VoIP service provider Skype will next month enable customers to be charged for Skype Credits via their mobile phone bill, a move that could potentially put more pressure on mobile operator voice revenue.

The service is being enabled by Luxembourg-based vendor Mach, and will be rolled out across “key markets” from October (it's worth noting that no operator partners have officially been confirmed yet). Mach already has a pre-existing deal with Skype’s parent Microsoft to provide carrier billing services for apps in the Windows Marketplace. That deal was first announced back in January and covers carriers including Telus in Canada and Telstra in Australia.

Skype offers a free and low-cost alternative to operators’ voice services, and the ability for a mobile phone user to now pay for low-cost Skype calls via their monthly mobile phone bill or prepaid account (at no additional cost) is likely to place further pressure on operators, at a time when mobile voice revenues are declining around the world.

“Delivering a strong user-experience has been at the heart of Skype’s adoption by millions of users globally, and we want to extend this philosophy to the payment options we provide,” noted Skype's Neil Ward. “We expect ease of payment to attract new users, while existing users will become more profitable customers as they increase their spend with us.”

Despite the potential threat to operators, Mach’s CEO claimed the deal could actually represent an opportunity for operators: “Our Direct Operator Billing solution provides a great boon for the operators we work with by allowing them to enter the e-commerce value chain and start to win market share from the major credit card brands and companies, which have traditionally dominated the space. Being able to play in this value chain will be critical to raising operator revenues in the future and it’s fantastic to have a high-profile merchant like Skype on board.”