Skype limited by high mobile data costs

The topic of Skype running on mobile phones is a hot one. Even though we know Skype are working away on a version for mobile phones, we have been hearing repeated reports of how slow work is.

However, Skype face another problem with a mobile version and it is an industry wide problem. Skype relies on a connection to the internet to route calls over, which means the user must have a subscription to a data plan. The problem is twofold, high speed data plans don’t come cheap and if you exceed your bandwidth limit you’ll be charged royally for the privilege. In other words, if you took your eye off the time your ‘free’ Skype call might actually be more expensive than using the mobile network.

Until the price of wireless broadband falls, Skype on the mobile platform will never take off. It is starting to happen though as carriers begin to offer unlimited data transfers as part of a monthly subscription. As more carriers get in on the data game, the average cost of subscribing should fall and consequently make VoIP calls from your mobile a much more affordable and likely scenario.

“We do not want to be in a situation where we say ‘Skype is free’ and then at the end of the month the user gets this huge broadband bill,” said Eric Lagier, Skype’s head of business development, in an interview with Reuters.

I couldn’t agree more, but the problem is that once mobile operators open up the way to low cost, high speed wireless broadband they will inevitably face a certain degree of cannibalization as customers ditch the expensive mobile network for VoIP en masse. And that will mean operators dragging their heels or locking out VoIP completely.