Skype Does Good for 3UK

   

Unlike the conventional wisdom, according to which allowing Skype over mobile data will cannibalize mobile operators' voice minutes revenues, 3 UK is seeing just the opposite - according to recent research by CCS Insight, reported by Rethink Wireless.

See "Skype boosts results for exclusive operators" - here.

"Nearly 80% of 3 UK's Skype users over the past year are new to the company, and on average, they deliver 20% higher ARPU and 14% lower churn than the rest of 3's base ... Though few operators actually block the service any more, only a handful has offered active support, including an optimized application and free calls over 3G - and so these tend to promote such a rare differentiator aggressively." 

Concluding that this will be correct for every operators is maybe far fetching, but we did see Verizon going the same way earlier this year: "Verizon likes Skype" - here.

Let’s not forget Skype's intention to charge extra for currently free Skype to Skype calls over 3G: "Skype: We Will Charge 3G Calls to Ensure QoS Stays High" - here.