The Consumer Electronics Show is the industry’s largest international gathering that tends to take over Las Vegas for four days. Skype at CES 2012 is rather low key this year with no press announcements, a small “open air” Skype Lounge in the Central Plaza in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center and a kiosk in the Microsoft booth.

The Skype Lounge features a demonstration of the recently announced TelyHD Skype video calling for any TV set and Skype Video Calls on a large screen with various local Las Vegas locations such as a museum and some school attractions. Occasionally they get worked up with “jump time” throwing out free cell phone socks to passersby. The biggest issue here is visitor traffic; due to its location barricaded largely by a key roadway for shuttle busses and taxis, it’s a little like the barriers put up by an urban freeway.

Meanwhile over at the Skype kiosk in the Microsoft booth are two sides; one with four PC’s where visitors can make Skype calls; on the other side a 55” LCD TV screen receiving an HD video transmission from the Skype Lounge. Lots of traffic; but no presentations as done at some other Microsoft kiosks (Windows 8, Kinect, Windows Phone, etc.)

Make Free Skype Calls	Skype for TV at 55” (720p HD, no pixelating)

On the show floor so far I have seen Skype in the Logitech booth (new C920 1080p HD webcam), Blue Microphone with a unique USB microphone for laptops and NVidia where there is another TelyHD demonstration.

I’ll have more to report on TelyHD after an interview later today.

And our presence did get tweeted.

Bottom line: It is called the Consumer Electronics Show where the focus is on the business relationships behind end user experiences for consumers. While Skype had no news announcements, they focused on demonstrating the user experience and applications of video calling. At the same time I suspect Skype is working out the path to its incorporation into Microsoft products – Live, Xbox/Kinect, Office, Windows Phone, etc. And we’ll hear about it at some Microsoft -sponsored event – tying in with their reasoning for dropping out of CES as both keynote and exhibitor.

Yesterday on the Skype Big Blog Skype’s Jennifer Caulkin published an infographic, A day in the life of Skype, with some illuminating usage information:

• 65 million people sign into Skype daily (certainly a confirmation that the order of magnitude of Hudson Barton’s “real user” count is in the ball park)
• 30 million SkypeOut minutes per day represents about 4.3% of all Skype calling minutes, yet Skype has stated that about 8% of its users have Skype Calling Plan subscriptions. Probably the only deduction here is that “paid” calls to the PSTN are, on average, shorter than “free” Skype-to-Skype calls.
• 42% of all Skype minutes are video calling. Certainly justifies Skype’s heavy promotion of video calling as well as its introduction to mobile devices. (And July does not include any video calling using Skype for iPad, launched August 2).

These numbers certainly set a benchmark for any other IP-based communications offering to match in terms of user adoption. And would they even want to publish similar usage numbers?

The one number that’s not updated is the number of active users during July, last reported as about 170 million in the previous quarter.

What’s your comment or insight on these numbers? Or other information you would like to see?

Skype’s announcement today of agreements to have television sets become end points for Skype video calls really raises a series of both user interface issues as well as social issues:

• Do I want to be interrupted while watching programming such as a sporting event or Oprah?
• Where is it more convenient to talk: via a TV audio channel open to the room or a traditional handset with its inherent conversation privacy and reduced potential to interrupt a roomful of family and/or friends?
• Where do we want convergence? How much do we want to have application-specific hardware?
• Do we want scenarios where all those in the viewing room are exposed to the call?
• What clothes shall I wear while watching TV but enabled to be seen on a video call?
• If Skype is introduced into TV sets, how far can the inherent intelligence and Internet connectivity be deployed in a way that encourages user adoption of additional features and services? (SlingBox in the TV?)
• What Skype account(s) does one want to come via the TV? An separate account? A personal-use account? A business-use account? or combinations of these accounts. (For the Philips VoIP phone on our Rogers Home Phone service, we use a separate Skype account from my normal Skype “business-use” account.)

Why do I raise these questions? Consider three related user experiences I have had:

• When the Turin Winter Olympics opened in February 2006, I happened to be on a Skype call to an acquaintance, Peter, in Sweden while watching the CBC broadcast of the opening ceremony in my office via my newly acquired SlingBox. He was also watching the same opening ceremony on Swedish television. Our conversation was intertwined between the original purpose of the call (to address some technical issues) and comments on the opening ceremony. It was an interesting experience but note that we were watching and discussing the broadcast while being able to watch it.
• Recently Rogers quietly added a TV Call Display service that brought a feature of our Home Phone service to our TV set. Namely when someone calls us the caller ID information appears along the bottom of the TV screen along with options to Send to Voice Mail, Snooze (disable the call notification for up to 2 hours) or change the TV Call Display settings. Bottom line: it’s a minimally obtrusive service that actually provides call information prior to the phone(s) ringing and let’s you have options for dealing with the call without leaving your viewing chair.
• It’s real handy to have a PVR service that continues to record a program while viewing other programs; the other service that comes handy when there are conflicting sports events is Picture-in-Picture.

Skype’s TV Video calling currently has to be in an early adopter (or launch) phase. It simply replaces the currently viewed program with the video call taking over the screen and effectively becomes another Skype client. (More Skype Everywhere?) Obviously the TV set has to be both “intelligent” and Internet-enabled; this explains both why the HDMI 1.4 cable specification includes the ability to incorporate an Ethernet connection and why new higher performance  intelligence has to be introduced into TV sets (or cable set-top boxes).

But, partially based on my experiences described above, for a fully featured user experience we need to see:

• On-screen notification of a call while watching a broadcast program along with options to take the call or send it to a voice mail (or video mail) service.
• Ongoing recording of the currently viewed TV program in background on the PVR while on the call.
• Picture-in-picture integration to allow a viewer to monitor a program while on a call (or switch between the program and calling party as the primary display content).
• Multi-party calling (is this a potential revenue generating service for Skype?)
• Forwarding/transferring of the voice channel of the call to another Skype-enabled device such as the RTX 3088 Dualphone or mobile smartphone, or forward both the voice and video channels of the call to a Skype client on a PC.
• Chat or text messaging capability.

Given the size of the somewhat saturated HD television set market it needs new features to go beyond simply HD capability; using the TV as a Skype end point becomes one option to enhance the TV feature set. From the user perspective, on the other hand, it becomes one of many choices for handling (Skype) conversations. It certainly adds to the “Skype Everywhere” theme but how far do we want “everywhere” to go?

Bottom line: going forward we are going to see a range of attempts at convergence of our communications. But we are left with many questions:

• How much intelligence do we need within our “end point” devices? (I just acquired a Blu-Ray player that has an active Ethernet connection for firmware updates and additional content information delivery).
• Should the Skype intelligence be in TV sets or does it make more sense (and for broader distribution of Skype) to have the Skype intelligence in a set-top box, such as our Scientific Atlanta Explorer box?
• What additional services would intelligence in the TV or cable set-top box could be delivered by the cable service providers?
• How intense will the competition become between TV set manufacturers and cable set-top box manufacturers to control the intelligence behind these services? What can the set manufacturers and the cable companies see as business models for these competing offerings?
• Can this video calling intelligence be brought to mobile smartphones? Do we need LTE or 4G networks to make this happen?

At a minimum, the introduction of Skype’s TV client gives us talking points for the upcoming CES 2010 later this week.

Additional links and information:

Share Skype Blog: Get Skype on your TV

LG Electronics to Unveil Broadband HDTVs With Embedded Skype Capability

Skype and Panasonic Announce Collaboration to Add Skype Software to Viera® HDTVs

Brad Stone, New York Times: A Venture Integrating Skype Into the Family Room

And, as for the Hockey Picture on the captured TV screen: tonight Canada will be defeating the U.S. for World Junior Hockey supremacy once again…. fortunately I will be able to watch it live on my flight to Las Vegas. Something to do in this era of minimalist carry-on luggage.

