When I received a “Mention” on a Tweet earlier this week:

my curiosity was piqued. Obviously Marcus had read one of my previous posts about CounterPath’s Bria on the iPad and iPhone and had encountered the CounterPath name in association with a new Rogers service. Over the years CounterPath has become associated with providing IP-based communications clients for enterprise, carrier and consumer use on PC’s, smartphones and tablets.

After some investigation it turns out that this past Monday Rogers sent an email to many of its consumer wireless customers asking them to take part in a beta program for a forthcoming service called Rogers One Number.

The concept basically is to provide a PC softphone that is associated with a wireless account such that conversations can be mirrored onto your PC through a web browser plugin on a Windows or Mac PC. Exchange SMS text messages, place and receive voice calls, there’s even a hint of a video call option in call management menu.

So what does this service deliver? From a web browser you can:

• synchronize contacts with your wireless device address book
• receive and place voice calls
• send and receive SMS messages

Going forward it appears Rogers One Number will also offer:

• links to Rogers Yahoo Mail and GMail
• receive and place video calls

All conversation activity, initiated or received on the softphone, is also reflected on the wireless phone(s)associated with the account. For instance, at this time, a call to my BlackBerry not only rings on my BlackBerry but also results in a call notification on my desktop PC. If I have missed a call a small “missed call” notification appears near the system tray on Windows PC’s. Text messages sent from the softphone also show up under text messages on the BlackBerry. And the service also applies for iPhone or Android phones.

So how does CounterPath come into the picture? When setting up the service there is a CounterPath End User License agreement to be accepted; also Norton Utilities identifies the plugin software as coming from CounterPath. CounterPath’s business model, in their OEM activities, involves providing the chat messaging along with voice and video calling infrastructure behind a user interface designed to an enterprise or carrier  customer’s specifications. In this case Rogers Wireless is the CounterPath customer who is responsible for the final user interface.

From a start-up page a wireless customer can register for the service; once confirmed via SMS messaging of a PIN number you are taken to a setup wizard where you need to enter key information, including a physical location for associating with e911 services. At that point you are asked to download a browser plugin for either Windows or Mac. Once you relaunch the browser you can open up the portal at the user interface and start using the service.

Once set up I made a few test calls with good quality voice. On placing a voice call (green phone icon in the Header bar above) a small call management client appears with options to escalate to video, place a call on hold and end a call. The upper icon bar includes a call log, a dial pad and a settings menu associated with the audio and video hardware. The lower icon bar covers mic mute,switch between multiple calls, switch between “headphones” and “speakerphone” and add a third party for a conference call. The program automatically had designated my FREETALK Everyman Headset as the headphone and Yamaha SoundGadget speakerphone as the speakerphone.

The main question re the video is who can you have a video conversation with? At the moment it would appear to only work with calls where both parties were using the Rogers One Number portal where you can set up video. On a voice call to my Skype client (calling my Skype Online number), the client appears to support the G729 codec; however, given that CounterPath is now incorporating Skype’s SILK into other products, there may be a future opportunity to wider audio bandwidth calling – at least between Rogers One Number web portals, if not to the wireless device itself.

Also of interest is the line “My web phone Emergency Address”. This is the initial setting that one enters when working through the setup wizard addressing a CRTC requirement for support of emergency services.

The images below show the dial pad and audio/video settings. Of significant interest is the potential for support of HD video should a webcam support it. However, until I can find a party who can receive a video call, we won’t know the full answer.

Bottom line: The Rogers One Number client is a recognition that many users have only a wireless phone and a PC; landlines are losing customers, especially with the “under 35” demographic. It’s a convenience that allows their consumer customers to make and receive calls on a PC in parallel with calling activity on the wireless phone. As analyst Jon Arnold mentions in his post, Rogers Wireless “One Number” Launch – Upping the Stakes:

The twist with One Number is that it’s built around the mobile phone, which is pretty much where consumers live, breath and sleep these days….

Anyhow, it’s very much a Web 2.0-meets mobility-meets VoIP mashup, and I think consumers will love it. Most people under 30 have long moved on from a landline, and with One Number, their PC simply becomes an extension of their smartphone – you just don’t need anything else.

To go back to the original Tweet that triggered this post, is it flaky? No, but it’s still in beta. There are a few issues that need to be addressed; however, it certainly addresses the basic requirements of providing PC access to conversation activity associated with a wireless device. Its feature set is not at the level of Skype for both functionality and ease of navigation but it will certainly provide the basic text messaging along with voice and video calling features. (And text messaging will generate SMS revenues for Rogers.)

If there is one major disappointment, it’s that Rogers elected to use a web browser plugin instead of an independent client; that makes it somewhat clumsy to access along with the requirement for always having a browser open. And the browser plugin needs a fair bit of desktop real estate in order to be fully seen; not a client you can put to one side such as Skype or Trillian.

One other question: will this service also incorporate some aspect of social networking where it can follow Facebook and Twitter activity? Given it was subtitled, by default, “My Social Hub” I would expect it to include these features also.

With respect to that most important feature called price – other than to realize there can be associated SMS revenues, we still have not heard what the pricing model is for using Rogers One Number voice and video calls. Most likely it will follow the Rogers Home Phone long distance model where calls from a Rogers Home Phone customer to other Rogers Home Phone customers or Rogers Wireless customers within Canada have no associated long distance charges.

From a wireless carrier business perspective Rogers One Number is a feature that introduces unique competitive positioning into a Canadian market where six carriers are now looking for customers. For that reason I cannot see any other charges beyond what is currently charged for wireless services.

Check out Jon Arnold’s complete post for another perspective.

Three months ago Skype and TELUS announced an agreement whereby TELUS Mobility, a Canadian carrier, would become proactive in supporting Skype through several initiatives:

• Providing full platform and customer support for the use of Skype on iPhones and Android phones
• Offering a Skype edition LG Optimus Black phone powered by Android with a pre-installed Skype client, support for Bluetooth connectivity and 60 minutes of SkypeOut calling
• Purchase of Skype credit in $5, $10 and $20 amounts charged to the customer’s TELUS account
• Offering Skype with TELUS’ Data Flex Plan whereby data charges are automatically incremented with increased usage. For instance, using <500MB in one month will cost $35 but using 1MB to 2MB in the subsequent month would cost $55.

Late last week I received promotional emails from Skype (in fact, one email for every Skype account registered in my name) that would appear to be going to Skype’s Canadian users. This is the first indication that TELUS is now executing on their agreement with Skype.

