Is Google getting ready to end the need for costly mobile phone minute plans and create a major upset in the mobile carrier industry? Their coming handsets could be game changing for giving users more power over their mobile handsets, but is Google could also be going after the carriers.
This week Techcrunch broke news that Google and EBay are in talks about a Skype acquisition or partnership deal. Michael Arrington postulated that Google could be working to integrate their Grand Central, GTalk VOIP and other Voice services such as Google 411 to the Skype community. These services are all complimentary and could be a natural fit for the Skype community. The VOIP market has not seen substantial growth as people have become more reliant on the cell phones. While it’s currently possible to run Skype on some mobile phones, it has yet to come into the mainstream.
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Google Android and Skype are a match that’s made for each other. Android handsets are poised to spread like wildfire across the open source and developer communities upon release. Since it’s built on linux, it should be stable enough to run VOIP applications with ease. Combined with Grand Central, you would be able to get your calls and messages anywhere. This means that you can have a fully functional Android phone with Skype and never need a monthly minutes plan.
The mobile network operators have carried on the status quo of charging separate monthly fees for voice and data plans for long enough. Just like we went from paying for long distance telephone calls to one monthly fee, why can’t our mobile phones do the same for voice and data?
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Very Interesting Theory.
Amen brother.
Or, like they currently do, they could claim you’re using excessive data bandwidth by using skype for voice thereby allowing them to terminate your contract.
That’s an alternative i’ll like compared to the normal hundred of minutes you have on a crappy cellphone service.
Congrats to Dave for getting Dugg
Now, I’m going to throw a couple thoughts out there and see if anyone has a response:
So, this doesn’t totally do away with the need for a provider. In areas without wifi, what do you do? So yeah, use AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, whatever you want.. get the cheapest minute-based plan, and an unlimited data plan (or an unlimited data plan only if that’s possible - ie: AT&T’s LaptopConnect.. just drop in the SIM from the card) and you’ll have access anywhere, use as many minutes as you want, but only have a 200 minute plan or whatever the cheap one is. I guess if Google had put a strong hand in on the 700MHz auction, then there wouldn’t have been a need for an outside provider- which might have been the plan?
However, say this all does pan out the way Dave says it will.. suddenly the carriers that have 3G networks are being pounded, [possibly] more than any of the carriers ever expected.. they’ll be supporting VoIP, streaming audio, video, IM, and web.. to a point, an entire subset of the internet.. and at no extra cost to anyone. Google would basically be piggy backing off of every carriers infrastructure to provide free services to users. With this in mind, it makes sense that they didn’t buy up any 700MHz space- they have no need for it since all the infrastructure is already there from other carriers.
But say something like that does happen- I would be wary of how wireless carriers would respond. Would they increase rates? Put caps on limits?
It’s kind of like services that offer 10GB of space for e-mail for free- they give everyone 10GB, but they don’t expect every single person to use all 10GB. I could see the wireless carriers having done the same thing- you get unlimited data for $40/mo, but that’s because they don’t expect people to be maxing out their links. If something like this were to happen, it could possibly be the equivalent of everyone maxing out their 10GB of supposed space- space that might possibly not exist. Carriers will be struggling to catch up, and people will be blaming them for not having sufficient networks to handle the influx of new traffic coming from an Google/Android/Skype partnership, and not the partnership for freely piggy backing VoIP (Grand Central/Skype), and whatever other services they can override that you would otherwise be charged for by the carriers.
At that point, the carrier merely becomes a network connectivity/access provider (an ISP for 3G/Edge/whatever networks), with the Google/Android/Skype partnership becoming the group providing everything else.
So yeah, I like the sound of all of this, and I give Dave a huge amount credit for putting this together- if his theory works out like he says, it will be interesting to see where things go from there
On a side note, I kind of quickly/haphazardly wrote this up without proofing/checking anything, so if there are any spelling/grammar errors, I apologize.
when pigs fly
Although this post is speculative, I really applaud this idea. The cell phone carriers have been extorting us for too long, and it has crippled the growth of the mobile technology platforms in this country… We were promised a mobile revolution in 1998 and 10 years later, very little has happened in the way of new technology and game-changing applications. Why? the carriers! I would really welcome a disruptive technology like Skype for mobile! Bring on the open source, better-than-iPhone, Skype-powered Google phone!
Re Chet:
Cell carriers do that now, they oversell the number of cell users to tower channels in anticipation that not every cell phone will be on a call at any given time. Why do you think when a disaster happens in an area that the cell towers get congested and refuse calls? Because more people are trying to use them than they are designed and able to handle.
VoIP over the 3G networks will be the same thing. Just because every phone may have unlimited data with Skype on them, doesn’t necessarily mean they will all be using Skype at the same time. There may be an initial surge, but as the newness of the “free calls to anyone” gimmick wear off, usage will settle back down to normal.
