Skype: Cooperating with Operators is Good; [Some] Net Neutrality is also Good

  

MBB (Mobile Business Briefing) reports on a presentation made by Russ Shaw, VP of Mobile at Skype, during the Planet of the Apps 2010  in London - "Shaw.. used his keynote presentation this morning to position the company as a partner for mobile network operators, rather than a competitor intending to capture lucrative voice revenue .. However, in order for relationships to succeed, three key areas need to be addressed from the outset: who owns the customer data, how access to the network is governed, and who controls the user experience. “If you can't agree this up-front, it won't work,” he warned."
See "Skype trumpets co-operation, not competition, with operators" - here.

Shaw mentioned the cooperation with 3 UK (here), Verizon Wireless (here) and its new relationship with KDDI [Japan].

See also "Skype: Operators' Tiered Services will Replace Our 3G Surcharge Plans" - here and "Frost & Sullivan: Mobile Operators Should not Impose Bans or Surcharges to VoIP" - here.

Nevertheless, "Shaw also used his speech to highlight the need for net neutrality, in order to drive product and service innovation which will ultimately benefit customers – with Skype also standing to benefit if operators do not block competitive voice services ... Working together is key. Customers will end up with a better experience, and I think that networks will end up with more revenue and less churn"

It seems that the attitude is - we like Net Neutrality if it prevents non-partners to block us, but once we have a partner - it is no longer needed, and discrimination (or prioritization) is good.

Related post - "Skype's $100M IPO: "Our business depends on our users having continued and unimpeded access to the Internet" - here.