We all know that Skype for iPhone currently requires that you be at a WiFi access point in order to make a Skype call from the iPhone, even though it supports 3G data. So, when highly respected technology reporter Larry Magid, attending today’s D:AllThingsDigital conference, sends out the Tweet, shown to the right, quoting AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, many questions arise:

• Has AT&T heard that Skype really provides communications software? I think that is the message that Skype President Josh Silverman has been trying to deliver when he states, “software will drive the future of real time communications innovation and efficiencies going forward, not the existing telcos”
• Is failure to allow Skype for iPhone to run over AT&T’s 3G network a tacit admission that AT&T continues to suffer from 3G data network capacity and quality issues? Once again my most recent trip roaming on AT&T in Chicago four weeks ago demonstrated nothing to say service availability and robustness has improved over my previous experiences in PA, WV, VA, NC, SC, CA and NV.
• Is AT&T’s response to SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone (or BlackBerry) one more challenge to, or subtle admission of, AT&T’s network quality and robustness issues. Is the following statement a cover-up for their failings:
  

  “Slingbox, which would use large amounts of wireless network capacity, could create congestion and potentially prevent other customers from using the network,” an AT&T representative said in e-mail to reporters. “The application does not run on our 3G wireless network. Applications like this, which redirect a TV signal to a personal computer, are specifically prohibited under our terms of service.”

I would invite Mr. Stephenson to Canada where I can demonstrate Rogers’ high quality 3G GSM data network that:

• has robust and reliable 3G data coverage in not only major population areas but also all our major tourist and recreation areas (Whistler, Central Ontario, Tremblant, etc.)
• is always there when I expect it
• has no issue with using SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry (and has made no issue with SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone either)
• Rogers is offering its Rocket Stick mobile data service over its  7.2Mbps 3.5G HSPA network, placing additional demand on their network capacity.

Bottom Line: Sorry, Randall, but AT&T has a long way to go to show that they understand the real potential of, and that they’re serious about, their mobile business.

For more amusement check out John Paczkowski’s report on Walt Mossberg’s Q&A with Randall Stephenson at D7.

Update: Om Malik reports this afternoon at GigaOm: AT&T Moves Up Its LTE Rollout, Admits To Network Issues. Seems that AT&T is finally admitting they have some issues to address.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Have You Tried SlingPlayer for the iPhone? (chris.pirillo.com)
• WiFi: The Real Threat to the Mobile Carriers (voiceontheweb.biz)
• SlingPlayer for iPhone Arrives…Partly (netnewsdaily.com)
• AT&T Says Its Network Can’t Keep Up With All The Cool Stuff You Can Do With The Smartphones It Sells (techdirt.com)
• AT&T Uses Semantics to Justify Locking Down SlingPlayer For iPhone [At&t] (gizmodo.com)
• Canadian Experience with Skype Access and Boingo WiFi (voiceontheweb.biz)

In CNet’s third annual Webware 100 poll over 600,000 readers participated to select 10 WebWare 100 winners in each of 10 categories. Once again Skype has been declared a winner in the Communications category. Webware editors selected the 300 candidates out of 5000 nominees but the final winners are purely based on popular vote.

Somebody out there continues to like Skype!

This past Tuesday the media got the meat they had been looking for ever since newly minted eBay CEO John Donahoe announced a year ago that Skype’s future within eBay was under review. Lots of speculation ensued over the past year; it was a de facto admission that maybe there were minimal, if any, synergies between eBay and Skype. This was confirmed in Tuesday’s press release announcing an IPO:

“Skype is a great stand-alone business with strong fundamentals and accelerating momentum,” said eBay Inc.’s President and CEO, John Donahoe. “But it’s clear that Skype has limited synergies with eBay and PayPal. We believe operating Skype as a stand-alone publicly traded company is the best path for maximizing its potential. This will give Skype the focus and resources required to continue its growth and effectively compete in online voice and video communications. In addition, separating Skype will allow eBay to focus entirely on our two core growth engines—e-commerce and online payments—and deliver long-term value to our stockholders.”

But many questions have arisen; but let’s start with where Skype stands today:

• 2008 revenues of $550 million with a contribution to eBay’s bottom line (effectively EBITDA) over 20% ($110 million)
• Skype’s new executive team is putting in place the experienced management team, business processes and infrastructure required to build and distribute the products, services and business relationships required to build the business
• The new executive team recently provided details of their software and mobile strategies.
• Skype represents over 8% of all international calling traffic in minutes.
  

  ‘Only five years after its launch, Skype has emerged as the largest provider of cross-border voice communications in the world.’

• New offerings, such as Skype for iPhone with over two million downloads in the first week, the forthcoming Skype for BlackBerry, Skype for Asterisk and Skype for SIP have generated new enthusiasm within the Skype ecosystem’s developer and partner communities as well as with carriers and other potential business affiliates.
• Skype President Josh Silverman, recently outlined Skype’s business model and strategy at an eBay analyst presentation where the forecast for Skype’s 2011 revenues was about $1 billion.
• eBay has reported over eight quarters of solid revenue growth and EBITDA for its Skype business.
• Skype is a world class communications software company building platforms to enable the next generation of low cost, worldwide communications.
• There is an outstanding critical patent licensing action before the High Court in the U.K.

Getting to the Questions:

What is the goal of an IPO?

• To provide the funds which (i) allow eBay to raise cash by selling a portion, or all, of its shares in Skype and (ii) provide sufficient working capital and cash flow to fund Skype’s activities post-IPO, including both operations and any potential acquisitions. Skype would need $750 million to $1.5 billion in cash to have the flexibility to participate fully in the IP-based communications space.
• To allow Skype to maximize the opportunities available for partnerships unencumbered by the eBay relationship

Why an IPO?

In today’s market conditions there were really two options: find  a suitable buyer or do an IPO.

• Google would certainly be a consideration but once again the synergy issue would arise: Google is the Web 2.0’s primary advertising vehicle leveraging its search expertise; while Google has added some voice and video services, it is more to communications-enable their primary activity as opposed to be a world class communications enabler for the broader carrier space.
• Microsoft is engrossed in negotiations with Yahoo; also they have become primarily a business software company built on their operating system cash cow. Yes they have their OCS/LCS offerings for larger enterprises and internal “startups’” such as their successful Response Point small business PBX but nothing to provide underlying world class communications platform infrastructure.
• An IPO taps the rather large cash balances many (of the smarter) investment firms have been building as a result of investment sell-offs over the past several months
• An IPO allows Skype to operate independently with a minimum potential for channel conflicts with the current and potential business partners and customers who can take advantage of a communications software platform

Why in 2010?

• To allow the new executive team to demonstrate continued performance improvements in the execution of their strategy. Most investment firms will want to see four to six quarters of meeting guidance, under this team, along with continued growth towards the 2011 $1B revenue guidance and EBIDTA above 20%.
• To increase the IPO valuation based on actual 2009 performance as opposed to “guidance”. eBay would certainly like to recover, at a minimum, the post-write-down Skype valuation currently on its books (approximately $1.7 billion).
• To provide time for resolution of an outstanding patent licensing issue with respect to Skype’s basic architecture.

What could be stumbling blocks?

• Failure to reach a resolution of the current patent licensing dispute with Joltid. If eBay were to lose the case there would have to be questions asked about the due diligence taken at the time of eBay’s Skype acquisition in September, 2005.
• An acceptable offer from other third parties. But who’s up to the task? And who would find acquiring Skype to have appropriate synergies?
• Failure to provide continued financial performance consistent with the 2011 revenue goal. (eBay’s Q1-2009 results will be reported next Wednesday, along with an earnings call.)

Other considerations:

• Om points out the need for any Skype acquisition or spin-off to remain under the leadership of the new executive team:

If Niklas and Janus do indeed pull it off, I would have one piece of advice for them: keep Skype CEO Josh Silverman around, preferably in the current role. They should focus on technology, vision and strategy for the company.