On scanning the TELUS Mobility website:

• Skype is proactively being promoted on any iPhone with iOS 4.0 and any Android phone with at least Android 2.1
• Skype credit can be purchased either from a telusmobility.com web page or via a text message that delivers the link for purchase.
• Skype effectively becomes the recommended international long distance service for any of the supported phones
• TELUS is deploying Skype on their 4G network with 21Mbps speeds, being upgraded in many locations to 42Mbps and LTE over the next few months. However, they expect users to see download speeds of 4-6 Mbps in practice.
• Skype is also being heavily promoted on their recently released Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate 4G running under Android 2.3. A $29.99 purchase price requires a minimum $50/month voice and data plan.

The one cautionary note is battery life. As mentioned in a previous post covering Skype for Android,  when running Skype, battery life can be shortened to as little as 3 to 4 hours. This is reinforced on some otherwise very favourable TELUS user comments on the Samsung Galaxy S phone (click on the Reviews tab):

It does have a good battery life, as long as you are closing your apps and other programs properly. Leave stuff open, watch too much video, use the camera, and other battery-draining apps, and yes you will run your battery dry in 1/2 a day. Use it in moderation, along with your casual texting and communication tasks and you will be fine for a day’s worth.

The combination of a 4G Samsung Galaxy S Android phone with Android 2.3 should be sufficient for making Skype video calls on the Fascinate 4G. However, as TELUS is effectively pre-installing a Skype client on these phones, they need to complete some testing and Android software upgrades before confirming that video calling works. In the meantime, if you are able to have a video call experience with either of these phones, please enter a Comment below. TELUS did inform me that video calling will work with the forthcoming 4G Samsung Galaxy S II X .

Skype’s support by TELUS is different from its previous offerings with Verizon in that TELUS is supporting a full Skype for Android peer-to-peer Skype client delivering Instant Messaging, participation in Skype multi-party calls and mood message – and it works over an LTE network. Based on other Skype for Android features it should include native address book integration; as discussed above it certainly has the potential to work with Skype video calling.

The initial Verizon service is a voice and Instant messaging service over a 3G network with no potential for video calling due to its underlying calling architecture which also requires gateway server overhead. On the other hand Verizon did announce plans, at CES, for offering new Android phones that would run Skype, including video calling, on their forthcoming LTE network. (But Andy Abramson seems to be having difficulty with video calling of any kind specifically on Verizon.)

Bottom line: TELUS is now offering full support of Skype on iOS devices and designated Android phones, where the latter is providing customers with a seamless path to both acquiring and sustaining Skype services. Provided they have an appropriate data plan users can make free voice (and video?) calls worldwide to their Skype contacts and low cost international calls to landlines and mobile phones worldwide.

For Skype it becomes another contribution to SkypeOut revenues; there is no mention of any royalty arrangements when it comes to revenues generated associated with the purchase of Skype-enabled Android phones. TELUS, as Canada’s third wireless carrier in subscriber base, demonstrates its aggressiveness once again through a unique offering in the Canadian market. While making it available to their existing customer base, time will tell if Skype support becomes a primary reason for adopting Skype; I have yet to see any TELUS advertising promoting  Skype.

Related articles

• Skype joins forces with TELUS to bring affordable international calling rates to customers in Canada (blogs.skype.com)
• Skype 2.1 for Android enables video on majority of Android devices (blogs.skype.com)

At CES 2010 last month I had the opportunity to record interviews with Skype CEO Josh Silverman as well as Russ Shaw, Vice President and General Manager of Skype Mobile and EMEA, and Matt Jordan, Enterprise Business Development Manager.

In this second interview Russ Shaw covers a wide range of questions about Skype on different mobile phones, the business model that complements wireless carriers’ goals and other challenges as Skype executes on its mobile component of “Skype Everywhere”.

In the first segment Russ discusses revenues from Skype for Mobile activities, execution on the Nokia agreement and the Sony Xperia, the challenges of working in the mobile ecosystem and carrier partnerships. Russ emphasizes that Skype for Mobile’s main goal is to get usage on as many mobile devices as possible as part of the Skype Everywhere goal.

In the second segment Russ discusses Skype for BlackBerry (announced last spring but still running a beta trial), their learnings from the beta and how to ensure a positive user experience. He then goes on to explain how Skype can provide a carrier partnership business model that, based on Skype’s experience with 3, can be a complement that builds a wireless carrier’s overall business. He then provides an analogy of how O2 used a freemium model to build their business around free offerings of music; free Skype-to-Skype calling is the basis of a freemium model for carriers. We go on to discuss Skype for Android in the next segment. This is followed by asking Russ to sum up what’s ahead for Skype on mobile smartphones.

But then I ask one closing question that would really support “Skype Everywhere” in a very common user situation; I can only supplement the discussion by pointing out that, when I get into my car, a Bluetooth-enabled BlackBerry is on my belt (with my Otter Box Defender case). And, during the discussion, Canadians will learn about one more Skype service coming soon to Canada.

Bottom line: Is 2010 the year we can access our Skype contacts worldwide from the majority of smartphones? How many carriers will really catch onto the “3” business model and adopt Skype as a formal offering? And will I be able to get into my car and simply say: “Call Russ Shaw on Skype” to make a hands-free Skype call from my mobile smartphone?

Update: As mentioned above Russ talks about the success with 3 using Skype and the Skypephone. Just prior to posting I learned that 3 has now logged 1 billion minutes of Skype-to-Skype calling. In their summary notes 3 states also that “Over 2m people use internet services like Skype on 3” out of their 4 million active UK customers. (BTW, this is not the only story I have heard about how Skype is helping to maintain communications with Haiti; I have seen a few Skype video calls as television interviews as well; probably makes for another story.)

Of interest: Russ has authored an article at Connect World, Mobile operators should co-operate with application and content providers to take advantage of the mobile Internet boom, where he discusses the  issue of mobile operators working with VoIP providers to build their overall business where he supports the success with 3:

There is already some evidence that the entire discussion is based on a misconception, and that, in reality, using the Internet to make calls does not cannibalize the revenues of operators. Some operators, like Three in the UK, have already changed their business model. They are challenging their competitors by partnering with a software company, offering a popular application that allows mobile VoIP calls at no extra cost, providing their customers with a very tangible extra value and comprehensive user experience by integrating the application into a range of mobile handsets. As a result, the group of customers using these services generate 20 per cent higher margins than non-users, voice revenue being a key contribution to this. A survey undertaken in August 2009 revealed that users of this application used on average 17 percent more traditional voice minutes than non-users. Next to this, a comparatively lower churn rate and higher ARPU (average revenue per user) was one of the positive outcomes as well. [Author's bolds]

Other Skype executive interviews from CES 2010:

• Skype for Business: An Interview with Skype’s Matt Jordan
• A Conversation with Skype CEO Josh Silverman

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Over the past several months I have written three posts about WiFi’s ever-increasing role as a complement to the wireless carriers:

• WiFi: The Real Threat to the Mobile Carriers
• Is WiFi Becoming the Unregulated Stealth Carrier of the Future?
• Traveling in a Bipolar Mobile Mode

Basically, in my recent travels I have found that WiFi access is becoming more readily available at home, in the office and, as I travel, in hotels, airports and restaurants. Especially when in countries where roaming charges can be excessive, I seek out WiFi access points when on my BlackBerry and iPhone to minimize roaming expense for data.

