

Nokia's Skype-based end run around its operator partners - sutro
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Furious-UK-Operators-Want-paidcontent-14495285.html

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alecco

      UK operators O2 and Orange are reportedly "furious" with Nokia (NYSE: NOK - News) over
      the Finnish handset makers plans to pre-load Skype, the VoiP provider that lets
      consumers make free calls, on to its upcoming flagship device, the N97
    

And I can see Nokia execs answering: "Well, you betrayed us to _first_ just to
catch on the iPhone fad making it now our biggest threat. You forced us into
this new era. Live with it."

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kenshi
Ah Nokia, stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Nokia have tried several ways to own the customer over the years and
operators have had to say no."

I really wish these guys would wake up and realise you dont ever "own" your
customers. Customers aren't slaves, and alternatives spring up to what you do,
sooner or later. But hey that's the arrogance of the operators - stifling
innovation for the last however many years, so they could "own" the customer.

Good luck with that guys!

~~~
jpd
I think you skipped a sentence:

    
    
      Apparently, the operators are "venting their anger" at 
      high-level executive meetings with Nokia, whom they 
      believe are trying to wrest away control of their 
      customers and offering easy access to an app that could 
      potentially hurt call revenues.
    

Nokia is trying to control the platform and therefore the customers' user
experience TO THE CUSTOMERS' BENEFIT and yet, you act like that is a bad
thing. Clearly, Nokia does not believe the service provider's intentions have
the customers' interest at heart, so they are trying to OWN the customer,
rather than the service provider so that they can provide them with what they
(the customers') want (ie. Skype). Nokia is trying to do what few other
companies are and you are calling their attitude to their customers as
"stifling innovation"? Wow.

~~~
kenshi
No, my comments were aimed at the operators, not Nokia. Nokia is stuck in the
hard place where they understand the need and want to innovate, but their
biggest direct customers (the operators) really dont want them to.

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arien
Maybe they should just make their own network.

Anyway, if it's possible to install Skype on these phones, even if it doesn't
come preinstalled it won't matter much, people will do it anyway.

~~~
gry
When VOIP is pervasive on phones, I think it will start to make the cell
network the secondary choice to WiFi (already is for me). The only value the
cell network for me is a phone connection. This is providers' moat.

I'd like to see a cell network embrace the fact they are a pipe. Pay line and
connection fee (like the current internet). Forget data/voice plans. I imagine
manufacturers and software developers for the Android, iPhone (after the 5
year AT&T deal) and Pre would go ape. More subscribers to your network because
of new devices and beautiful software. The barrier of entry is much lower.

I kind of see it like the newspaper industry. Which company will gamble first
and jettison the print medium? Which company will leave the old cell model
behind? My guess is the weak ones...file for bankruptcy, change their model
and re-emerge from the ashes. I'm crossing my fingers it is a phoenix.

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darjen
the whole reason I bought an unlocked nokia e71 is to be free of expensive
contracts and its great voip support, unlike the iPhone. if nokia stops doing
it, I'm sure someone else will step up.

~~~
daemin
I bought one of those as well, however to my dismay any VOIP calls made
through Skype still get charged to my normal call time with them not going
through my data access.

Seems like Skype bowed down to the phone companies in this respect.

