Our regular readers will know one of our pet interests is the way mobile carriers react to VoIP applications, sometimes they seem to be happy and on other occasions do what they can to stop their customers from using them.
T-Mobile in Germany have reacted to Skype for i-Phone and Blackberry by stating they will not allow their customers to use it. T-Mobile spokesperson Alexander von Schmettow stated:
“It is clearly stated in our customer contracts that such services may not be used. There are two reasons for this – because the high level of traffic would hinder our network performance, and because if the Skype programme didn’t work properly, customers would make us responsible for it.”
Tech-savvy users should apparently not even consider figuring out a work-around, because T-Mobile will immediately “cut users off”.
“Those who violate their contracts can expect to have them cancelled. It’s the same with any contract. If you rent a no-pets apartment and expect no one to notice your little dog, you can’t be surprised when your landlord comes knocking.”
Skype have reacted to the news in a post on the company’s blog:
“This is a real shame: many other operators around the world know very well that people want to use innovative Internet applications, like Skype, and that’s the reason they pay their ISP to access the Internet in the first place. On top of that, there is no technical justification for this arbitrary blocking of Skype, and it represents a barrier to online business put in place by a private company just because they can, because they control access to the Internet.”
We believe that T-Mobile can stop users accessing Skype via mobile data but not via WiFi access (although it can block Skype traffic on it’s own WiFi Hotspots.
Usually carriers are subtle about such services and will ask a manufacurer to block it in the handset or attempt to black it on the network but I guess we have to admire T-Mobile for making their position clear even though you may not agree with their stance
It seems that Nokia have caused a storm with some carriers over their plans to integrate Skype in all its new N series handsets. Some carriers are concerned about potential lost revenue from cheap calls made through Skype, as well as Nokia’s perceived attempt to own the customer.
According to Mobile Today, an ‘operator source’ said it was another example of Nokia trying to build an ecosystem that’s all about Nokia and reducing the operator to a ‘dumb pipe’.
Nokia’s Skype plans have split the operators – T-Mobile and 3 support it, while O2 and Orange have vented their anger at the plans in high-level group discussions. They’re pretty against it, basically
So much so that O2 and Orange may both refuse to carry the N97, due for a June launch
We always like to see how the carriers opinions change as T-Mobile was rumoured in the past to have blocked VoIP traffic on their network.
More information on the story here
We have heared about the Android Operating System from Google for mobile devices and we saw T Mobile hit the market with the G1 device well it appears that there is a development underway to produce a desktop phone using the same OS.
Designed by Touch Revolution (the company founder is Mark Hamblin, who was the Product Design Lead of the iPhone Touch Screen), the NIMble features a 7-inch touchscreen (800×400) with a 624MHz Marvel processor, SD expansion slot, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Touch Revolution has built their own software on top of the Android platform for entertainment and home networking stuff. It will be a cool VoIP desktop device that will do an awful lot more so lets see what happens when it hits the market later this year.
It will be interesting to see if any other desktop devices look to adopt the Android Operating System as this would extend the adoption of it as an important OS in the market place.
NIMble - Desktop Android Based VoIP Phone
Have a look at the NIMble in more detail here
Category VoIP | 
Author admin | 
13 January, 2009 11:24 am | 
Comments (1)
Tagged with: Android, G1, google, iphone, Marvel Processor, NIMble, T-mobile, Touch Revolution, Voice over IP, voice over wifi, VoIP
Our regular readers will know that one of our pet subjects that we watch with interest is the different ways Mobile carriers attempt to stop VoIP over WiFi being used on handsets connected to their networks. Obviously they see it as a big threat to their revenue and in many cases handsets are provided ‘free’ as part of a contract.
We see in Germany T-Mobile has taken issue with a VoIP application developed for the iPhone. Sipgate, has developed a SIP client for iPhones (first version) and this has upset T-Mobile who has been able to persuade a German court to ban the use of Sipgate on the iPhone in Germany.
Overall this has to be a very small issue as there are many handsets VoIP capable and many applications available for them.
We will keep our eye on this issue as this one is going to run and run….
We like to talk about news that could change the marketplace in our industry – well we believe that the launch of the first phone supporting Google’s Opensource Operating System Android is big news. We see lots of phones supporting the Symbian Operating system, Microsoft and various other manufacturer specific well this is the first time we see an Opensource Linux based phone.
T-Mobile have launched the G1 phone manufactured by HTC to the USA market and it shows some of the most advanced capabilities of the Android operating system, by including a touchscreen, QWERTY keyboard, accelerated 3D graphics, Wi-Fi and 3G support, GPS and accelerometer. The device won’t have an impressive design and it won’t be as easy to use as an iPhone, but it will certainly be able to run a lot of interesting applications.
G1 Google Android Phone
We will be watching to see which other manufacturers will adopt the Android system – it looks as though those currently using Microsoft will be able to move the quickest.
Visit the google Android blog here or visit the unofficial Google System Blogspot here for some useful information on the G1
Regular readers of our blog will know we are always interested when we see the progress of VoIP providers being halted by the incumbent competitors. We have mentioned before the battle between Truphone and T-Mobile, weel it seems Truphone have won the first round with a judge ruling in their favour forcing T-Mobile to route Truphone calls until the case can be heared in full.
T-Mobile are claiming that the dispute is not technology based but purely commercial on how much Truphone wanted to be paid for routing a call via T-Mobile, Truphone wanted 6p per call but T-Mobile offered 0.21p per call.
Looks like this one is set to run on – so lets see what happens
The court ruling can be found here