters at CES.

When the idea of Skype on 3G was first mooted many networks responded that it wasn't a problem: given the amount they intended to charge for data they would make more money on a Skype call than a normal voice connection. But with the emergence of Wi-Fi networks, and Wi-Fi-capable handsets, unlimited connectivity is available; and with the promise of free calls such connectivity could challenge the dominance of network operators.

All this seems to make sense, until you remember that T-Mobile already offers a largely unlimited tariff with Web 'n' Walk ( capped, like most ADSL broadband connections ), and that 3 are already offering unlimited Skype calls though they aren't doing proper VoIP as they depend on the voice channel for the wireless portion of the connect"