Roll Out of Mobile Skype Delayed Indefinitely

[Kristijntje]

Skype for Mobile wants to get on your cell phone, but technical hurdles and tough competitors may stand in the way

Concern that Skype's efforts to move into mobile calling may be in jeopardy surfaced on Sept. 28. That's when a Finnish newspaper published an interview with Skype Chief Executive Officer Niklas Zennstrom, who was quoted as saying the company is running into "technical obstacles" in making Skype service available on regular cell phones. Zennstrom also said he can't "give a timetable" on when Skype-enabled mobile phones from big manufacturers like Nokia will debut.

Skype for Mobile was expected to be a big growth engine. Today, Skype users pay about 2 cents a minute to call home or mobile phones via Skype. But Skype for Mobile could charge as much as 10 cents per minute for some calls, says Friedland. Users would no doubt flock to a plan that lets them place international calls placed over mobile phones, which under existing plans can cost more than $1 a minute.

Mobile features could also be critical in helping Skype and its parent gain traction in markets like China, where four times more people use cell phones than use PCs...

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