• Could Niklas and Janus leverage the patent dispute to acquire Skype on a lower valuation?
• A Skype IPO is not going to be the trigger of another hot IPO market. It’s a more traditional IPO of spinning off a segment of a business that has demonstrated success, can generate appropriate cash flow and is better off being independent of any “parent” company.
• Will Skype start to issue more detailed data on usage? Once again, Skype needs to report “real users” such as how many of the over 400 million Skype accounts actually made a call in the previous quarter. Hopefully SEC regulations will require more explicit revelation of “real user data”.
• Will eBay sell all, or only a portion of, its shares in Skype? By retaining some ownership they would demonstrate their support of Skype as an independent business as well as profit further from any future share price growth.

As former New York Yankee catcher Yogi Berra once said: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over”.

Update: During an analyst conference April 16, 2009 eBay CFO Bob Swan said that eBay will remain a “significant” shareholder of Skype but indicated the proposed IPO is the first stage of a plan to “fully separate Skype”. CEO John Donahoe commented to the effect that, should eBay in the interim receive an unsolicited offer, it would be evaluated against the benefits of proceeding with the IPO.

Other bloggers:

• Phil Wolff, Skype Journal: eBay makes a market in Skype stock provides several links to other bloggers’ comments.
• Jason Harris, Techcraver: Skype To Be Spun Off, Makes Plans for IPO.
• Hudson Barton; Ckipe: Why Skype is being IPO’d.

Related articles by Zemanta

• EBay planning spin-off of Skype through IPO (financialpost.com)
• eBay Lays Groundwork for Skype IPO in 2010 (readwriteweb.com)
• Skype for sale…any takers? (bbc.co.uk)

Skype today published data from a recent Zobgy survey that, aside from demonstrating smartphone users’ desire to control their own phone configuration, demonstrates that a significant majority of users in the four countries surveyed (U.S., U.K., Japan and Spain) simply are still not perceiving the potential for a mobile phone handset to be considered as having additional use beyond simply making voice calls.

While I am receiving feedback from acquaintances who are saying their BlackBerry Bold or 8900 Curve has become their mobile computer (reinforcing my own experience) the survey results conclude:

• over 62% of the survey respondents do not perceive their mobile device as an extension of their computer.
• Over 70% have never downloaded an application to their mobile phone.

What this survey really says is that awareness of the smartphone as a mobile computing device is still quite weak amongst the general public, especially in North America. Secondary to this finding are the results showing:

• Only 23% feel that they have more or the same level of control over their mobile device as they have over their computer.
• 67% want to be able to choose their mobile applications for themselves, rather than have their carriers choose for them.

Of course consumers want choice; the real issue here becomes the legacy microcomputer user issue of balancing:

• how much guidance does a vendor (carrier, PC manufacturer, smartphone vendor) provide driving users to “supported” or “authorized” applications against
• how aware is the consumer that they can actually have “freedom to choose” when it comes to not only smartphone applications but also personal computing applications.

The major difference from the early Windows 95 days of wanting to be on the Windows desktop and wanting to be immediately available on a smartphone is that the carrier, not the operating system developer, approves the user interface and smartphone configuration that is available on purchase of the computing device.

We have since seen the disappearance of “pre-configured” Windows desktop applications (how many PC’s have I installed over the past 15 years where I removed the AOL application?) with more practices such as the Dell Vostro line of business PC’s providing a minimal number of pre-installed desktop applications supporting use of the PC itself and no third party applications. It has become the responsibility of  the individual third party developers to generate market awareness and adoption on a PC platform.

The Apple iPhone started this trend within the smartphone consumer market. A basic iPhone has the necessary applications to use the phone for voice calls and text messaging along with a minimal number of third party applications such as Google Maps and Facebook. From this starting point, the user can then use the iPhone App store to choose applications that find the nearest Starbucks, tell you when the next TTC streetcar is coming, deliver the Toronto Globe and Mail or turn your iPhone into a musical instrument. No carrier control, no carrier revenue; over 20,000 applications available.

When looking at the BlackBerry, one again finds that it comes with a set of basic applications that support communications, either voice or text (including several IM applications). Users have long been able to add applications either via stores such as Handango with 1800 applications for the Bold, Crackberry App Store or a wide range of enterprise-specific applications. Today my BlackBerry can follow Twitter and Facebook via SocialScope, deliver my cable TV service to the device anywhere worldwide, make Skype calls via iSkoot or IM+ for Skype, follow the news on NY Times, Wall Street Journal or CNN (Globe and Mail, where are you?), stream video to the Internet (Qik) and use any Google service (Maps, News, Reader, Search, Sync, etc.).

The ability to download user-selected applications is here (certainly on my Rogers Wireless service). The real issue is that North Americans need to be made more aware of the potential of a smartphone to deliver value-added services and information. Only at that point will there be sufficient pent-up consumer demand to “free up the smartphone” from today’s level of carrier control.

According to the report the Spanish and Japanese “get it”; probably other European countries where the level of  carrier control of applications is much less than in North America also get it. The survey found almost twice as many Spanish have downloaded applications and perceive their mobile devices as an extension of their computing experience. When the awareness is there, the demand for user freedom to choose their applications and smartphone configuration will arise.

The bottom line:

• General awareness of mobile smartphones as more than a voice calling device still needs to be promoted heavily by both application developers and smartphone vendors
• Users perceive that they would want to have control over their smartphone applications if they know there is an huge range of non-telephony applications available.
• the younger generation will drive adoption through their personal social networks, in turn, making older generations aware of what can be done with a smartphone.
• Developers still need to market their applications, emphasizing the user experience, beyond simply having them available on the iPhone App Store or BlackBerry App World.

All it takes is for an individual to find one Starbucks, watch one television program remotely, see a live video of the grandchildren, read one time sensitive news report, have one business success story or make a free international Skype call via iSkoot or other Skype-enabled application to drive awareness amongst a broader public. In the end it’s all about demonstrating the satisfaction that results from an engaging user experience to build the necessary awareness.

Om Malik says “As Mobile Data Grows, People Want Wireless Carriers To Buzz Off”.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Unauthorized iPhone app stores emerging (buddymob.blogspot.com)
• Why Facebook’s Future Is Mobile (gigaom.com)
• BlackBerry App Store Clone Pushes $3 Minimum (iphonesavior.com)

Yesterday’s announcement of Grand Central’s rebirth as Google Voice drew a lot of attention from both the mainstream media and blogger world. In following the IP-based communications world over the past three years, I have come to believe that the only potential real time conversation service provider challenger to Skype could come from Google. It has huge user registration numbers at a world class scale; however, its primary business is built around how many ways can one drill down within Search and then offer contextually relevant advertising. On the other hand, they appear to be looking to complement search-embedded activities, such as Search within GMail, with real time conversation capabilities.

For instance the recently launched GMail Voice and Video chat allows users to migrate to real time conversations directly off an email message. Great in the context of building a dialogue out of an email’s subject and content. I’ve tried it and it works but have not had reason to use it in my everyday activity; on the other hand, if I  find reason to use it, it’s there and easy to launch. A great example of voice-enabling a conversation in the context of an ongoing dialogue.

Show me a platform that is not supported by Google’s GTalk chat offering. Almost every PC and mobile device I receive for evaluation is supported by GTalk. Yet, I only have about ten contacts on GTalk and may get a message once every week or two. There’s a reason Alec Saunders came out recently to say “Ditching all IM Systems except Skype!”. On the other hand, GTalk is there; it’s handy if someone contacts me via GTalk.

While Google Voice lists its entire feature set here, Kim Peterson’s post, “Free long-distance? Oh yeah, Google;s going there”, on the Topstocks blog at Microsoft’s Money Central, highlights the the top ones:

In a nutshell, here’s what you’ll be able to do with the free program:

1. Get a single phone number that routes calls to your cell, work and home phones simultaneously.

2. Call numbers in the U.S. for free. And call internationally for ridiculously low rates — I’m talking 2 cents a minute to China.

