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The partnership between Verizon Wireless and Skype is an intriguing one. The two companies said this week that from Thursday, Verizon customers with Android and Blackberry 3G smartphones and a data tariff will be able to make Skype calls on Verizon’s network. Although the customer will need a data plan, Verizon will actually route the calls over its voice network for the wireless leg to provide “a superior experience and top-notch call quality.”

It is intriguing because Verizon appears to be taking a big gamble. Not in terms of short-term revenue – sales of more data plans to customers wanting Skype will probably compensate for any loss of revenues from voice calls. The much greater risk is the long-term positioning of Verizon Wireless. The provision of communications services, particularly voice calls, is at the core of telecoms companies’ brand proposition.

There is clearly a danger that Verizon could cede that positioning to Skype in the minds of its customers, particularly as Verizon is routing Skype calls over its voice network for the wireless element. This approach further blurs the line between VoIP, which used to be regarded as a lower-quality service, and circuit-switched voice services. Full end-to-end VoIP over a mobile network is still not a great experience, so Verizon is really giving Skype a leg-up by opening up its voice network to the web service provider.

Skype Unlimited and Unleashed

Verizon says that Skype mobile users will be able to make and receive “unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls to any Skype contact around the globe, send and receive unlimited instant messages with other Skype users and call international phone numbers at competitive Skype calling rates.”

In the press release, John Harrobin, Verizon Wireless’ senior vice president of digital media and marketing, enthused: “Skype mobile will change the way mobile consumers in the United States make and receive calls. With an ‘always on’ capability, Skype mobile on your 3G smartphone means you never have to miss a call or make an appointment to connect with Skype users around the world. With Skype mobile, we’re untethering Skype users from their PCs and enabling them to stay connected – on the best wireless network in the country.”

Call me old-fashioned, but isn’t it amazing that a well-established mobile operator should give so much air-time to Skype? Harrobin mentions Skype five times in just three sentences. Remember, we aren’t talking here about a new mobile operator trying to win market share, but the leader in the US market.

The world is clearly changing. And faster than I thought it would.

 

David Pringle

This article was first published on the GSMA’s Mobile Innovation Exchange. David moderates discussion forums on the site and is a freelance media and investor relations consultant.

The editorial views expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and will not necessarily reflect the views of the GSMA, its Members or Associate Members