Now that Apple is allowing VoIP over 3G, this strategy will become even more critical when using the Skype and Truphone applications for the  iPhone where the conversation uses VoIP technology over the data channel. While my home network data plan has sufficient monthly capacity for making these calls from within Canada, I’m not sure I want to be paying $1/MB when roaming in, say, the U.S. for a Skype call.

Brough Turner has built up an immense wealth of knowledge about Internet infrastructure and wireless carriers, not only from the technology perspective but also the business implications, including costs. He has recently published a post, WiFi Offload, not Femtocells, where, while postulating that Femtocell technology is too complex and costly become mainstream, he supports his argument by pointing out the business reasons for relying on WiFi as a primary “carrier” for wireless:

• “most mobile data is destined for the open Internet, not for someplace on the mobile operator’s network” Apparently 96% to 99%. Yet, relative to a direct broadband Internet connection, it’s much more costly per user (and more complex) for a wireless carrier to provide the tower and backhaul infrastructure required to connect a mobile phone to the Internet.
• “the primary sources of mobile data demand are laptops, notebooks and smart phones”. It’s become reality that most mobile devices these days support WiFi in addition to 3G/LTE/4G. And the iPad is a “data only” device. Demand for wireless connections will continue to grow rapidly; carriers need to look at the cost of new towers vs encouraging installation of WiFi access points (for which they have zero cost if the subscriber installs the access point).
• “WiFi access points cost less than femtocells” When end users can set up a WiFi access point for around $100 whereas the carriers’ towers can run $1MM to $2MM per tower and require a backhaul Internet link, it is actually to the carrier’s capital cost advantage to support the build out of WiFi access points, whether private (home, office) or public (hotels, restaurants, airports, etc.).
• “WiFi access points are showing up everywhere”. Yep, see the posts referenced above.

Three instances where WiFi has “bailed me out” recently:

• On both my January trips to CES and IT Expo, I had set up voice roaming with Rogers. Just one complication – over 80% of the calls I received, via roaming partner AT&T, had such poor call quality I had to ask the party to hang up and call them back. But when I called them back it was using Skype for iPhone over WiFi connections to have a more than acceptable call quality. AT&T simply failed, big time.
• At one recent hotel the hotel wanted to charge $14.95 per day per PC or smartphone for a WiFi connection. However, the hotel chain involved also had an arrangement with Boingo. Once I got the Boingo availability reminder I simply upgraded my mobile Boingo plan to a combined plan at $17.95 per month, connected my laptop, BlackBerry and iPhone and bypassed the hotel charges. As a bonus, I was also able to use the plan while waiting for my flights at two airports, amongst other Boingo-supported locations.
• During my trips to Spain last fall I ended up in situations where no public carrier access was available but there was WiFi access – once in an office with no 3G signal and once in a hotel in an ancient building with WiFi but no landline phone. Once again in these situations WiFi was the path to get data and Skype for iPhone or Truphone was used for voice calls.

The Bottom Line: Brough says it best in answering his own question “What should an operator do?”:

Mobile operators need to focus on providing bundles of connectivity, not on whether its 3G/4G or Wi-Fi. They should be encouraging Wi-Fi offload by bundling “free” public Wi-Fi access with their mobile data plans.

In the long term, it’s likely most mobile data bytes will go over Wi-Fi.  The 3G/4G network is still necessary to provide a backup path when no Wi-Fi is available. Mobile operators who recognize this can still come out on top, if they focus on facilitating connectivity for their customers regardless of the technology involved.

Note to Rogers: while Andy makes great use of UMA from T-Mobile’s @Home service during his overseas travels, Canadians would appreciate the same level of support for Rogers’ UMA-based services, which are currently limited to access from WiFi hotspots within Canada.

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The past six months, with three trips to Europe, have given me the opportunity not only to experience roaming on European 3G wireless services but also the strategies and alternatives that allow me to minimize roaming charges while traveling with both a BlackBerry and iPhone. A key to the achieving this goal lies in the support available for WiFi access points in hotels, restaurants, airports and at conferences that provide robust, scalable WiFi support. But the question outstanding is why would I use both devices? The answer lies in the applications and content.

While one can theorize academically about various low cost scenarios and one attempts to use WiFi wherever feasible, in actual travel, you need access to some form of wireless service wherever you may be. For instance, if lost in a city where you don’t speak the language, Google Maps can often help get you sorted out quickly. Or find the nearest restaurant district (was a big help in Paris, for instance). But you need wireless carrier access to use these services.

So what measures can I recommend?

First step: buy an International roaming package from the home wireless carrier. Over the summer Rogers introduced European roaming packages; here’s the comparison:

The good news about these packages is that the per MB and per minute charges remain the same for any overage over the minimum expenditures. The bad news is that roaming charges are still “huge” compared to the $0.03/MB or approximately $0.10 per minute paid when on my home Rogers network. U.S.-based users should check with their “home” carriers to see if similar plans are available. Rule of thumb and current reality, however: roaming charges remain the last ultra-high margin service for wireless carriers.

So, while relatively expensive, these packages are helpful when away from a WiFi access point; however, as mentioned above, the real saving comes when you set up for using WiFi wherever possible. (In addition I encountered a couple of situations where 3G coverage was weak or non-existent; in these cases access to WiFi became essential.)

Second step: ensure you have installed both Skype and Truphone on your iPhone; you can then make voice calls from WiFi access points at prevailing Skype or Truphone rates. For instance, Skype-to-Skype calls are free while SkypeOut calls are based on using either a Skype Calling Plan subscription or Skype credits.

Third step: buy, at a minimum, a Boingo Global Mobile plan; while WiFi in hotels and restaurants is usually free or has a daily charge, Boingo Global Mobile provides access in over 70 countries at airports and often at hotels where, otherwise, you would pay a daily fee that is usually more than Boingo Global Mobile’s monthly charge.