As for people getting more out of their data and not paying for voice plans, just modify the rate structure. I currently pay $40 for my voice plan and $20 for my data plan. I’d be more than willing to pay $60 for unlimited data with no voice if they specifically allowed me to use VoIP and not threaten to terminate my plan for overuse.
Google is not “piggybacking for free” off of the cell infrastructure. I’m paying for it. Google pays for its data pipes to the backbone, and I pay for my pipe to the backbone. This is why the arguments against Net Neutrality are so pointless. Why should the carriers get paid twice for the same pipe? The carriers (and this goes to cable ISPs, cell providers, landline/DSL providers) are just upset because they are being expected now to upgrade their infrastructure to meet their customers’ demands instead of continuing to milk nearly 100% profit out of the infrastructure they paid off years ago.
Now if only Google can influence Skype to open up its protocols in a similar way they influenced the cell carriers to open up the new spectrum…
Except… Skype now has a monthly minutes plan (for SkypeIn and Out at least,) which is why I’m letting my account lapse this month…
True, you could do Skype-to-Skype VOIPing this way, but you could also run Ekiga or any other Voiper system to do that. If you want to call a normal number, LAN or cel, then you will still need to pay.
skype is owned by ebay. ebay hates google.
wont happen. end of story. sorry.
[…] use far more data bandwidth than they do voice bandwidth. With this in the back of your mind, the rumours of Google and Skype getting together start to make much more […]
Re Jeremy:
Thanks for that info- I figured that’s what the carriers did now in terms of overselling, but wasn’t 100% sure.
As for piggybacking, I didn’t mean it to touch along the lines of the net neutrality issue. I meant in more along the lines of the fact that this theory would basically turn carriers into ISPs that merely provide access, and whatever partnership is created through Google/etc would be the one to provide the service(s) (dial/voice since it would use VoIP, and whatever other products or services).
I do agree that we’re the ones paying for it, so it should be up to the carriers to provide a sufficient backbone to handle what we’re paying for. If we’re paying for unlimited data, we should get unlimited data no matter what (per terms of whatever the service contact agreement says, of course), and have it be reliable.
And, when I say “for free”, I was more taking into consideration how this partnership would be able to provide (possibly free) mobile VoIP to anyone without having to worry about the cost of building a separate infrastructure, since it’s already there from the carriers. It’s similar to Vonage, except for mobile phones
Taking that into consideration, access providers (like Comcast) are now providing VoIP with pricing competitive to Vonage, so, if this theory has its way, I’d love to envision it’s only a matter of time before carriers have to drop minute-based pricing plans and separate data plans, and simply have a single rate, unlimited minute/unlimited data plan (possibly also using VoIP)- that’s of course because users of this ‘theory’ would all have to just sign up for the cheapest minute-based plan with an unlimited data plan- there wouldn’t be a need for anything else.
Thanks for leaving your comments, by the way, it’s giving me something to do tonight
Take care!
The day I can get an android phone, I’ll be buying 3 of them, one for me, one for my wife and one for my son. Even if they don’t buy skype, I can guarantee that someone will release an open source voip client for android, and I look forward to saving literally hundreds of dollars a month over my current iPhone.
Why would any carrier allow VoIP?
Yes you want it and I want, because … well because you would save some bucks. You really think they will let you use the bandwith for free instead of burning minutes? They will block it the very first time you try.
Mobile carriers wont give up a revenue stream without a fight, they are corporations and legally obliged to put shareholder value above all else (otherwise they will get sued). So if they no longer make money from being a voice carrier they will raise their data rates appropriately and screw you that way. Only if Google had bought that 700Mhz spectrum would phone users have won. That is only possible because Google makes money on advertising which ads a percentage to the cost of every retail sale and ends up costing everyone who buys anything via a few percent advertising “tax” on that sale.
Another way consumers would win is because our mobile carrier market has become a virtual monopoly which is why ATT and others can ream users for $0.20 a text message that costs them almost nothing to deliver. With more competition in the market they profit margin will have to come down - however, again competition needs carrier bandwidth and ATT isn’t going to give that up and Google didn’t pay to get their own. So don’t expect Google to do much to your mobile costs if they are piggy backing on top of Skype and on top of ATT or other major carriers. If anything Google would probably rather use their own free Google Chat VoIP base calling.
Personally I’ll stick with Gizmo and avoid all those high monthly fees for minutes I’d seldom use. Lets face it, fixed per month fees are only a good deal for those who regularly max out on minutes - everyone else gets screwed and the carrier gets fat and rich. So as user who doesn’t have verbal diarrhea I’d be on a plan where I pay for what I use and so does everyone else.
