Nokia & Skype deal riles UK operators

A deal between Skype and Nokia announced at last month’s GSMA Mobile World Congress has reportedly angered UK operators Orange and O2. The VoIP firm and the world’s largest handset vendor announced in February plans to pre-install Skype into Nokia’s smartphones, starting with the N-Series. Nokia’s flagship N97 including Skype will go on sale in the third quarter of this year, the first fruit of the two companies’ agreement. However, according to Mobile Today, “O2 and Orange responded furiously” to the plans and may refuse to stock the N97 unless Nokia strips out the Skype client. The argument is believed to centre around ownership of the customer, as well as potential lost revenue from calls from Skype’s VoIP service. Rival operators 3 UK and T-Mobile UK are reportedly backing Nokia and Skype’s partnership.

Such developments are not the first time that concerns have been raised by mobile operators about what they potentially see as the competitive threat posed by Skype. In an interview with the Mobile World Congress Show Daily last month, Skype president Josh Silverman said operators should not see his company as a threat. “Operators sell access to networks,” he said. “We sell applications that drive demand for network access. We have a symbiotic relationship with network operators.” Back in 2006, Skype struck a deal with 3 UK for development of the 3 Skypephone that has sold around 500,000 units.gfsyd4798p