Fourth step: put the iPhone in Airplane mode but with WiFi access turned on. In this way, no voice calls are received via a wireless carrier; also the iPhone specifically requires proactive user permission to roam on data – leave this turned off. But the iPhone applications, including Skype and Truphone, can all be used when attached to a WiFi access point. (Note: I do not give out my iPhone voice number but do use it for various tests; Google Voice is not yet available in Canada to provide multi-smartphone calling.)

So here is where I use each device:

BlackBerry Bold 9000: email (both BlackBerry email and GMail), BlackBerry Messenger 5.0, Google Maps, SocialScope – still the most comprehensive Twitter application on a smartphone; SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry. Keep in mind that BlackBerry is overall more efficient for handling data due to the data compression provided by the BlackBerry Network Operations Centre architecture for managing data traffic. This ongoing wireless data compression feature is a major reason why I prefer BlackBerry for services such as Google Maps or downloading/uploading pictures in SocialScope as opposed to the iPhone when on a 3G wireless carrier network.

iPhone: main application is Skype, followed by Truphone. Very handy for making calls back to North America from hotel rooms or lobbies, restaurants as well as offices and conferences supported with WiFi access. (But you must have the relevant application open to receive calls and receive/send chat messages.) Other preferred applications include the Safari web browser (faster and more versatile than BlackBerry’s) and Facebook (which has a richer user experience than on BlackBerry) and a few applications that are unique to iPhone. Also comes in handy if the BlackBerry battery has died and I need immediate access to, say, GMail or a browser.

Bottom line: the feature that continues to dominate my preference for BlackBerry over iPhone is the keyboard; it’s a real time two-way communications device whereas the iPhone, with its superior browser capability, continues to be an information delivery device but works best for one way communication. My use of its touch screen keyboard tends to be limited to entering user names and passwords.

A few comments:

• There’s one major application missing on the BlackBerry – with its full multi-tasking capability the BlackBerry is ideally suited for Skype as a VoIP client. One can have real time chat sessions continue in background while using other applications; we experienced this with iSkoot but at this point one would expect to have seen the Skype for BlackBerry that was announced by Skype around the time of last spring’s launch of Skype for iPhone. And now that Skype for Symbian beta supports both 3G and WiFi and the FCC is supporting for “net neutrality”, the “carrier-support” argument for avoiding VoIP clients over WiFi on the BlackBerry no longer holds water. In fact, Rogers has made it clear that they have no issue with running Skype over 3G networks. Let’s hope that Skype and RIM can get the act together such that we can see a product introduction early in 2010.
• On my most recent trip I only bought the 15 minute voice package; with BlackBerry Messenger and SocialScope (for Twitter) available I found little need to make voice calls while in 3G only mode. Skype on my PC at hotel rooms and conferences as well as Skype and Truphone over iPhone addressed 95% of my voice calling needs. (Now, if I could just learn how to order a taxi in Spanish!)
• I realize most smartphone users will only have one phone. I present this post simply to provide an overview of my experience using both these devices while optimizing my roaming experience when traveling out of the home country. I need to have both devices due to not only their popularity but also the different content exchanged and user experiences for each smartphone.

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At about 5:30 (GMT+1) this afternoon members of the Skype Public Chat discussion learned that not only was there a new beta version of Skype for Windows 4.2 available for download but also Skype had released its first beta version of Skype for Symbian (for Nokia smartphones).

Shortly afterwards, while listening to the final Gillmor Gang panel session at LeWeb, I downloaded, via the event’s WiFi network, and installed the newly available Skype for Symbian beta onto a Nokia E71 that I use on Spain’s Vodafone for emergency calls during my trips to Spain. As an initial test I then sent out a few initial Skype Chat test messages. While there were some long delays I finally did receive responses to these messages..

I then realized that the LeWeb official blogger sitting next to me had a Nokia smartphone and asked her to install Skype for Symbian on her N96. About five minutes later, as Michael Arrington of TechCrunch fame was chiding Apple for not supporting VoIP over 3G networks, I made a successful Skype-to-Skype call between my E71 and her N96. While this call went across LeWeb’s WiFi network, the irony here is that Skype for Symbian is a complete VoIP client on a mobile smartphone and, according to Skype’s blog post:

Skype for Symbian works over Wifi or 3G data connection. We recommend having a unlimited data plan when using 3G connection.

I followed up with a successful Skype call to Andy Abramson at his hotel in Madrid, Spain where the voice quality was excellent in spite of the event’s background audio of the panel session.

My LeWeb deskmate has a Vodafone Netherlands voice and data plan and will let me know when she returns to Amsterdam this weekend if she can make Skype calls over Vodafone Netherland’s 3G network.

Skype for Symbian beta is claimed to be a “limited” beta; however, it supports:

• Free Skype-to-Skype calling
• Call phones with Skype credits or subscription
• Receive calls on your Online Number
• Instant Messaging
• Group conversations
• File sending and receiving

The important bottom line here is that Skype has finally released a mobile smartphone client that supports both 3G and WiFi from a full VoIP client with no intermediary servers as has been used on the 3 Skypephone over the past two years. Its use over the data plans of wireless carriers will test several aspects of smartphone services:

• Will carriers attempt to block VoIP clients’ services that bypass their inherent voice channel?
• Will smartphones have sufficient battery life to support a full day’s use of a VoIP client over a 3G network?
• How much data would be used during an average day’s use of Skype? (While many carriers claim to offer “unlimited” data plans, there are actually monthly caps of 5GB or more.)
• Where does a full Skype client provide an economic advantage over various voice plans, especially when it comes to making calls while roaming?

During my recent trips to Europe I have made heavy use of Skype for iPhone (and sometimes Truphone) over WiFi access points. Given the high charges for data while roaming, Skype for Symbian is still not a service that I would use over a “roaming” 3G network but I would continue to look for WiFi access points in hotels, restaurants and airports to access Skype on the supported phones. However, in my home country I can expect to make Skype calls from anywhere in Rogers 3G coverage areas using their relatively inexpensive data plan at little or no additional cost.

Update: Phil Wolff has more details and some caveats about this initial Skype for Symbian beta version over at Skype Journal.