3. Get your voicemail transcribed into e-mail or text messages.

4. Make free conference calls.

5. Get your voicemail on the Web.

Mainstream media, however, could only focus on how Google Voice would provide competition to eBay’s Skype. New York Times’ Miguel Helft starts out with:

“Google stepped up its attack on the telecommunications industry on Thursday with a free service called Google Voice that, if successful, could chip away at the revenue of companies big and small, like eBay, which owns Skype, telephone companies and a string of technology start-up firms.”

Ryan Singel at Wired’s Epicenter:

When Google announced its integrated phone service called Google Voice Thursday, it said something very loud.

Google is saying it wants to be the world’s communication hub, and hundreds of companies — ranging from mobile phone operators to Skype to Microsoft better be listening.

Further down the same article, Ben Lilienthal, now general manager of audio services for Citrix Online – and a Skype partner for full service audio conferencing, “isn’t convinced that businesses will move to the service very soon”, Ben went on to say:

“For a consumer, it is a pretty compelling service,” Lilienthal said. “But I think if you are a business user, it’s not necessarily a road you would want to go down. There are a bunch of things business users worry about that consumers don’t. If it doesn’t work, can I get a live person on the phone? Is it reliable? What kind of quality of service can I get?”

Many reporters and bloggers had a chance to upgrade their Grand Central service to Google Voice yesterday. However, being a Canadian I never acquired a Grand Central number for the same reason as fellow Canadian and Fonolo CEO Shai Berger:

….. this problem is not unique. Many similar services don’t extend into Canada. It’s still hard to get a Canadian Skype-In number for example. Ooma has the same problem and when I spoke to some senior people at Ooma last year they cited complicated regulatory issues (including a word I hadn’t heard before: “homologation“. Always like learning a new word). I don’t expect Grand Central/Google Voice to address this any time soon and I don’t hold it against them — the extra hassle is probably not worth it in the early stage of the game.

But Shai also gives a more generic reason for not being a user of Grand Central:

That 2nd item is a bigger issue because it effects everyone, not just Canadians. Our mental model for interacting with phones is that “if you called me from number X” I can hit redial to call you back. (Or I can store that number in my address book for later.) To fix this we either have to change user behavior (tough) or spoof the caller-ID (technically doable but quasi-legal). The only Voice 2.0 company I know of that has solved this problem is Truphone, which does transmit your Truphone number as to the destination. [Author’s note: SkypeOut also provides callerID using either your Skype Online number or your “Skype registered” mobile phone number.]

But there’s also a user interface issue when you look at how a call is placed. Further down in Kim’s post (and similarly described in the NYT post referenced above):

Here’s how it works: You call into your voice mail on Google Voice, and from there you get transferred to a dial tone. You can call any number at that point [author’s italics]. You also have a central Web site that will show your voice mails and manage your account.

So I have to call one number in order to call the number I want (and, at that point, there’s probably no linkage to my device’s native address book), eh?

And, finally, Om Malik points out a few issues, including how users will pay for international calls:

Just as a warning, the upgrade to Google Voice won’t allow you to take your Grand Central address book with you, since the new system uses Google Contacts. In addition, the service doesn’t work with those of you who have Google Apps accounts; you’ll need Gmail accounts. Lastly, they make you use Google Checkout to pay for international minutes. No thanks — I am happy paying with PayPal and/or credit cards. [author’s italics]

Let’s go back to Skype (and iSkoot):

1. I want to locate a phone number (or SkypeID) in my native mobile handset address book, hit the green “Call” button on my mobile phone and launch a voice call. Real simple UI here. On a mobile device, such as BlackBerry or Nokia N-series, I can do this with iSkoot for making both Skype-to-Skype or SkypeOut calls.
2. I have 14 years invested in my current office and mobile phone numbers. I’m not ready to make any changes. iSkoot, on my BlackBerry, and Truphone on both BlackBerry and iPhone work with each device’s existing phone number.
3. SkypeOut (and iSkoot, when making SkypeOut calls from a BlackBerry or Nokia N-Series S60 phone) provides my mobile phone number as a callerID. A party who needs to return my call can simply click on the number and reach me. (and, if in my native address book, readily see who has called).
4. With Skype I can make payments via PayPal or directly on my credit card.

While I will try Google Voice once they expand to supporting Canadian numbers, its modus operandi certainly does not come up to Skype’s standards for a truly user friendly calling experience. On the other hand its call screening, call management and voicemail handling features certainly provide some new challenges for Skype to watch out for.

Bottom line: today we all look for competition in the wireless carrier and mobile smartphone markets. But there are key differentiating features. It’s healthy to see two players such as Skype and Google, both with world scale user bases, in the real time conversation space. But there are differences, in the individual end users will adopt whatever provides the most convenience for his/her individual needs.

Full disclosure: the author has Bell Canada lines for his home office, including fax, requirements while using Rogers Home Phone for family voice calling. He also uses Skype for most of his business conversation requirements, especially long distance and international calling. Just as different smartphones meet different user needs, we’re probably going to find that many of us need multiple services for all our real time conversation needs.

Finally let’s look at one more slide from Skype President Josh Silverman’s analyst presentation earlier this week:

Google has a little bit of work to do to round out an equivalent ecosystem.

Check out Kim’s post for links to several other bloggers’ comments as well.

Andrew Hansen: Skype makes a small ripple, but no Splash with new VM features.

Related articles by Zemanta

• GrandCentral To (Finally) Launch As Google Voice. It’s Very, Very Good. (techcrunch.com)
• GrandCentral Returns as Google Voice (readwriteweb.com)
• GrandCentral Becomes Google Voice (appscout.com)
• Google Launching GrandCentral As Google Voice (searchenginewatch.com)
• Run YourOrganization.com with Free Google Apps (blogs.harvardbusiness.org)

With the launch of Skype for Windows 4.0, Skype delivered its first client incorporating Skype’s new superwideband SILK codec providing a new user experience in voice calling. For example, Alec Saunders in “Skype 4.0 audio: smooth as SILK”:

Perhaps the biggest improvement, though, is audio quality.  We all thought that Skype audio was great, right?  Skype’s internally developed SILK codec slipped into the final release, despite not having been in prior betas. A wideband codec that delivers the goods at half the bitrate of prior codecs, SILK makes talking on Skype a pure pleasure.

The SILK codec will be rolled out with the final release of Skype for Mac 2.8 (currently in beta but without the SILK codec) in April and in the next Linux release (no date given). The coding was designed to allow easy embedding into hardware devices, such as sound cards, headphones and Skype phones. But this still limits the SILK experience to Skype-to-Skype calls. So they looked at the question of how can Skype most readily advance the deployment of this high quality codec  and the resulting user experience at billions of additional voice conversation end points?

At eComm 2009 this afternoon Skype announced, during Jonathan Christensen’s keynote presentation, that the SILK codec will be licensable, royalty-free, to device manufacturers and others; it has been designed independent from Skype signaling protocols such that it can be used in voice streams incorporating the SIP protocol. Jonathan mentioned that there is no requirement to use the SILK codec in conjunction with a Skype implementation.

From an interview with Jonathan Christensen, Skype’s GM for Audio and Video, with Alec Saunders in Skype’s SILKen bear hug: “Further, SILK media streams pass unchanged across Skype’s own media gateways, meaning that SIP endpoints have suddenly become much more compelling in the Skype world”.  Alec goes on to discuss two reasons for Skype’s strategy: (i) to spread superwideband audio everywhere and (ii) to give existing carriers a bear hug. Read the post for details.

