LIVE FROM PLANET OF THE APPS EUROPE 2010: Russ Shaw, VP of Mobile at Skype, used his keynote presentation this morning to position the company as a partner for mobile network operators, rather than a competitor intending to capture lucrative voice revenue. Making significant reference to its existing relationships with operators including 3 UK and Verizon Wireless, and its new relationship with Japan’s KDDI, which will see Android devices sold with the app embedded from the end of this month, Shaw said that relationships of this type only work when they are “mutually beneficial.” It was stated that experience from its long-standing relationship with 3 indicates that Skype users tend to churn less than non-Skype users, and that customers also tend to consume more of other services. The relationship with Verizon Wireless was described as “a wake-up call that Skype is not a competitive threat to the carriers, but we can be a real complement in terms of creating a win-win partnership.” However, in order for relationships to succeed, three key areas need to be addressed from the outset: who owns the customer data, how access to the network is governed, and who controls the user experience. “If you can’t agree this up-front, it won’t work,” he warned.

Shaw also used his speech to highlight the need for net neutrality, in order to drive product and service innovation which will ultimately benefit customers – with Skype also standing to benefit if operators do not block competitive voice services. “Even if we don’t have a direct partnership with an operator, I think operators can certainly benefit from letting consumers use the apps of their choice, remembering that apps drive demand for data. Lets face it, in terms of the carrier role, that is where more of the future revenue is going to come from. Even mobile apps can provide value for networks. They stimulate demand for smartphones, they drive data usage, and they also can complement existing services. Working together is key. Customers will end up with a better experience, and I think that networks will end up with more revenue and less churn.” In terms of future developments, Skype said that its objective is “to bring mobile video calling to a broad range of devices across a variety of platforms,” with Shaw noting that “I can’t wait for 4G and LTE to come, because we are just scratching the surface of the potential there.”