Related posts:

• Is Rogers Setting A Benchmark for Net Neutrality Policies?
• WiFi: The Real Threat to the Mobile Carriers
• Skype Everywhere: Nokia and Skype Announce Ongoing Partnership
• 3 Pushes the Envelope Once Again: Offers Obligation-Free Skype Mobile Services
• iSkoot – Providing Carrier Friendly Access for Skype Calls

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On a recent trip to Spain, where I turned off my BlackBerry Bold’s and iPhone’s  mobile carrier network connection except when really required, I was able to use WiFi connections at my various hotels quite effectively to keep up with my “data” activities on these devices. (Except in a situation mentioned below I used Skype on my PC for voice calls.) But there were two situations I encountered during this trip which really hit home the message that WiFi is becoming as important as mobile carrier offerings for wireless smartphone communications:

• In one instance, two Canadians, who had stealthed Skype for iPhone onto their iPhones, used a Spanish hotel’s WiFi service to make Skype voice calls between each other, almost as if their iPhones were “walkie-talkies” while on the hotel’s grounds. No roaming charges for these calls.
• In another case, I spent one night in a hotel room, in a recently renovated 8th century building, that had no landline. But it had a WiFi service available; I used Truphone on my iPhone to make a couple of voice calls. (The price of staying “legal” in Canada is not to have Skype for iPhone installed.)

The trip, combined with my WiFi experience during a March vacation trip to South Carolina, significantly reinforced my belief that WiFi is becoming the potential “stealth” carrier in the smartphone communications business. But what does that portend for the future?

Friend Andy Abramson, in a post Rumored New Apple iPod Touch Will Be Huge for VoIP, Multimedia, has pointed to the rumors of a new iPod Touch that will include a camera, a built-in microphone and 64GB of memory:

This is awesome news for the likes of Skype and client Truphone and will likely start a flood of “me too” applications from the likes of Cablevision who operates a WiFi hot zone in the New York area, Clearwire and Comcast who are chasing customers in the Portland area with WiMax and elsewhere as the WiFi capability of the iPod touch means its a mobile phone without the mobile phone bill and contract connected to it, something Jeff Belk, the former Senior VP of Strategy at Qualcomm discussed in Unstrung in February of this year.

And where does he see the disruptive uptake?

…. Within two key categories:

1) Pre-teens who need a phone but can’t afford a contract

2) Travelers who don’t need to be “always on” but want to stay in touch cost effectively.

Who benefits from this? Anyone with a travel router to sell, including Apple. Toss a travel router in your bag, and stay in a hotel with wired broadband to your room, and logging on is a snap.

As pointed out in the introduction to this post, I think I was already well into Andy’s category 2 during my Spain trip. Alec Saunders, in Will the new iPod Touch unleash VoWiFi? I’ll wait and see, sees WiFi as a “backup” to 3G network but pipes into the road warrior discussion with:

Travelling, however, is a different story.  As Andy notes, you can talk for free on WiFi when you’re travelling, versus whatever the outrageous roaming rate that your carrier might charge.  Savvy travelers use products like Truphone and Skype to avoid roaming charges.

Bottom line: users will continue to look for the combination of access and cost that serves their immediate need. While in Canada, I never run over 1GB of data on my BlackBerry Bold and have a reasonable cost voice subscription for voice calls; thus my mobile carrier costs are not a particular concern. But when I leave Canada, I will look to use any wireless service that avoids the last bastion of excessively high mobile calling costs: roaming charges.

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Yesterday Om put up a GigaOm post, Skype on iPhone to be released as early as next week. While it’s still an unconfirmed “exclusive” rumor (and you can safely bet the eBay PR hounds are looking for any leak source if this is a leak), it does raise the issue of what we should expect the Skype experience to be if Skype for iPhone is released (even as a beta). It also raises the question of what is happening with the overall Skype on Mobile strategy outlined earlier this year by Skype COO Scott Durchslag in a blog post.

What I can confirm is that at the CES press conference back in January, Skype COO Scott Durchslag did say in an interview that Skype was looking to have Skype for iPhone at some future unannounced date. And I did meet the Skype for iPhone product manager at Skype’s CES 2009 reception; he was relieved that he could now at least give out his title, if not details. At the same CES press conference, Skype demonstrated calls made using its Java-based Skype Lite which has been in various forms of beta since last spring.

We’ve seen several attempts at accessing Skype on an iPhone(Truphone, Nimbuzz, Fring). I have also been using iSkoot on the BlackBerry (and at times Nokia N-series) smartphones as well as IM+ for Skype on various devices. Recently I have been able to check out the Skype IM feature of Skype Lite. Using and trialing these services have provided lots of details about feature set requirements for a fully-featured Skype user experience. As a result I have established some criteria for an acceptable “Skype on Mobile” experience.

1. Skype Contacts: bring up a user’s complete list of Skype contacts (regardless of number of contacts); be able to find a contact by typing in the first few letters of a name, see the appropriate real time presence information; launch a Skype chat session or Skype voice call.
2. User interface: I want to look at my Skype contacts, with presence information, and be able to hit the “green” call button on the device to initiate a call to a Skype contact. Hit the red “end call” button to terminate a call. (iSkoot on BlackBerry does this.)
3. Chat messages: I want the device to be able to monitor my Skype IM activity in background, notify me of activity and bring it up at my convenience. (iSkoot on BlackBerry does this.) I also want Skype Public Chat threads maintained as a single session; Nimbuzz treats each participant in a Public Chat as separate “contact” sessions.
4. Receiving calls; I want to be able to receive Skype calls whether I am in the “Skype-enabled” application or using another smartphone application. Receiving calls on the BlackBerry or Nokia smartphone is an option with iSkoot; with any iPhone application you must be in the application to receive a Skype call.
5. Native address book integration: I want to be able to find a contact in the device’s native address book and be able to make a SkypeOut call to a selected Home/Business/Mobile/Other phone number. Truphone has always been diligent about including native address book access; iSkoot also provides this in its more recent releases.
6. Mood message update: while not critical, it is definitely desirable to be consistent with a fully featured Skype service.
7. Battery life management: I want to have minimal battery use; iSkoot demonstrates that handling all the chat and call signaling activity can drain a battery quite quickly, especially if on a WiFi connection. Using BlackBerry’s “push” API’s is one means of addressing this issue. Battery lifetime will be even more important on any potential iPhone application; battery management, including lifetime, has been one of iPhone’s weaker points.
8. Call quality. While certainly limited by the mobile networks’ and smartphones’ inherent audio bandwidth, issues such as echo cancellation and call break-up have arisen with some services. Once again this has not been an issue on iSkoot for BlackBerry calls; however, I have found these issues to occur on calls to Skype contacts via Fring and Truphone on the iPhone.
9. Network quality: I have yet to have a good 3G network experience with AT&T; I have mentioned this in the past during recent trips to California and Nevada. Om has written about it to the point where he switched to using a 8900 Curve on T-Mobile after giving up on Bold and iPhone on AT&T. My vacation location this week only has AT&T 2G service available and, even then, it is minimal reliability. (T-Mobile 2G definitely has “more bars” here.) My only recommendation here can be, if you wish great 3G reliability and reception on a BlackBerry Bold or iPhone, move to Canada and use Rogers where 3G network availability and quality has never been an issue for me.

