The idea of bringing Skype to mobile phones has always been viewed by cellular operators as potentially threatening. It opens up the possibility that people will use their data plans to make calls using Skype, instead of the more expensive and profitable voice minutes on the carriers' cellular networks.
"The carriers are in the business of selling voice minutes. For a long time they saw products like Skype coming along and they were concerned," said Ben Wood, director of Research at the London-based CCS Insight, a market research firm. "But it turned out a little bit different than they expected."
Mr. Wood said many carriers had modified their views about so-called voice-over-Internet-protocol, or VoIP, services. In some cases, Skype has proved to be appealing to consumers and a competitive advantage for a carrier over its rivals.
Skype tested its service in London in the last two years with Hutchison 3, a British mobile network. It said it drew more customers to Hutchison 3 and increased its revenue for each user, since people were making calls on their cellphones using Skype that high calling rates would have discouraged otherwise.
Scott Durchslag, Skype's chief operating officer, said he did not think the limitations on using Skype on the iPhone would be a big drawback for users, since Wi-Fi networks have become common.
However, he said he hoped Apple and AT&T would relax restrictions and let people make Skype calls anywhere they roamed. "We think these things should work on any device, any network, at any time," he said.
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