[LINK] Why Skype?
rene
rene.ln at libertus.net
Thu May 12 10:54:40 AEST 2011
On Thu, 12 May 2011 09:36:44 +1000, kim holburn wrote:
> http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2011/05/microsoft-confirms-85-
> bn-skype-purchase-clarifies-nothing.ars
>
>> The joker in the pack could be Windows Phone. If Microsoft
>> integrated Skype into Windows Phone to provide Google Voice-like
>> services to a global market, with free calling to existing Skype
>> and Messenger users and cheap international calling, this could
>> revolutionize the cellphone market. It would relegate the network
>> providers to mere dumb pipes, putting an end to per-minute call
>> charges—or rather, putting an end to per-minute call charges from
>> the networks—and transforming the industry.
>>
>> The problem with that is that the phone networks are fighting tooth
>> and nail to avoid that very outcome. They don't want to be dumb
>> pipes; they want people to pay for services.
Another problem is that the author appears to be assuming that Microsoft
will change Skype's business model. Skype's web site appears to be telling
me that Skype charges people in Australia 3c per minute for calls
terminating on the AU PSTN. Some, probably all, AU VOIP service providers
have long been offering very cheap flat rate (<20c) for calls to AU
landline numbers.
Irene
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