Here is my current Skype access on mobile situation:

• iSkoot provides excellent call quality as well as chat sessions in background (including content from sessions over the previous day or two). iSkoot’s major technical downside relates to battery drain, an issue that is correctable via newer “push” API’s. Costs will vary by my smartphone location:
  • Within the Toronto local calling area: no charge for voice or data.
  • Within Canada: long distance charges (~$0.25/minute) for voice; no charge for data. It’s still cost effective to use iSkoot.
  • Outside Canada: roaming charges ($0.95/minute in U.S.; much more in Europe) plus long distance charges make iSkoot a very expensive service. Only Skype services on 3 have partially addressed this issue in all the countries served by 3.
• Truphone’s Skype access:
  • Voice: Truphone for iPhone provides unacceptable Skype call quality (serious echo cancellation issues) but can complete calls to Skype contacts over a WiFi access point. The Truphone client must be open to receive Skype voice calls. Truphone Anywhere, which requires access to the carrier’s network for voice, has the same cost considerations as listed for iSkoot above. (To give due credit, a Truphone call over WiFi this afternoon directly to one of my iPhone contacts did not have echo issues.)
  • Chat: The Truphone client can only support IM chat sessions when the Truphone client is open. The content seen comprises only those messages exchanged while in the “current” chat session; all chat sessions are closed when you leave the Truphone application; previous content is not recallable.
• Skype for Mobile (aka Skype Lite) on Nokia E71:
  • As making Skype voice calls is reliant on having carrier relationships, I can only access Skype chat activity via WiFi; in this case previous Skype chat sessions can be recalled. Skype has announced they are working with carriers in ten named countries but no other details have been provided.

While I would expect any Skype on iPhone offering would use the “Skype Lite”/iSkoot /Truphone Anywhere architecture involving use of the data channel for chat and call signaling but the inherent carrier voice channel for voice, recall that Skype Lite is basically a Java application that has been in beta for some time whereas iPhone on Skype would require a relatively new and yet-to-be-beta-tested Apple OS/X application. On the other hand, iPhone 3.0 will address some of these issues.

Bottom line – there are many issues to be addressed to have Skype on the iPhone  maintain Skype’s reputation for providing an easy-to-use, reliable, scalable consumer service. While I won’t totally discount the rumors of Skype on iPhone, my prediction for what Skype may announce next week at CTIA Wireless: carrier agreements related to using Skype Lite:

• First announced last April (as Skype for Mobile), Skype Lite is at the point where Skype needs to announce some carrier agreements to demonstrate that Skype Lite actually has carrier adoption.
• Carrier adoption is critical to the business model for generating revenue from Skype Lite.
• It would be consistent with the Skype for Mobile strategy about which Scott Durchslag blogged during the Mobile World Conference in February.
• This is a major international conference where wireless carriers and vendors do business.

We’ll be looking forward to seeing what announcements do come out next week.

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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”.

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At this year’s CES 2009 Skype press conference, COO Scott Durchslag provided an overview of Skype Everywhere (or Skype Wherever Whenever). Basically Skype is looking to become installed wherever there is a communications device with embedded intelligence (processor and memory) and an Internet connection capability. Along with the announcement yesterday of the new Skype – Nokia partnership, Scott put up a post on the Share Skype Blog that outlines the three components of Skype’s strategy for mobile devices:

• Current users: Make Skype available for consumers to download onto their existing mobile handsets. Skype Lite is architected for incorporation into any of over 100 Java-enabled handsets, including any supporting Google Android. In discussing Skype for Windows Mobile, Scott mentions that SMS messaging and File Transfer are being integrated into the forthcoming Skype for Windows Mobile 3.0.
• Smartphone manufacturers: Develop partnerships with smartphone manufacturers “tightly integrate and pre-install Skype on their devices”. Skypephone and INQ are two existing examples; the Skype – Nokia partnership announced earlier this week is the next step. These phones will be targeted to consumers who may never have attempted to use a computer to connect to the Internet. But it requires simplicity and a familiar algorithm in the user interface:
  • Find a number in the device’s native address book, click on the green “Call” button, the party is called transparently over Skype. If the call is to a Skype contact anywhere worldwide there is no additional cost; if to the PSTN, SkypeOut charges will apply at a minimum.
  • But these phones are also capable of supporting Skype IM’s presence information and chat conversations worldwide.
• Carriers: The Skyephone relationship with Hutcheson 3, using embedded iSkoot firmware, has certainly been a success. Most importantly, its “free calling” marketing campaign has certainly helped 3 acquire new users who previously would never have thought of getting such a smartphone, even if it has a limited feature set (relative to, say, iPhone, BlackBerry or Android). From the Skype Lite announcement at CES it is apparent that Skype is developing relationships with carriers in at least ten other countries, including the U.S. But details of the specific carrier relationships have yet to be announced.

Many of these services involve using the data network for Skype IM and call setup while using the robust and readily scalable GSM voice channel for voice conversations. Other issues that will provide market differentiation include:

• keyboard: QWERTY or T9? this makes a huge difference as to how much Skype IM will be used.
• display size: how readily and effectively can the device display Internet-originated content?
• battery life: will there still be enough battery life after a day of work to enjoy an evening of entertainment without a recharge?
• overall user interface: bottom line for the user experience – how readily can I get access to the services I want, using a familiar calling algorithm?

And all this leads to “What is the business model for Skype”? That will be the subject of another post.

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Whenever I travel to the U.S. I am careful with usage of my BlackBerry Bold for voice calls; there’s a $0.95 per minute roaming charge for any use of it on the AT&T or T-Mobile network even before any long distance charges are considered. Calls back to Toronto from California will result in a total charge of $1.75 per minute. And, at $6.00/MB for data usage, I try to maximize my data activity via WiFi access points in hotel rooms, airports and conference press rooms. And, when I go to Mexico or Europe I look for any opportunity to make voice calls over Skype and access data services over WiFi; in fact, in Mexico, one is advised to turn off the BlackBerry. Roaming charges will easily clean out your wallet.

Recently a Los Angeles Times reporter was referred to me for more information about how he could avoid “roaming charges billing shock” in the future. He had just received a $400 roaming charge billing for using his iPhone over the Rogers network during a weekend trip to Vancouver, Canada.

At one of Andy Abramson’s famous Blogger dinners, held during a recent conference, roaming charges were identified as the number one cost issue and arbitrage opportunity existing in the wireless services market today.

