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Tuesday, 30 October 2007 |
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UK UMTS operator offers Skype calling.
3
UK, the British 3G operator, has launched its much anticipated Skype phone enabling its customers to make free calls and send instant messages to other Skype users. The 3 Skypephone is a fully-featured 3G Internet phone with Skype built-in. In addition to Skype calls the phone makes conventional calls and can be used to access 3's range of other Internet services. The handset was developed by Skype and 3 in partnership with Qualcomm, using Qualcomm’s BREW platform to enable Skype to work with core handset features such as address book and messaging. The device is apparently manufactured by Chinese ODM Amoi. It will be available this year in the
UK,
Australia,
Austria,
Denmark,
Hong Kong,
Italy,
Ireland, Macau and
Sweden. On Hutchison.
Hutchison Whampoa 3’s move is of a piece with the group’s new-ish strategy of going against the conventional wisdom and embracing what mobile phone companies are supposed to dread. The start of this approach to the market was last November’s launch of the flat-rate X-Series service which adopted the Internet business model that strikes the fear of God into many cell phone operators (click). The new phone is also an attempt to boost the loyalty of 3 UK customers – according to a report in The Sunday Times 30% of the company’s customer base churns every year (so maybe the bold, seeming to swim against the tide gambit - as in the X-Series - doesn’t work that well).
The Ovum consultancy gives the 3 Skypephone a qualified thumbs-up in the form a posting to that company’s EuroView Daily Comment service. “We think 3 might have something of a hit with the Skype Phone - albeit within a niche, unless (1) it expands the range of handsets available and (2) it makes Skype In/Out available - at present only Skype-to-Skype is supported,” offers Ovum principal analyst John Delaney.
“In the short term, 3 may be able to use the Skype phone effectively to boost its subscriber numbers. In the long term, though, if 3 is successful with the Skype phone, the X-Series and similar projects, it might end up creating its own strategic problems,” cautions Delaney. “Imagine the scenario: on your mobile phone you use Skype for phone calls, Hotmail for messaging, Google for search and directions, YouTube for TV and music. What do you need your mobile operator for? The answer could turn out to be: subsidising phones, carrying data packets, and dealing with problems and complaints. Does that add up to an attractive business?
John Williamson |
