Skype technologies, a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet, has reportedly approached Ofcom, UK’s telecom authority, as British mobile operators have blocked Internet based calls on their networks. According to reports, Ofcom has said that by blocking Skype’s services mobile operators were restricting innovation and that it may intervene if the operators continue to block the services.

Mobile operators in the US such as Verizon Wireless, have not paced any restrictions on the services offered by Skype, but have infact offered the software on some of its handsets since the past year. However, on the other hand, British operator Vodafone Group Plc requires users to pay an additional charge of $ 23 each month to gain access to Web-based calls on their mobile phone. Further, reports suggest that France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom in UK have banned access to such services.

Sources claim that operators impose such restriction in an attempt to safeguard their profits as well as counter the fall in revenues from traditional voice and message services.

 

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The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is considering to ask voice over internet protocol (VoIP) service providers like Google and Skype to devise a decryption solution of their services.

The move, if implemented, will mean that the government will be able to track emails sent through Gmail as well as intercept voice calls made through Skype.

In an internal meeting with DoT, officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has told the telecom department that Google and Skype need to provide decryption of their services whenever required by the security agencies for lawful interception.

According to the DoT internal note, there was also a need to bring some parity between the Information Technology (IT) Act and the Indian Telegraph Act-1885 to deal with interception and monitoring.

A Google spokesperson stated that they have not been contacted by the government yet on this issue and thereby, they are unable to comment.

During the meeting, DoT stated that such issues may be taken up at international forums such as ITU, WTO and United Nations wherein service providers are mandated to take permission from member countries before launching new services.

The note further stated that the legal protection for business entities may have to be strengthened against consumer protection or any civilian Act, where business secrets are disclosed to government agencies due to security considerations.

Intelligence Bureau (IB) will also prepare a list of issues faced by them while monitoring services and will be jointly addressed by the department of telecom and IT.

The interception/monitoring issue cropped up after security agencies expressed concerns about intercepting highly encrypted services such as BlackBerry amongst others.

CDMA Ukraine has launched the ‘Calls To Skype’ service for its subscribers.

The interested customers need to send a free SMS including their Skype user name to a short code, after which they will receive a message with a number to be used for calling their contact. The number can be used for additional calls later, with SMS registration only required once. The cost of Skype calls is US$0.03 per minute with no connection fee.

 

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­Jawbone, a headset manufacturer has secured US$49 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz. The funding brings total investment to date in Jawbone close to $100 million.

According to Ben Horowitz, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Jawbone builds a family of products that take smartphones and tablet computers and brings them to life. Hosain Rahman is the clear thought leader in his industry and makes Jawbone the easy investment choice for them in this market.

Jawbone first made its mark in the industry by creating an entirely new class of Bluetooth headsets. Its Jawbone ICON was the first to add NoiseAssasin technology and the recently-launched Jawbone ERA is the first to include HD audio and motion sensors.

Andreessen Horowitz has made similarly-sized investments in companies including Facebook, Groupon, Twitter and Skype.

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The Indian Government has fixed March 31 as the deadline for all telecom operators to submit plans for interception of their services, including popular BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) of Research in Motion (RIM) and Skype by security agencies.

A senior official has stated that the home ministry has asked the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) to ensure that all telecom operators submit their plans by the end of this month on when they can provide access to all services, including BlackBerry’s BES, whenever there is a necessity for the security agencies.

He stated that DoT had been in contact with the telecom operators who, under their licensing agreement, were negotiating the details with the smart-phone service providers. The department would tell the home ministry about the deadlines, which would be final in terms of downloading certain software in mobile handsets itself to ensure interception. If they fail to give access, they have to put their services off in India. He explained that once the companies provide solution within the deadlines, the retrofitment or download of certain softwares in the handsets for legal interception would not be difficult.

The Centre will also put in place a security architecture for the telecom sector through which the government could put in a new facility to deposit open software in certain forms and new testing facility (labs).

If reports are to be believed, JPMorgan Chase & Co. is in talks to acquire a 10% stake in Twitter for $450 million.

According to the bank, it had raised $1.22-billion for the Digital Growth fund. As per reports, the fund eventually plans to raise a total of $1.3-billion from a maximum of 480 investors.

As per the reports, it hopes to invest a third of the fund in another private Internet company like online gaming company Zynga or telephony company Skype. The last third would be invested in six other companies, possibly including coupons site LivingSocial or online retailer Gilt.

 

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­A new research report from Ovum has revealed that Facebook is shaping up to be a strong competitor to mobile operators that are in danger of underestimating the threat it poses.

In a new report the telecoms analyst states that Facebook is much more than a social network – this is just a starting point and its domain spreads much wider. However, operators are being slow to wake up to the extent of Facebook’s ambitions and tend to view it as benign, non-competitive presence that they are keen to form partnerships.

