Skype lied: iSkype 3G breaks promise

Phil Wolff 30 May 2010 9:16 am

Skype promised Skype-to-Skype calls will be free forever.

Forever comes September 2010 for Skype for iPhone users. Skype is defining mobile apps as a new class of service requiring a separate “mobile subscription.”

From the “Details” page:

Skype on 3G/Edge

What does the “free Skype trial” mean?

You can now make and receive Skype-to-Skype calls and call phones over 3G from your iPhone.

To get you started, we’re offering you free Skype-to-Skype calls over 3G until at least the end of August 2010. After that there’ll be a small monthly fee.

Remember, you can always make free Skype-to-Skype calls from a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Skype now says its app for iPhone and iPod touch comes with “Free Skype-to-Skype calls from any WiFi zone.” [My emphasis.] A new limit emerges.

Safe to say the same will apply to Skype for Blackberry and Skype for Android unless subsidized by a partner carrier like Verizon or Three.

This breaks Skype’s promise that Skype-to-Skype calls will always be free. The pledge is fundamental to Skype’s brand, to Skype’s freemium model, to the simplicity of trying Skype before buying premium services. No longer can you say “Skype-to-Skype is free.” Now add “except when…” and hope you get it right.

I appreciate Skype’s need to drive new subscriptions.

Breaking faith with your core brand promise is not the way.

Call me at +1-510-343-5664, Skype me, follow @SkypeJournal and @evanwolf.
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Post Revisions:

30 May, 2010 @ 9:34 [Current Revision] by Phil Wolff
30 May, 2010 @ 9:30 by Phil Wolff
30 May, 2010 @ 9:22 by Phil Wolff
30 May, 2010 @ 9:16 by Phil Wolff

http://techmeme.com/ Gabe

Where did they literally say “forever”? Got a screencap or quote with “forever”?

http://cutterpillow.com Dave

On July 10, 2009 Skype stated on its blog:

Skype-to-Skype calls are always free, forever.

Emphasis mine.

They lied.

Ben

What a load of waffle.

Skype to Skype is still free – the mobile is an add on service and they’re entitled to charge what they like for it.

Free calls is not ‘their core brand promise’ and even if it is, times change. The IPhone and todays 3g networks were a long way off when Skype was conceived
Jeff Bonforte

My suspicion is that one of two things is happening: either they had to do a deal with AT&T or they are doing the transport to the phone over pstn (like iskoot used to do) to circumvent the restriction AT&T puts on them.

In either case they are probably trying to do the right thing in terms of delivering the service people are requesting. I don’t think they want to charge for Skype to Skype calls.Seems like a pragmatic decision rather than a one to drive us to subscription model. Your blog takes as cynical an approach as possible. Having been on the other side of these deals, I can tell you the product teams are probably trying everything they can to exceed customer expectations and this compromise is being struck.

My $0.02
Gennady borukhovich

This sucks! Also, thanks for providing your skype contact info but I’m afraid to contact you as it may not be free!
https://rampke.de/ Matthias

This has always been the case with Skype for Android in Germany.
Rob

Yeah, I’m not going to get too upset about this. It’s been a very company offering a very good product at a very good price. That equation isn’t changing it seems, certainly not at $1/month.
thelonecabbage

Skype is a p2p protocol, which is why Skyp2Skype has always been free. 3g isn’t the same as wifi, even though 20 years of engineering have gone into making it look like that. Likely Skype3g is being routed over skypes infrastructure, so it may actually justify the charge

Phil Wolff

Unlike the current Skype clients on the 3 Skypephone, Verizon Android and Verizon Blackberry, the Skype for iPhone app doesn’t move voice streams over mobile voice channels. It is a true VoIP play, uses Skype’s SILK codec, and only touches Skype’s servers when you log in and for a few other lightweight admin services (like checking for updates). Like with your PC broadband, Skype over 3G/Edge is using the connectivity you buy from your ISP. Skype isn’t spending money on moving your bits.

Yaggo

Not fair. I pay my operator a monthly fee for mobile data. It doesn’t cost extra to Skype whether my data is coming from mobile network or wired network. Bytes are bytes, they just pay for their incoming/outgoing data. Thus they have no reason to moneytize calls based on client’s connection type. Except GREED.
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http://www.intelliadmin.com Steve Wiseman

I know exactly why they need to do this. It is because the udp firewall hole punching technology on phones is not possible. This means the traffic must pass through their servers. So unlike skype on your computer, they will need to handle every packet coming from a smart phone based skype connection.