In his post on this announcement, Jonathan pointed out what the three year Skype SILK development process focused on:

• • improving audio bandwidth going from 8 kHz to 12 kHz, meaning that a SILK conversation sounds like you are in the same room as the person you are speaking with
  • providing real-time bandwidth scalability to deal with degraded network conditions
  • balancing codec optimization between voice, music and background noise, each of which can have an impact on the overall user experience
  • delivering a robust solution that delivers a more consistent audio experience, regardless of network conditions and an individual user’s voice signature

I have watched as a wireless carrier attempts at new video calling services are introduced and subsequently fail due to a lack of adoption – the primary reason being there are too few devices out there supporting video calling and thus, there’s nobody to whom one can make a wireless video call. Skype’s announcement today overcomes a major barrier to allowing a much broader user base to take advantage of superwideband audio. It’s a first, but key, step towards a broader goal than “Skype Everywhere”, namely, superwideband audio on all voice calling.

Finally, this afternoon I had a chance to meet many members of the SILK development team who attended Jonathan’s presentation. They deserve kudos and congratulations for all their ground breaking efforts and success in setting new standards in voice call quality.

Developers can find more information at Skype’s SILK website.

Phil Wolff, Skype Journal comments on the SILK performance slides shown at the presentation: SILK performs better

Update: The transcript of Jonathan Christensen’s Codec Evolution and Industry Proposal presentation.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be heading out to San Francisco for eComm 2009. Kudos to organizer Lee Dryburgh, who on his own initiative and at his own personal risk, launched this event last year. Late last week Lee was able to announce that registrations had surpassed last year’s attendance.

Attendees should come away with not only a much better understanding of how this will be a watershed year for telecommunications. The combination of shaky economies, emerging Voice 2.0 offerings and opportunities for more effective personal and business communications is creating a “Perfect Storm” for a watershed year in the communications space. Smartphones, video calling, collaboration services, communications enhanced business processes, communications infrastructure, business models and regulatory issues will all be on the menu. From the eComm press release last week:

Included among the dozen keynote speakers and scores of other presenters over the three days of eComm2009 are:

•    Ge Wang, assistant professor at Stanford University and co-founder, CTO and chief creative officer of Smule.com;
•    Jonathan Christensen, general manager for audio and video at Skype;
•    John Forsyth, vice president of strategy at Symbian;
•    Malcolm Matson, founder of the OPLAN Foundation and entrepreneur;
•    Michael Calabrese, vice president, and Sascha Meinrath, research director, both of the wireless future program at the New America Foundation;
•    Tony Jebara, co-founder and chief scientist at Sense Networks and assistant professor of computer science at Columbia University;
•    Media futurist Gerd Leonhard;
•    Richard Whitt, telecommunications and media counsel for Google in Washington, D.C.;
•    Martin Geddes, head of strategy at BT Design;
•    Benjamin Joffe, founder and CEO of +8*;
•   Mark Rolston, chief creative officer of Frog Design.

Sponsors include Skype, MetaSwitch, NEC Sphere, Voxbone, Global IP Solutions, Voxeo, Jaduka, Ribbit and Broadsoft.

I have already been approached by some companies for interviews (although with full days through to 9 p.m., scheduling interviews may be a challenge) and been made aware of announcements coming from Skype, Voxeo and Jaduka. I’m sure there will be others; it will be a most interesting week.

As Lee says at the end of the press release:

Those wishing to register online may do so at  http://www.amiando.com/ecomm2009.html. For an additional $100, attendees may register on site.

And by entering the promotional code “one touch”, you’ll get a 20% discount courtesy of Voice On The Web.

P.S. – Given that there are many these days in need of social assistance, whether food, shelter or otherwise, Lee has announced that “10% of any profit from the event will be given back to the local community by donating it to the Shelter Network (http://www.shelternetwork.org)”, a Bay Area non-profit undertaking that assists families and individuals with housing issues. Lee has personally guaranteed a minimum $2,000 donation and undertook an interesting social networking experiment to help raise additional funds.

Over the past eight months 1.2 million Skype users have participated in the Skype for Windows 4.0 beta program (stage 1, stage 2, stage 3). During this beta period, not only current user feedback was sought but also feedback from new users installing Skype for the first time. The goal was to provide a user interface that was more intuitive while encouraging users to go beyond simply voice calls to experience and use chat and video conversations.

Today Skype is announcing the Gold release of Skype 4.0 for Windows. From the download page:

We’ve built this brand new Skype so you can have the conversations that make a difference to you, every day. It’s easy to use, plus step-by-step guides help you get started.

While most of the new features have been revealed during the beta period, Skype’s marketing will focus on three key features:

• New user interface; with over 25% of Skype-to-Skype calls involving video this new release has been designed with a focus on improving the video call user experience.
• Improved call quality: Skype 4.0 for Windows incorporates Skype’s new SILK codec whose features are discussed in a separate post today. Bottom line is a crisp, crystal clear audio experience, yet only half the network bandwidth of other codecs is required to support a voice call.
• Bandwidth management: a new bandwidth manager has been developed with the goal of improving overall call performance by adapting, in real time, to degraded or low speed network conditions, such as those caused by excessive packet loss and/or jitter.

The new user interface also has taken into account factors that encourage users to explore Skype beyond voice calling. Incorporating beta user feedback Skype has found that the new UI is driving up adoption rates for Instant Messaging, file transfer and video. When you open a contact window launching a voice, chat or video conversation requires a single click on the respective voice (“Call”), chat or video button. The associated text pane tracks not only chat messages but also voice and video call detail information (launch time, end time) as well as file transfer information. And, as in the past with chat, the entire record is all archived on your local PC for future recall.

Other features: You can choose to view your Skype activity in one larger screen or in individual “conversation” windows. During a call a drop down menu on the “call audio control bar” provides quick access to making any necessary audio or video settings. Single click buttons allow you to quickly change oe add conversation modes to adapt to the context of the conversation. A wizard provides assistance with testing audio and video settings. During their testing they found that these features drove new users to more quickly experience chat and video while there was an increase in usage of these modes by legacy users.

On-the-fly the bandwidth manager can adjust both video and audio transmission by making real time adjustments to parameters such as video resolution, frames-per-second or audio bandwidth. to ensure an ability to maintain a basic level of communication while enduring these conditions. Once again the goal is to improve the overall user experience with no user intervention required.

Two changes;

• The SkypeMe! status button has been removed as a result of its tendency to be used for spamming and other forms of unwanted calls. (Of course you also still have the option to only allow callers in your Contact list to call you.). Along with this Skype has introduced “abuse reporting” which is monitored by Skype personnel for dealing with undesirable calling activity.
• While you can still participate in Public Chat sessions launched or joined from Skype 3.8, there is still no ability to launch or join a Public Chat from Skype 4.0 for Windows. This is my primary complaint about the new user interface. We have had a Skype 4.x Public Chat discussion ongoing since May, 2007; it has provided an interesting dialogue amongst Skype users and Skype personnel, including some feedback on features in Skype 4.0. And is has supported many other informal “water fountain” conversations amongst special interest communities of Skype users. Skype for Windows Product Manager Mike Bartlett claimed yesterday, during an interview, that Skype was reviewing how to embark on “public conversations” in today’s messaging world where services such as Twitter and Friend Feed also provide ongoing dialogues. However, Skype Public Chat has its own “space” in terms of user community; it needs to be brought back as soon as possible.

Over the next few weeks, with more experience using Skype 4.0 for Windows we may cover some features in more detail. In the meantime you can download it here. We look forward your feedback in the Comments. Release Notes are here.

Yesterday Skype went past 16 million concurrent users around 1830 GMT. It will be interesting to monitor both the concurrent user number and Hudson Barton’s “real user” indicator as Skype 4.0 for Windows installations grow over the next couple of weeks..

Of course, the best news is that Skype-to-Skype calls (including multi-party calls), chat and video calling remain free. And there are calling plan subscriptions available for low cost calling to landlines worldwide.

Other Posts:

• Mike Bartlett Discusses Skype 4.0 Beta on Squawk Box
• Skype’s videos about the 4.0 beta limited release
• Mike Bartlett Comments on Skype 4.0 User Feedback
• Mike Bartlett on Skype 4.0 Beta 1 Feedback

We have just learned that Skype 4.0 Beta 3 is now available. Once we have had a chance to install and review it, there will be more  to say. But for now:

• Skype 4.0 Beta 3 Download.
• Release Notes
• Raul Liive’s Skype Blog Post

From the Release Notes (which also lists many bugfixes):

Check out and provide your feedback to Beta Feedback, Skype Forums or the Jira public issue tracker or in comments to this post below.