[…] carrier service. But there’s quite a few very different ways this could go. According to Theregoesdave.com, he has brought up this interesting theory. For more about the Google/Skype/eBay partnership or […]
Google buying Skype for Android without monthly minutes?…
theregoesdave.com — The mobile network operators have carried on the status quo of charging separate monthly fees for voice and data plans for long enough. Just like we went from paying for long distance telephone calls to one monthly fee, why can…
[…] an interesting article today - seems Google and Ebay are in talks about a Skype acquisition or partnership deal. Could be big news for Android […]
isn’t Google going to provide this on the old TV band that they’re about to buy?
If so, then is it believable that we could get these services for free?
[…] [via mobile web & digital lifestyle news] […]
It’s not about the old TV channels, and its not entirely about existing cell infrastructure, its about white space.
Google admits to bluffing on the FCC auction to ensure open source on the spectrum. Then they submitted a plan to the FCC about using the “White Space” in between the channels.
Oh its on bitches, its on.
Haven’t you guys seen this? http://www.smh.com.au/news/wireless–broadband/google-unveils-white-space-airwaves-plans/2008/03/25/1206207073770.html
Damn, I’m still wet. It answers the increased need for carrying data, hell it even makes home broadband obsolete. Google is going to crush anything that’s currently available. The current TelComs have some serious evolving in their near future.
See you at the Simm card burning party!
Didn’t you notice the date of the Techcrunch article? I don’t really trust any article published on April 1st.
Mobile carriers wont give up a revenue stream without a fight, but however they try, it is inevitable - one day all communications will have a fixed cost. No more minutes or anything. One day.
[…] | There Goes Dave Más información | Skype Journal Más información | […]
[…] Power Play: Android and Skype […]
[…] telephone calls to one monthly fee, why can’t our mobile phones do the same for voice and data?read more | digg story addthis_url = […]
[…] read more | digg story […]
If anyone is gonna break down the current mobile structure it’s Google. Dugg.
umm… people… its called FRING… Its been available for a while..
http://www.fring.com/
basically lets you make calls using your Data plan, rather than using minutes.. You can get it on most phone that run the Symbian OS.. or Windows Mobile..
[…] read more | digg story […]
Hang on here. Just look at what is really going on and extrude yourself out of your robotic thinking. If you look at it from the basics its the governments fault:
Government sell the frequency at a HUGE amount.
The carriers have to make money off the frequency they just brought.
We pay the carriers.
Essentially its an indirect tax.
Wake UP!! Its amazing that people done get upset at governments (you know the ones we vote for) that they sell the right to use air for radio communications.
It is like no one here has used EVDO or better for voice? It sucks. Especially Skype. The QoS is too awful to work this way. Fun.
Except… Skype has a “Pro” $3/month unlimited-calls-to-U.S./Canada-phones plan, which is why I’m turning off my wired telephone account. http://www.skype.com/allfeatures/skypepro/
Great idea!! I have a company and we are currently offering a Skype/Wi-Fi only phone and a Vois 6600 that offers triband GSM, Wi-Fi, Skype(or other voip), camera, Mp3, MP4, bluetooth and more. Looking for your interest.
Simply put, the carriers will find a dozen reasons/ways to block it. Regardless, it would be a good acid test of their new “openess” especially wrt Verizon. Forces the issue. Still begs the bigger question for Google: play nicely with the operators and build mobile search and advertising market share or go to the mats for unfettered access to do things like ad funded VoIP???
BTW, wrt Google picking up Skype, that’s would should have happened in the first place!
That’s some great news! I’ve been hoping Skype to drop its price rate further so that I can be lured to their VoIP service. Right now, there are several other VoIP services available on the Internet, but I would still prefer to use Skype, if not for its higher pricing plan than other VoIP services that I know.
This move is definitely highly welcomed by people, especially from the Open Source community.
More interested in the possiblity of google opening the skype api much like googletalk was, allowing users to have choice in what application they use to access their skype account.
Telepathy-Skype protocol, thats something I would like to see. You would see skype support popping up everywhere then without relying on a company to port it.
Then I might use it, as for the android platform. I was excited about it once upon a time but the fact you are forced to use Java sucks, it means that current linux applications cant be ported to it unlike the maemo platform.
So google are just making compatability so bad that in my view they want everyone to drop all those great projects and make crappy held back ones instead. The only thing its got going for it is that its based off the linux kernal. Would of been much cooler to see tracker, telepathy, elisa, conduit etc having the ability to be ported over.
[…] Could Google be acquiring Skype for their upcoming Android handsets? If so, it’d be one sweet deal. Last week: Techcrunch broke news that Google and EBay are in talks about a Skype acquisition or partnership deal. Michael Arrington postulated that Google could be working to integrate their Grand Central, GTalk VOIP and other Voice services such as Google 411 to the Skype community.-theregoesdave.com […]
This is 100% real. I’m so glad that internet has people, who write so wonderful, and who don’t lie online.
Skype is the best thing that has happend to the interent in 7 years