According to Eden Zoller, author of the report and principal analyst of Ovum, Facebook is encroaching directly on mobile operator territory and should not be underestimated. It has come a very long way since it first launched Facebook Mobile in 2006. It is now a force to be reckoned within mobile with over 200 million users interacting with the service via mobile phone. It is much more than a social network and is better viewed as an increasingly rich platform for communications and content. Facebook wants to integrate with everything and be the main way that people consume and share information, anywhere and on any device.

Facebook has made several moves that have placed it in competition with mobile operators. It has an integration deal with Skype for voice communications and in November 2010 unveiled an email offering. Meanwhile, it is turning increasing attention to location-based services with its places platform and is pushing into mobile advertising in the shape of the Facebook Deals ‘check-in’ service. Facebook apps dominate app stores across most smartphone operating systems.

Zoller added that there is also intense ongoing speculation that Facebook will come out with its own phone, which in some respects would be the final piece of the puzzle. However, they don’t think that Facebook is in any rush to launch its own hardware just yet, although it could be interested in working with partners on a customized device platform. This would in effect make Facebook a social operating system.

Despite this competition from Facebook, mobile operators are keen to partner with it, for example, by offering easy access to its services and address book integration.

As per Zoller, while there are good reasons why operators should wish to partner with Facebook, they should be more alert to the fact that it is shaping up to be a strong competitor. It is only by understanding Facebook fully that operators can engage with it effectively, be that on a collaborative or competitive basis.

The Qtel Group has announced a commercial agreement with Skype, whereby its mobile broadband subsidiary Wi-tribe, will promote Skype and its related products over Wi-tribe’s networks in Jordan and the Philippines; two key markets for Wi-tribe.

As per the agreement, Wi-tribe; a provider of wireless broadband Internet, will enable customers in the respective markets to easily download Skype software and connect with their family and friends.

According to Dr. Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Qtel, the Qtel Group’s strategy for innovation is driven by the needs of their customers, and enabled by partnerships with like-minded companies. They recognize the changes taking place in the market and the increasing customer demand for rich communications solutions and  have decided to partner with Skype – one of the pioneers in the industry. This is a first-of-its-kind in their Middle East region and they look forward to working closely with Skype to deliver the best possible customer experience.

To start the partnership, Skype and Wi-tribe will distribute Skype credit vouchers for customers in the Philippines and in Jordan. These vouchers will enable customers to enjoy free calls to landlines and mobiles over Skype using the Wi-tribe mobile broadband network.

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­Skype has announced that it has signed a pact with a series of Wi-Fi networks to offer roaming for its pay-as-you-go Internet customers.

Skype users can now connect to the Internet through a Wi-Fi operator partner in over 500,000 hotspots around the globe.

Rather than paying per day or per hour Internet access fees, Skype access allows users to pay per minute using Skype Credit, with rates starting at $.06 per minute.

At the launch of the service, Skype Access partners include:

  • BT Openzone – The UK’s largest Wi-Fi hotspot provider with a network of two million hotspots
  • Fon – The world’s largest Wi-Fi network with over 3.35 million Fon Spots across the globe
  • M3 Connect – Wi-Fi provider in Germany with hotspots in many hotels, fairgrounds, airports and places like the German Stock Exchange
  • Row 44 – Provides the world’s leading in-flight broadband platform to commercial airlines around the world
  • Skyrove – WiFi hotspot solutions for guesthouses, hotels and coffee shops throughout South Africa
  • Spectrum Interactive – Specializes in offering WiFi for the travel and media sector including airports and hotels across the UK
  • Tomizone – WiFi provider in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific
  • Vex – Offers WiFi services in thousands of locations around the world including South America

Skype to acquire Qik

­Skype is acquiring Qik, a provider of mobile video software and services for an undisclosed amount – but rumored to be in the region of US$100 million.

Qik was founded in 2006 and has around 5 million users. The Qik service is available on over 200 mobile phones across the Android, iPhone, Symbian, Blackberry and Windows Mobile platforms, and comes pre-loaded on a wide variety of mobile handsets through partnerships with handset manufacturers and carriers.

By this acquisition, Skype will also be able to leverage the engineering expertise that is behind Qik’s Smart Streaming technology, which optimizes video transmission over wireless networks.

According to Tony Bates, Skype’s Chief Executive Officer, the Qik team has delivered exceptional video experiences for its mobile partners and millions of end users across a range of devices. Skype’s software enables an estimated 25% of the world’s international long distance voice calling minutes, and approximately 40% of those Skype-to-Skype calls are happening over video. Qik’s deep engineering capabilities and strong mobile relationships will be an impressive complementary fit with Skype.