Calls made using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology generally cost the caller less than traditional phone calls. For this reason, many of the major carriers within the European Union have outright banned VoIP use on their networks, viewing it as a potentially devastating threat to their revenues.
However, there are some signals from the European Union that they will be forced to change their stance. As things currently stand, individual EU member states regulate blocked Internet services, but EU telecom commissioner Viviane Reding recently commented that action must be taken against carriers that use their large marker share to “block innovative services.”
A report published in Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper claims that the European Union has already prepared draft legislation that would open all smartphones used within the bloc to VoIP services.
Result for: voip service
eBay commented on the future of the Skype VoIP service on Tuesday, indicating that it intends to spin-off the subsidiary through an initial public offering. The emergence of this news casts doubt on any potential sale back to the original founders, who reportedly were keen to get their hands on the service once again. eBay had made some indications in recent times that it might sell Skype.
Shareholders will be pleased with the news, as they have been pushing for a sale of Skype or a spin-off. “We believe operating Skype as a stand-alone publicly traded company is the best path for maximizing its potential,” eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe said in a statement. He added that there were few synergies with the larger company.
eBay acquired Skype in 2005 for $2.6 billion from Niklas Zennstrom, from Sweden, and Janus Friis, from Denmark. When eBAy signaled it may be ready to unload the company for the right price, Zennstrom and Friis reportedly began seeking to raise a billion dollars from private equity firms. The auction giant was reported to be expecting no less than $1.7 billion for the company.
Result for: voip service
According to a report on GigaOM, Skype may be launching a mobile version of its VoIP service for iPhones as soon as next week.
Skype is currently available on the iPhone, but not officially, as you must use third-party applications to access the service. The report speculates that the official Skype application could be coming as soon as the CTIA Wireless trade that starts on April 1st.
In January, the company introduced Skype for Android phones, and Skype Lite currently works on Windows Mobile and Java devices.
Is mobile VoIP really worth it though? Liane Cassavoy of PC World would say it isn’t, and adds:
“Most notably, the call quality remains iffy at best, and in some instances it’s absolutely abominable. Also, depending on your calling habits, you may not see any savings at all. Most services still charge a per-minute rate, so you’ll save on domestic calls only if you’ve exceeded your regular voice plan’s allotment (in which case you might still be better off upgrading your voice plan).” She does note however, that for international callers, the savings are tremendous.