Today Truphone, who has continuously demonstrated innovation in low cost wireless calling, announced their forthcoming Truphone Local Anywhere service at Mobile World Congress. From the press release:

The introduction of Truphone’s multi-country, single-SIM service will change the current experience of people with an international lifestyle.  Their mobile experience is currently characterized by frustration, brought on by constantly having to juggle multiple SIM cards and mobile phones in order to minimize their mobile costs.

In an interview with Truphone CEO Geraldine Wilson, she highlighted four key benefits of this service. On a single handset a Truphone Local Anywhere subscriber can:

• have a local number whenever travelling in a supported country
• make calls anywhere in the territory of participating carriers at “local” rates
• make international calls at reduced costs
• eliminate or minimize ”roaming” charges at most destinations

But there is also a benefit to people calling to a Truphone Local Anywhere subscriber. Personal and business calls to the subscriber can be made via the subscriber’s “local” number for the location from which the call is being placed.

Other issues:

• All numbers will be “mobile” numbers, capable of supporting SMS messaging and data activity
• The default callerID seen by the called party will be the call destination’s “Local” number but the displayed callerID can be managed to display other numbers available to the subscriber
• calls to other Truphone Local Anywhere customers will have the lowest calling rates

Geraldine was quite specific in stating that the target market includes mobile professionals, travel industry employees, expatriate workers who need a “local” number in both their home country and “on the job”, and international students. According to Geraldine, this “road warrior” market encompasses 300 million today, making over 700 million trips per year.

Why an announcement now at Mobile World Congress? While Truphone has already signed some carrier and service provider agreements for this program, they are seeking out additional carrier and MVNO partners to build out a worldwide network.

As for the infrastructure behind this service:

• the customer will receive one SIM that supports service providers in all countries
• it is a scalable, plug-and-play solution
• a customer will be able to add another carrier or service provider to the SIM over-the-air
• Truphone is seeking out non-traditional distribution channels
• it will have full data compatibility

Bottom Line: if Truphone can pull off a sufficient number of service provider relationships worldwide, Truphone Local Anywhere will have the same friction-free impact for travellers’ mobile communications activities as the introduction of the Euro provided to European travelers, eliminating the need to stop by an “exchange counter” when arriving in every country.

Update: Jon Arnold: Truphone Launches Local Anywhere Service

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Truphone‘s announcements last week overcame a significant carrier resistance barrier to using VoIP-enabled services to reduce international calling costs. The key secret here was that it required the combination of Truphone’s iPhone and iPod Touch applications along with the Apple Application program that leverages Apple’s established carrier relationships to break this barrier.On Friday I was finally able to complete provisioning of Truphone on my iPhone. It happened at this time for three reasons:

• The association of my original Truphone number and account with a Nokia N95 handset and the “416″ number I eventually transferred to my iPhone whose acquisition as an upgrade on my carrier account minimize my iPhone costs over the term of the three year contract.
• The original iPhone application only supported outbound calling; I would have lost the Truphone inbound calling feature I had on the N95.
• For this reason I left Truphone on my N95 (using a deactivated SIM and my home office WiFi access point) pending the arrival of a Truphone for iPhone application and service that supported both inbound and outbound calling.

Recall also that the original Truphone for iPhone only allowed calls over WiFi access points with no ability to pass them through the underlying 3G wireless carrier. Truphone’s two announcements last week addressed three issues:

• Truphone for iPhone now supports both inbound and outbound calling
• Truphone added the Truphone Anywhere service such that Truphone for iPhone calls could be made over the underlying 3G carrier as well as over WiFi.
• Truphone for iPod Touch (2nd generation) invoked the Truphone Anywhere service allowing calls to be made from iPod Touch to any PSTN number.

Over the course of the past week it has become possible to make low cost international calls from any iPhone or iPod Touch mobile device worldwide. Truphone has demonstrated how the underlying service provider can can eliminate the need to have a multitude of individual “carrier-service provider agreements” with the 79 carriers currently offering the iPhone worldwide. Yet carriers still benefit through increased local minutes used to provide the connection to/from Truphone calls. To quote from Ted Wallingford’s “Heartburn Chuckle: The telecom industry can blame itself”:

The Carriers

The carriers are firms like AT&T, Windstream, Verizon, BT, and so on. Their obsession with the billing unit (the almighty minute) has made them helpless to see the possibilities of a software-rich, application-based global ecosystem. Consequently, the most successful apps to arrive on the carriers’ networks, the ones most embraced by the public, overwhelmingly have one purpose: to steal billable minutes from the carriers. The innovation disappeared and the scrappy new players in the market, the ones with the power to transform the public’s thinking about telecom, instead got stuck doing the same old thing the big telecoms do to put bread on the table: bill minutes. [Author's italics]

For instance, Canadians can now use Truphone for iPhone as their international calling service over Rogers without the need to subscribe to one of Rogers international calling plans but perhaps with an increase in their monthly “local” voice plan minutes. In this case, there is no cost for the actual application and you establish international call credits through a Truphone account. When Rogers’ iPhone customers travel to Europe, calling back to North America can be handled at a much lower cost through hotel, cafe and airport WiFi services, such as Boingo or iPass. (True roaming calls from outside the “home country” over a 3G carrier will still be expensive; Andy’s post linked here suggests RebelSIM provides a solution.)

It was the second part of this announcement that is most significant. Previously VoIP-enabled services, such as 3′s Skypephone, required working with individual carriers to establish the appropriate business and operating agreements. However, in one move, Truphone was able to leverage Apple’s relationships with 79 carriers worldwide to bring about commitment free international calling. Apple, through its Application Program has become a disintermediator, facilitating a business model disruption, once again.

As for the iPhone for iPod Touch application; this is why the most successful carriers need to offer both wireless and broadband Internet services. Calls via WiFi access points, including one’s broadband Internet service, go over the broadband connection and reduce carriers’ needs to build out the capital-intensive wireless network infrastructure, including backhaul.

In a future post, once I’ve had some more Truphone for iPhone experience, I’ll do a comparison of services available over Skype and over Truphone. But one obvious difference: Truphone is about voice conversations only; Skype is about voice and text conversations.

Related Post: Race to Provide Low Cost International Calling Heats Up

Tags: Truphone, iPhone, carriers, voip, Skypephone, iSkoot, international calling, service providers, WiFi

Powered by Qumana

Mobivox is a service that let’s you make low cost or free calls worldwide at little or no cost from any phone, whether wireless or landline. Call a local access number in any of over 40 countries and tell the MobiVox Girl whom you wish to call and whether to call their home, office, mobile number or Skype. For the cost of a “local” call, you can call any Skype contact worldwide. Calls to landline and wireless numbers are charged at rates that vary by destination country but are as low as 1.9 cents per minute. (Note that calls to wireless phones outside North America have an order of magnitude higher rates due to the various mobile operators’ “caller pays” policy.)