So in my mind they have no choice

Phil Wolff

Steve, Skype on iPhone is a Skype node, doesn’t go through the Skype gateway. So an iSkype call puts no more strain on Skype, doesn’t cost Skype one penny more, than a Skype for Windows or Skype for Mac call.

http://www.intelliadmin.com Steve Wiseman

Yes it may be a node on the network, but it cannot participate like your computer. As far as my testing goes…you cannot do UDP hole punching. So that would mean you need a super node that can route your traffic

Super nodes come in two different flavors – a PC running that is publicly available, and a special one that Skype runs that can handle lots of connections.

If everyone starts going 3g (Who the hell wants to be stuck on their computer to make a phone call?), then the number of PCs that can handle traffic (As a percentage of nodes) will drop considerably.

This means that the only connection option left for these phones will be a supernode that skype runs. Who will pay for that traffic? Skype

One question that may come to mind, is why can’t an iPhone just make a direct TCP connection to the other skype user? Because most providers (Like ATT) put their 3g network users behind a giant NAT (Sometimes layers of NATS!!). You can’t easily connect from device to device over separate telco networks

So you are limited to the two options – UDP Firewall Hole punching (Sorry don’t work on 3g nets) and a super node (Which skype will run, since most people in the future will no longer run it on their computer)

So we are back to square one. For 3g skype connections to work over time, skype will need to provide the supernodes, thus they need to charge for it.

Saying that an iPhone connection is just like a PC connection is an over-simplification and is not looking at the overall nature of what will happen to the network with this shift.

http://www.mocaedu.com/mt Aswath Rao

This is the first time I am realizing that 3G uses symmetric NATs (the number of NATs don’t matter if all are not symmetric). So is it correct to assume that 3G datacards will also encounter symmetric NATs? If so, will Skype charge the same “small fee”? And how will they enforce?

Brandon

This really blows. Screw skype. I hope Google’s acquisition of Gizmo5 will do amazing things, at least for Android and the PC.
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Ted M.

Big money-grab. Skype moving across 3G is still using plain-old IP over the 3g network and doesn’t touch Skype’s servers except for call setup (IOW it’s scarcely different that skype over a wifi connection or skype on windows or OS X).

Sorry guys – it’s not going to work. There are plenty of SIP providers available and they make iPhone apps too.
http://thecutestasians.com brillega

I don’t understand why you guys are making such a big fuss about this… Apple customers as a group have been trained to pay for stuff that everyone else gets for free. They are the most profitable group of consumers to target for selling apps to. This is a no-brainer for skype – they’re going sell millions of subscriptions to iphone users, whether you like it or not.
Jamie

Oh look! I just got my Google Voice set up!
Figure it out Skype: I am never paying for VoIP to VoIP. You try to make me pay for VoIP to VoIP and you lose my VoIP to POTS business.
none

> Where did they literally say “forever”? Got a screencap or quote with “forever”?

“Skype-to-Skype calls will always be free” (http://www.skype.com/intl/en/security/safety/safe-payments/)

I’m sure you will agree that “always” means forever in this context.
http://rewound.net/ VitalK

If you can bear to jailbreak your iPhone, you can always install 3G Unrestrictor to fool Skype into thinking you’re connected to a WiFi hotspot.
Pingback: Skype’s “small fee” is noise guys. | Alec Saunders SquawkBox
Scott G

@Jamie – Regarding your new Google Voice account, sure, Google doesn’t charge you anything to use it, but instead of using your 3G connection on your phone the calls do use your voice minutes. I’d guess for most people those are more expensive a commodity than the price Skype is going to charge.

Disclaimer – I use both Skype and GV, but don’t do that many voice calls at all, so just sharing an observation.
Pingback: Skype for iPhone over 3G: An Industry Benchmark Game Changer for Skype | Voyces
http://www.simonb.co.za SimonB

Thank you for highlighting this Phil.
Things at Skype are not the same since Niklas sold.

You are right though about the promise, skype2skype was always meant to be free as per their promise when they started. If they go against that promise now what will be next?

Lucky I don’t use iPhone.. And there are other mobile services that offer free skype2skype via iPhone and other mobiles, so no big issue when it comes to free skype2skype ;-)
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James Body

I am not too sure what mechanism Skype will use to recover their “3G Tax” – somehow charging for a peer-to-peer service (like the current iPhone client) really does not seem quite right.

Also (whilst we are in ‘discontented mode’) it should be noted that Skype charge for calls to +883 iNum numbers too – whilst all the other VoIP providers route to iNum for free!

Just remember that there are many other alternatives to Skype out there in the marketplace!
Amazing Iceman

I have been making Skype-to-Skype calls for free on my T-Mobile WM phone for a really long time. There’s no message saying I’m going to be charge. I think they found an opportunity to make money. We’ll just have to wait for an alternative solution.
When it appears, people will eventually stop using Skype.
http://therealonehottie.piczo.com/?cr=3 DonJohnson

Did you know that weed can make you want to pray?
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