Over the past year one of the leading IP-based voice service offerings for low cost international calling from wireless smartphones has been Truphone whose service primarily runs over WiFi access points; Their more recently launched Truphone Anywhere service provides an option for making calls via 3G networks using a combination of the data channel and voice channel in a manner similar to iSkoot’s architecture where the caller’s VoIP client resides on the service provider’s server(s). When the Apple App store launched last summer Truphone launched an iPhone 3G application that once again offers the ability to make outbound calls over a WiFi access point.

One more user experience consideration: a key user friendly Truphone feature is its complete Address Book integration; when using Truphone on a N95 8GB I can simply go to my standard address book (synchronized with my Outlook Contacts), select a contact, select a phone number for the contact, press the green “Call” button and initiate a call over Truphone.

So it was not a total surprise, with this experience, that today Truphone announced a new Truphone application for the second generation iPod Touch, which supports a headset with a microphone. But it’s not simply about making low cost phone calls.  Support for chat and social networking has also been included. From the press release:

Truphone for iPod Touch will become a one-stop-shop social hub with the following features coming soon:

• Calling to landlines (PSTN) at low cost (simply set yourself up with a Truphone account);
• Instant messaging to Skype and MSN (free);
• Calling to Skype users (free);
• Calling to MSN users (free);
• Check and set facilities for Twitter (free);
• Check and set facilities for Facebook (free).

Contrary to what many in the media are saying, the client that resides on the iPod Touch is a thin client, not a VoIP client. This client supplies a Truphone server with the information required to open and set up a VoIP client on the server which, in turn, completes the call via a VoIP connection.

What can we envision from this announcement for future releases of Truphone for Nokia, BlackBerry, iPhone 3G and Windows Mobile devices? Beyond the calling and SMS features currently available in their respective Truphone clients I expect we’ll be seeing:

• Truphone access to Skype IM and calls to Skype contacts, as well as to Microsoft Live contacts
• Facebook access, including possibly the ability to import Facebook contacts into your phone address book
• Following Twitter messages

In addition, Truphone is a Voxbone iNum partner; initially Truphone for iPod Touch users will be assigned an iNum “883″ country code number. I have also recently observed use of iNum “883″ numbers on iotum’s Calliflower conferencing service and at Mobivox. Using Skype today, I confirmed that placing a Skype call to an iNum “883″ number results in a SkypeOut call with the appropriate charges.

Looks like we’re about to see some interesting innovation coming from Truphone over the next few months.

Andy Abramson at VoIP Watch talks about some of the broader implications of the technology behind this announcement.

Update: Pat Phelan does not think an iPod Touch is a phone device; it’s not simply a case of “because you can do it”.

Tags: Truphone, Skype, iPod Touch, iNum

Yesterday UK web publication TelecomTV put out a post “Skype claims mobiles are involved in a quarter of its calls“. But a “correction” comment by the author, Tony Chan, disclaims his basic premise:

CORRECTION: As the original author of this story for CommsDay, I am corrected by Skype that the 4 billion minute figure is actually for Skype-to-Skype minutes with video, NOT mobile.

Turns out to be a confirmation of what we have heard in the past: 25% to 30% of all Skype-to-Skype calls invoke video calling.

So how can one generate Skype-to-Skype minutes from a mobile device? What % of Skype-to-Skype minutes are generated from a mobile device?

• iSkoot: sets up a Skype session on their server using information delivered from the iSkoot client on a supported mobile device, such as BlackBerry or Nokia N-Series. When you make a Skype call, it’s Skype-to-Skype from the iSkoot server to your called Skype contact.
• Skypephone: uses iSkoot’s algorithm with the one difference. 3 has set up their own “iSkoot” servers to support this service. As of October 1, 3 customers using iSkoot or a Skypephone can now make SkypeOut calls from any 3 Skype-enabled phone also.
• Skype for Windows Mobile: here the limitation is the small, and decreasing, market share for Windows Mobile devices. It requires either a WiFi connection or 3G but the former is favored but both call quality and robustness reasons. But you can make both Skype-to-Skype and SkypeOut calls from this client. (And it’s the only instance of a true Skype VoIP client on mobile device — challenging both processor speeds and battery life.)
• Skype for Mobile – currently at a beta stage with limited outbound calling; this service fundamentally uses the same architecture as iSkoot. (I suspect iSkoot has any appropriate intellectual property protected under this. After all, Skype and iSkoot are working together on Skypephone, etc. But it is interesting to experience the difference in user interfaces between iSkoot and Skype for Mobile) Again this does not put the full VoIP client on the device but rather back at a server. Probably not too many minutes here yet.
• Update: Mobivox CEO Peter Diedrich emailed to remind me that their voice-enabled service also has the ability to launch Skype-to-Skype voice calls. From any landline or mobile handset worldwide the caller makes a “local” call to VoxGirl who, in turn, launches and connects to a Skype session on a Mobivox server. Effectively creating a landline- or mobile-to-Skype call, Mobivox requires no downloads or client software. VoxGirl will determine presence information to decide whether to proceed with a call; however, there is no IM/chat capability.
• I have described my experience with Fring for iPhone when it launched almost two months ago. My problem with any iPhone application of this nature is that there is currently no background processing such that you can allow an IM session to run in background while executing other applications.

And how successful has 3′s Skypephone service been? We initially heard some qualitative information at eComm 2008 last spring. But, information supplied by Skype’s PR this morning provides us the basis for an order-of-magnitude guestimate:

“…. since Skype launched the 3 Skypephone in November last year, there have been over over 100 million minutes of Skype-to-Skype calls by users of the 3 Skypephone and other mobile handsets with Skype and there are currently more than a million minutes of Skype-to-Skype calls each day on 3 mobiles in the UK.”

So out of 16 billion Skype-to-Skype minutes each quarter (as reported in the last eBay quarterly analyst call), it would appear that, at the current > 1 million minutes/day on 3, 75 to 100 million minutes per quarter are via mobile handsets. Hmmm, that makes about 0.5%  to 0.8% of all Skype-to-Skype minutes.

Why can 3 offer this service at such low prices? As explained by iSkoot CEO Mark Jacobstein at eComm 2008 last March, there are no termination charges for Skype-to-Skype calls, even when one Skype session is on an iSkoot server.

P.S. – Want to keep up-to-date on these issues? opens a week Monday.

Full disclosure: the author uses iSkoot on a BlackBerry Bold when out of the office; he has also experienced successful use on a Nokia N95.

Tags: Skype, iSkoot, Skypephone, Skype Mobile, eComm2008, Mark Jacobstein, Tags: TelecommTV, Tony Chan

Internet Censorship Explorer Nart Villeneuve has been getting lots of questions about his “Breaching Trust” report and issued a Q&A that answers some common questions. Initially he describes how he determined that messages containing key words were being uploaded to a web server. (The technologically curious can get the answer through accessing the link.) He then goes on to say:

Is “normal” Skype affected?

No. The Skype software downloaded from skype.com is not affected by the behavior. The only time “normal” Skype users are affected is when they communicate with TOM-Skype users.

What is TOM-Skype and what is the difference between it and Skype?

If you go to www.skype.com from China, you are redirected to skype.tom.com — so that’s [the] version most Chinese people will use.

In 2004 Skype developed a relationship with TOM Online, a leading wireless provider in China, and announced a joint venture in 2005. Skype and TOM Online produced a special version of the Skype software, known as TOM-Skype, for use in China.

What is Skype saying, have they said anything to you?

I contacted Skype to have the security issue fixed before the report was released. So, they have configured the servers so that one can no longer view the logs and they have deleted sensitive files, such as the one containing the encryption key. Other than that contact, I’ve only seen the statements they’ve made to reporters.

