Will Skype kill BT and Vodafone?

Another blow for VoIP? The Times reports today how Skype, the internet telephony group snapped up by eBay last year, will be available on mobile phones for the first time after a tie-up with 3, the mobile phone company.

It's tempting to think the day when we'll all be using VoIP (voice over internet protocol) services - mostly for free - is fast approaching. Could that spell trouble for the BTs of this world? And how about Vodafone, which has blown a staggering £5.1 billion in the past year alone marketing its 3G network?

That 3 have been one of the more convincing proponents of 3G suggests the execs are exploring the possibility of hybrid models - where both technologies live side by side. That would seem to make sense for consumers; the prospect of bog-standard calls being free - and having the option to pay a premium to watch video content would surely appeal to thrifty first movers.

But could (still glitchy, from our experience) 3G products offset the possible loss of bread-and-butter revenues suffered at the hands of VoIP?

We can't be sure. But we do know that in the meantime, when the telecoms high-flyers at the 3GSM Conference in Barcelona aren't watching TV on their mobiles, or comparing their rhinestone-studded handsets, many of them will be pondering the fact that more than half the world has never made a telephone call.

Comments

[a wallace]

I was successfully using Skype but the service has recently proved repeatedly unable to connect with a mobile in New Zealand that it had coped with before. This coincided with an increased number of users on the site and new owners. I'm afraid I've asked for my money back.