Underscoring the rapid evolution of free Internet-based telephony, handset maker Nokia Corp. Wednesday said it has made Skype available as a free download from its Ovi online store.
Nokia, the world’s largest handset maker, and voice-over-Internet company Skype have also released a service for the Finnish company’s Symbian-based smart phones, which will give users access to Skype via a mobile data connection, Nokia said.
The Skype for Symbian service allows users to make free Skype-to-Skype calls internationally, save money on regular international calls and to share files including pictures and video.
Luxembourg-based Skype, which is 30% owned by eBay Inc., has grown its footprint in the telecom industry as operators look to boost sales of expensive data plans to offset lower voice traffic.
Last month, U.S.-based telecom operator Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group Plc, said it will launch a Skype application in March which enables free domestic and cheap international calls for users who subscribe to a data service plan.
Verizon Wireless hopes that its Skype service, which will be available with a number of devices including phones based on Google Inc.’s Android and Research In Motion Ltd.’s Blackberry, will spur adoption of smartphones with pricier voice and data plans, Chief Marketing Officer John Stratton said at the time.
Last summer, German operator Deutsche Telekom AG ended a ban on Voice over Internet Protocol applications in its German mobile network, instead requiring users to pay a surcharge to use the service.
Meanwhile, U.S. telecom regulators, under the principle of net neutrality, have pushed for service providers to keep networks open to external applications like Skype.
A spokesman for Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile operator, said Wednesday it has no restrictions on its customers using Skype, but is looking to introduce a range of tariffs to suit VoIP users and non-VoIP users to achieve a fair balance.
He also said the evidence suggests there is little impact on voice traffic overall as people tend to use VoIP services to make calls they might not previously have made, such as long-distance to friends and relatives living abroad.
Still, Vodafone, in common with other operators, has seen data traffic across its networks surge due to the increased demand for smartphones and data services like Web browsing, location-based services, gaming and VoIP.
Nokia said Wednesday that the Skype for Symbian service is compatible with any Nokia device running the latest version of the mobile platform, including the N97 and E72 smartphones. Skype will soon make the service available for other Symbian phones from vendors including Sony Ericsson, Nokia said.
Sony Ericsson is a joint venture between Sweden’s Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson and Japan’s Sony Corp.
Nokia has ramped up its service offering to boost its share of the high-margin smartphone market. Last year, it launched the online Ovi Store which allows users to download applications to their phones, much like Apple Inc.’s App Store, which opened in 2008.
The Symbian operating system, which is Nokia’s key smartphone platform, had a world-leading market share in 2009 of 47% according to research firm Gartner Inc.
Still, its position has weakened somewhat due to the success of the iPhone and Blackberry devices, which are built around other platforms, and Google’s fast-growing Android mobile operating system.
“We’re seeing around 1.5 million downloads a day on Ovi Store now and believe that the Skype client for Nokia smartphones will have wide appeal to Symbian users,” Jo Harlow, Nokia senior vice president for smartphones, said Wednesday
