Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Interview With the CEO of Skype
I just found this little interview on the Computer Shopper website. The Skype CEO talks about expanding into the mobile and cellular market.
Interview: Skype CEO Niklas Zennström talks telephony
Skype, a little application that lets you make high quality voice calls on the Internet for free, is growing to such an extent that it now has nearly 30 million users. It is finding its way on to an increasing number of mobile devices, and hotspot operators are recognising the exploding popularity of the application, with Broadreach Networks offering free use of Skype through its access points. But CEO Niklas Zennström says this is just the beginning.
He told us that trend is set to continue as converged WiFi and GSM products emerge. One such product, the i-Mate, will be available in the UK by the end of the month. But mobile phones themselves present a different prospect. After all, most phone users are customers of network operators, rather than manufacturers, and it's understandable that Skype's promise of free voice calls - even if you're charged for the data used - is less than thrilling for the operators. But Motorola signed a joint marketing venture for 'Skype ready' products last month.