Summary from Supplier:

Mobivox makes it possible to call family and friends around the world for free from ANY phone. No software or downloads; no hidden membership or connection fess.

.Main Website : http://www.mobivox.com

Service Features :

• Conferencing (up to ten participants)
• Group Calling (repeated calls to the same group of participants)
• Mobile to Home Phone Transfer

Programming API Available : Yes

HTML Code Snippets Available : No

Main Category : Consumer

PamFax is a Skype Extra that lets you quickly and easily scan and fax a hard copy document or fax a PC-based document to any fax number worldwide.

Not only helpful for the home or small business office but also ideal for road warriors who need to fax documents while traveling from their hotel, an airport lounge or at a coffee shop with Internet access. In fact, it can be used as a road warrior’s printer by “printing” a document to your local hotel’s fax number.

PamFax has three modes of sourcing a document for faxing:

• scan a hard copy document from almost any scanner;
• select a stored document on your PC or
• print a document from within a Windows application with PamFax being the Windows printer.

Costs start at €0.17 (~$0.25) per page and vary by destination country.

Summary from Supplier :

Looking for a simple and inexpensive solution to send your faxes? PamFax has it all:

• Simple to use:
  • Fully integrated with Skype
  • User friendly wizard makes sending a fax a breeze
  • Send faxes from Word/Excel 2003/2007
  • Send faxes from any application by printing to PamFax printer
  • Easy payment with your Skype Credit
  • No upfront payments, no subscriptions, no additional cost, no registration
  • No advertizing on faxes
• SSL secure
• Status notification via Skype Chat, E-Mail and/or SMS
• Many supported file types
• Scanner support. Scan and fax a paper document. Supports multi-feed
• Send a fax to multiple recipients at once
• User portal with fax history and settings
• Download sent faxes as PDF
• Add an optional cover page (several choices)
• Reserve credit for faxing so you can one-click send your fax
• Preview your fax
• See recipient’s location in

Ideal for: Home, Home Office, Small Business, Road Warriors

Publisher’s Expertise and Background: PamConsult has a long history of developing third party applications using the Skype infrastructure.

Contact Information:

• Website : http://www.pamfax.biz
• Phone: n/a
• Forum: PamFax Forum
• Email: Enquiry Form

Products and Services amFax will send faxes from three sources

• A PC-based scanner
• Browse to select a document
• As a Windows printer directly from a Windows application

Requirements:

• Skype: Version 3.x or later
• Platforms: Windows XP/Vista

Product Acccess :

• Skype Extras [Tools | Do More | Get Extras];
• Download

Installation Comments: When installing you will be asked to agree with the license.

Product Description

Pricing: Rates by Destination Zone

Evoca provides the infrastructure required to record and playback user generated content on a website. Evoca Call Recorder provides hosted call recording of Skype conversations.

Summary from Supplier: Put Evoca to work on your website and keep visitors coming back. Offer your customers, audiences and supporters easy ways to record and play back user-generated content: comments, reviews, testimonials, and opinions online. Let them call your website from any phone – landline, mobile and Skype™. Post the audio recordings you choose into branded Flash players that bring any web page alive.

Main Website: http://www.evoca.com

Products and Services:

• Evoca Media Services: an API platform that integrates phone-to-Web features into your existing web applications
• Evoca Call Recorder: hosted recording and play back for Skype calls
  

Programming API Available : Yes

HTML Code Snippets Available : Yes

OnState Communications have been evolving their Skype-based on-demand call center offering over the past year. Launched a year ago to provide basic voice contact, they added an “open” chat capability last summer. As a result call center agents could communicate with prospective or current customers via Skype, PSTN and/or chat sessions (and could escalate chat sessions to a voice session). However, as they built their customer base, they found three new requirements:

• a need to provide customers a full service call center launch in terms of setting up Skype accounts and acquiring any Skype-related hardware such as Skype phones and/or headsets
• toll-free number call-in for customers responding to OnState’s clients’ broadcast or print media campaigns, and
• local dial-in numbers for Canadian clients who could not obtain SkypeIn numbers

Yesterday OnState launched their total solution for OnState clients that provides one-stop shopping to not only acquire the core call center services but also offer:

• Skype account setup and management
• toll-free US and international coverage in over 30 countries;
• Skype-compatible hardware (phones, headsets, etc.)
• PayPal™ easy-payment plans for all call center needs
• accessibility to advanced customer contact management solutions;
• voice, video, and business chat capabilities;
• reduced operational costs at industry redefining prices;

• Web integration including click-to-call, automatic call-back, and online chat

• streamlined customer communications; and

• improved customer management.

From their press release:

“Our new storefront actually creates a new business model – the on-demand, pay-as-you go call center,” explained Pat Kelly, CEO and cofounder of OnState Communications. “We offer one-stop shopping that spans toll-free telephone numbers, advanced call center capabilities and accessories, and Skype-compatible products,” continued Kelly. “Within minutes rather than days or weeks, businesses can launch a call center or customer contact management solution that delivers end-to-end customer service – all from a single site.”

………

The integration of Skype services and offerings with the OnState CallCenter for Skype gives businesses a single, unified source for customer service at an industry-redefining price. Unlike traditional call center solutions where businesses contract and manage any number of vendors including network, hardware, system, and software providers, OnState CallCenter customers have a single point of contact for all call center and contact management. “OnState customers eliminate the complexities and costs of dealing with multiple technology providers,” said Pat Kelly, CEO and cofounder of OnState Communications.

OnState’s evolution represents another entrepreneurial, co-operative effort between Skype and its partners to provide a disruptive offering that results in both a less expensive and more effective business process incorporating Skype infrastructure and Skype API’s. Whereas previously call centers typically required a minimum six figure investment for the required hardware, OnState’s solution provides the same or even additional functionality for $30 per agent per month with no subscription required. By providing this end-to-end one-stop offering, they simply make implementation of their solution a quicker exercise that also saves their clients associated implementation overhead costs.

Previous posts:

• Memo to Skype CEO Candidates: An Interview That Nails What Skype Can Be. OnState CEO Pat Kelly interviewed by AuctionBytes Ina Steiner.
• A Primer for Skype’s Direction – Skype’s Extras Gallery and Developer Partner Program
• Getting the Story Right: Whose Call Center for Skype Was Introduced?

Tags: OnState Communications, OnState Call Center, Skype, Skype Developer Program, Skype Extras, Pat Kelly