The irony here is that if I find someone using the “F” word inappropriately, at my discretion, they may be deleted from my Facebook friends or Twitter contacts. In one case I reported the use to the person’s parent; that person continues to be a Facebook friend but now posts without the expletives. The paranoid in me could ask “are the Chinese trying to clean up the expression of the English language?”

In closing, I would recall that Skype was involved as an element of the process in getting out to the world the message when some “Free Tibet” demonstrators put a banner up on the Great Wall of China last spring.

Hat tip to Rebecca MacKinnon for pointing to this Q&A. As mentioned in my comment to her post, for the first time in its five year history, we have seen a timely response in a crisis situation directly from the top executive at Skype; hopefully this reflects on the new directions and attitude Skype’s new management team is taking in becoming more transparent with the public. Of course, along with the reported dialogue between Nart and Skype personnel, it means all the technology speculators out there have no opportunity to exercise their minds by delving into the (non)-complexity of how this was detected and corrected. But the blogosphere will survive; other issues will be taken up.

This is the second in a series of posts resulting from in interview last Friday with Josh Silverman, Skype’s recently appointed President. In this post we talk about the key issues Josh found necessary to address and establishing a framework for employee motivation and empowerment.

Over the past couple of years I have written many posts lauding Skype, largely for its conversation infrastructure technology; I have also, from time-to-time written posts about the need for Skype to address the business infrastructure surrounding the deployment and use of the technology. With 300,000 new registrations daily, 30 to 50 million active users within a given day, and demand in the small-to-medium business market driven by its inherent cost advantages, Skype needs to right the ship when it comes to all aspects of turning Skype into a business that delivers customer satisfaction while sustaining profitable growth..

Some have thought that Phil and I are Skype Cheerleaders and, in their simplistic world, want instant solutions to problems. Doesn’t happen in a business that has become as large as Skype. To take maximum advantage of Skype’s technology, Skype needs leadership at the top that delivers a sense of mission, a set of inherent values and and a management structure suitable to a business that has grown as large and as rapidly as Skype. Business processes need to become readily scalable. Within such an environment, the Skype team needs to execute; employees need to know their responsibilities, to be held accountable for them, and, most importantly, to be empowered to act in their area of responsibility.

When we asked Josh Silverman, who took over as Skype’s President five months ago, as our first question, :”What has changed at Skype in the past year (since Niklas’ departure)?” he replied that he could only speak for the past five months. He then confirmed my suspicion: he has used this time to delve into all aspects of Skype – involving internal team and individual employee meetings, learning more about customers and their needs, examining market differences worldwide, reviewing both current and archived Skype forums and websites and even surveying media, all as input to determine what management structure and what cultural environment were needed to right the ship. What follows is a high level view of his action plan. (Note: where appropriate he has already discussed these moves with the Skype team, so there are no surprises here for them.)

1. Define a mission statement
2. Establish a set of values
3. Restructure for business success
4. Improve the user experience
5. Evolve the business model
6. Develop a technology roadmap.
7. Establish a framework for effective customer and partner relationships
8. Build market awareness

In building out on his response, Josh identified as issues to be addressed:

• clarify Skype’s mission and strategy going forward
  • be clear about what Skype is trying to accomplish
  • be clear about decision making
• maintain an ongoing sense of momentum around building great products
  • the Skype 4.0 beta program
• understand their customers and bring their voice into the company.
• a big issue: organize the company structure to clarify roles and accountability for people
• establishing employee accountability: define who owns what internally
• add people skills and resources consistent yet scalable with the level of customer growth
• grow internal talent while adding experienced management leadership
  • bet on the people who brought Skype to this point
  • bring in experienced outside help to scale

On the core subject of building employee responsibility and accountability Josh responded:

We need to clarify accountability and roles for employees … I’m a big believer that, if you take a small cross-functional team, give them a mission, a lot of room to innovate, they’re going to come out with fantastic products. So we’re moving our organization more in that direction.

Skype, I don’t think is different [from] a lot of hypergrowth companies, in that the business grows so fast that it is very hard for the organizational structure to keep up. What ends up happening is people just take on extra responsibility here and there as the needs come up. And pretty soon you find yourself in a place where it’s really not clear who owns “this” … there are some really important things that nobody owns and some things that two or three people all think they own it.

So we need to step back and say, ok, lets’ take a fresh look at this and make sure everyone is really clear about who owns what, what are you accountable for, and what resources do we have and then let them go forth and empower them. So that’s what we’re doing right now and I think in the coming months we’ll be in a much better place for everyone. … I’ve been very public with my team about it and they’re all very supportive …. and they’re quite excited for us to do that.

On building the right mix of people, skills, capabilities to execute:

I’m a big believer that, when a company is growing as fast as Skype, just keeping up with the scale and evolution of the company is a major promotion every year. So what we want to do is grow a lot of our internal talent and take bets. I’m also a big believer in taking bets on a lot of the people who have been with you from the beginning, who understand the business and culture. But I also believe in bringing experience from the outside … who have seen this before and had to scale this way before and can help us to figure out how, as we inevitably get a little bigger, to stay agile and, in fact, I think we can get even more agile as we get bigger, if we’re smart about it.

On getting employee empowerment right:

Everybody needs to know what their accountability is. I’m a believer that empowerment doesn’t mean everyone can do anything … because then everyone starts overlapping and, actually, you end up with a big mess. What empowerment means is everyone is really clear about what the company is trying to accomplish, everyone is really clear about what they’re accountable for and, within that accountability, they have the scope to make all decisions. It doesn’t mean they can make any decisions they want but they’re really clear about where their decision making begins and ends. If you do that everybody feels empowered and we grow much faster. By the way I also believe that the best decisions you make are almost always made at the level of the working team. So I aspire to a world where very few decisions flow up to the executive ranks other than “what are we trying to solve for?” and “how much resource are we investing in any given initiative?” and “do we have the right talent?”.

Next post: Managing the Skype team culture

OK, so it’s the fourth post this week where I’ve referenced Dan York. But over the two years I have known Dan I have to say he is, in my view, one of the most respected authorities on the technology behind today’s communications revolution. Yet he also understands the value of the user experience.

In celebration of Skype’s fifth birthday Dan has written the most thorough post yet on Skype’s accomplishments and how it has changed not only his life but also the communications market space he works in. He starts out with a personal reminder (along the lines of many of the “What Skype Means to Me” posts that Phil has been coordinating):

I had a personal reminder of that the other day when I wound up in a video chat with one of my closest friends who was my best man at my wedding 12 years ago. Although we have spoken in the intervening years, we had not actually seen each other in probably most of 10 years due to living far apart. He and his wife emailed a group of folks that they now had a Skype ID. I added them as a contact, opened an IM chat and wound up calling them… and then moving into video and seeing them both. It was a powerful moment – and a great reminder of the power of Skype to easily connect people.

Articulating his contribution to our Skype discussion on yesterday’s SquawkBox, Dan then goes on to talk about the many unique aspects of Skype:

• How Skype Disrupted Technology
• Skype “Just Worked”
• Wideband Audio
• Secure VoIP
• P2P VoIP
• Voice First
• Multi-Modal Communication
• PSTN Interconnection
• Cheap Calls
• Challenging SIP and Open Standards
• Persistent Chat – with History

Dan goes on to discuss some of the imperfections and bumps that Skype has experienced over the years and the need for the new executive team to express its vision for the future. (Although Josh’s “liquid communication” term is an appropriate description when I look at the variety of ways I can converse currently via Skype over my PC’s, Blackberry, Nokia N-series phones, Sony mylo, Nokia N-800 tablet, Skypephone).

Last week at Rogers’ Blackberry Bold launch, RIM’s Director of PR pointed out how, during the famous patent lawsuit, settled over two years ago, enterprise IT managers were seeking out alternatives to the Blackberry, should a court injunction force disruption of the Blackberry service in the U.S. This turned out to be one of the best “zero cost” marketing tools RIM has ever had. The IT managers could all report back that the only total solution to their mobile communications needs was indeed Blackberry. (And will remain so, in spite of iPhone’s success.)

