eBay has just bought Skype, one of the most exciting companies on the tech landscape at the moment. While here in New Zealand, the local phone monopoly has announced it is replacing its network with a VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) one.
I am a great fan of Skype and it\’s ability to provide free toll calls to anyone else with Skype anywhere in the world. However, if the Telco\’s are getting in on the act, does this mean that Skype and the like are going to be squeezed out?
With Telecom NZ making $800M in profits each year and going to a platform (coasting $1.4 Billion) that is currently free, where is their revenue going to come from?
I cannot see Telecom allowing any other VOIP system work with their network to allow them to charge for something that is currently free. Sure there will be some differences, but in the time it takes them to roll out this new network, the VOIP market will have matured and become quite common.
I wait with some trepidation as to how Telecom play this one.
Till next time