So show me another multi-modal, secure, archiving, interconnected conversation platform that provides all the features above in a user-friendly means and that can deliver all the user experiences posted on Skype Journal over the past few days and I’ll stop being a Skype Cheerleader. (But, going forward, the Skype team still has to earn their way … and will.) Yet I’ll also be a cheerleader for anyone else who delivers beneficial user experiences with access to over 40 million ongoing users.

About three weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview Mobivox’s new CEO Peter Diedrich, a telecom industry veteran who brings both telecom executive and VC-funded startup experience to the table. Mobivox has traditionally provided a low cost worldwide calling service, including free calls to Skype contacts. Key features included (i) no client downloads, (ii) launch a voice call from any telephone handset and (iii) access via over 340 points-of-presence in 40 countries. However, unpublicized has been that they also provide a platform for voice enabling the user interface to many other potential communications service partners.

Historically, Peter sums up Mobivox as having proven they can provide and host a simple service with a voice-enabled user interface; their primary challenge is to determine what should be free. The gems he sees in the current platform include:

• a voice user interface, incorporating VoxGirl, with support for many languages
• a team experienced in voice recognition and management technology
• web-based calling from a (user generated) address book
• the ability to set up and manage contacts via a voice recognition engine (and to include voice tags for each contact)
• an little publicized ability to send email and SMS messages via voice

Going forward Peter sees the challenges for the Mobivox service to include:

• make the user experience dead simple
  • determine what we do vs what we don’t do
  • easiest to just tell customers what they do
  • most important for “hands-free” requirements
  • no client download
• making the address book their stickiest asset
  • seamlessly import Outlook/Gmail/etc.
  • obtain access to mobile device address book
  • create contact voice tags
• provide an access number directory “download” to mobile devices
• make the service “from anywhere at anytime on any device”

Given the challenges of generating a worldwide user base, going forward Mobivox plans to continue the current service but also look for opportunities to find service provider partners who can take advantage of their voice-enabling platform. To have a more complete offering they are also looking to include API’s that go beyond “call control in the cloud” to include support for call completion, backend billing, CRM interface and fraud management.

Their final challenge is to improve monetization; reversing a pre-appointment decision to make all but calls to Skype contacts chargeable, Peter sees the need to develop both a retail and partner customer base.

• member-to-member calls remaining free
• pricing packages incorporating modified PSTN access “minute buckets”
• text messaging services with, say, the first five messages free, then pay
• study customer demand and usage; tailor packages to customer needs
• agreements with service providers

The first service provider partnership was announced today with Jajah; Phil has seen a demonstration and will be commenting further.

Tags: Mobivox, Peter Diedrich, Skype, Jajah

Reports are surfacing that Skype has been playing a significant role for many of the Olympic athletes.

Canadians have the option of watching Olympic activities during 18 hours of the day (from 6:00 p.m. to noon the following day – EDT or GMT-4) over two major networks: CBC and TSN. Canada had a dearth of medal action for the first week – causing a national angst in the mainstream Canadian media. Our two man rowing team came through with a first medal last Saturday morning and the medals have flowed to the point of winning 13 medals over the past four days.

Sunday was a big day for the Men’s Eight rowing team; having won gold at Sydney (2000), they had a major letdown by placing fifth at Athens (2004). Sunday that team, with five holdovers from 2004, won gold; it instantly became a very emotional experience for the members. During the subsequent CBC interview (unfortunately web streaming is limited to Canadians), one member mentioned how a pair of roommates had a reputation for spending a lot of time using Skype and email as their “common bond”.

Rohit Bhargava, a senior VP at Ogilvy 360, has been blogging at the games on his Influential Marketing Blog. He is in Beijing on behalf of Lenovo who is providing assistance to about 100 athlete bloggers at Voice of the Olympic Games. In the course of following the athletes’ blogging activity at the games, he interviewed three of them about their blogging experience. “Along the way in this event and through other conversations I’ve had with athletes, I picked up on several observations that only an athlete would know.” The main outcomes:

• Technology is a big topic of discussion – If you are a tech geek like me, then you probably saw the Fast Company cover article on how technology is changing the Olympics. What you might not realize is just how big of a topic of conversation this is among most athletes.
• Blogs get you interviews – Of the athletes that I spoke to with blogs, they raved about how much media the blog manages to get for them and their sport.
• Skype is the killer app – Lenovo may be the ones providing the iLounge and access to the Internet, but it is Skype that is keeping athletes connected with their families back home.
• Travelling is a pain in the *ss – For many athletes, the gear they need to carry makes life in airports and on the road really tough.

The entire post makes for interesting reading; Olympic athletes (with the exception of Canada’s 61-year-old, 9-time Olympian Ian Miller who finally won a silver medal in equestrian) are in the prime demographic of Internet savvy users. Being world travellers to participate in all their competitions has driven them to strongly adopt Internet technology, including Skype, as their primary communications tool.

And a final recommendation: read Rohit’s other posts on the Games; they make for an interesting background on how to survive in Beijing during the Games. And he has a most interesting post on how to make your “exclusive” Olympic sponsorship backfire. In the Canadian scene, Visa continues to run an ad about an athlete for whom there were medal expectations and, unfortunately the event got to him – he did not even advance from his event’s initial heat.

Back in April we talked about Skype’s new Unlimited Calling Plans. Just a heads-up that Skype’s introductory offer expires this weekend (June 1). They offer 3 months for the price of two or twelve months for the price of eight. For a review here are the basics:

What’s Free (world wide):

• Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls
• Instant Messaging
• File Transfer
• Skype Conference calls (up to 10 participants, all on Skype)

Skype Calling Plans are full service plans, based on the originating geographical location of calls. They may be purchased as a monthly, quarterly or annual subscription; no contracts are required. They combine:

• free calls to any designated phone within the designated territory for the plan
  • no connection fee
  • landline and mobile for Canada, U.S., China, Hong Kong, Singapore
  • landline only for other 29 countries
  • subject to a fair use policy of 10,000 minutes/month
• free call transfer from/to SkypeIn/SkypeOut numbers
• Skype voice mail
• up to ten party conference calling to a combination of Skype contacts worldwide and SkypeOut contacts within the geographical region of the respective plans

Important: All rates shown below are as of May1 , 2008 and subject to change at Skype’s discretion. Click on the various “signup” links below for details at Skype website.

North American Plans:

• Unlimited US and Canada: $2.95 per month
  • 50% discount off one SkypeIn (online) number
• Unlimited Mexico: $5.95 per month
  • Unlimited US and Canada plus:
  • unlimited to landlines in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey
  • discounted rates to other locations and mobile phones in Mexico
• Unlimited Worldwide: $9.95 per month
  • Unlimited Mexico plus:
  • unlimited to 32 worldwide countries
  • 50% discount off three SkypeIn (online) numbers
• Sign up here

European Plans

• Unlimited Country: €2.95 or £1.95 per month
  • landline calls within “local” country
  • one free SkypeIn (online) number
• Unlimited Europe: €3.95 or £2.95 per month
  • landline calls within 20 European countries
  • one free SkypeIn (online) number
• Unlimited Worldwide: €8.95 or £6.95 per month
  • landline calls to 34 countries plus to cell phones in US, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore
  • three free SkypeIn (online) numbers
• Sign up here (Euros, GBP)

Asia: click here for details and signup (US$, Euros, GBP)

• Unlimited Country: Chose a single destination country independent of originating country

Brazil: click here for details and signup (US$, Euros, GBP)

• Brazil 400 limited to 400 minutes within Brazil

Rest of World: click here for details and signup (US$, Euros, GBP)

• Unlimited Country: Chose a single destination country independent of originating country

Tags: Skype, Skype Calling Plans, SkypeOut