With the prospect of losing major long distance revenues all too real, some telcos like China Telecom are looking to block PC-to-phone VOIP services, beginning with European-based Internet telecoms services provider Skype Technologies SA.
Makes you wonder how long our own telcos can hold on.
China’s largest fixed-line phone carrier recently began blocking access to service from Skype Technologies SA, a European-based Internet telecoms services provider, in the affluent southern city of Shenzhen near Hong Kong, according to the reports, including one in the Shanghai Daily.
They said China Telecom, whose broadband Internet service allows access to Skype, has plans to eventually block the service throughout its coverage area nationwide.
Skype service, which allows people to make calls from their PCs to regular phones, enables subscribers in China to dial to major Western markets in the United States and Europe for as little as 2 eurocents per minute (2.5 U.S. cents), compared with rates closer to $1 per minute from China Telecom.
Via Reuters.
4 comments
There are hundreds of local PC-to-Phone VoIP operators in China and most VoIP boxes are made in China. The Chinese government is just protecting their own. The Chinese population do not get a share of revenue from Skype. You can call U.S. from China for $0.02 per minute. Cheaper than the $0.025 mentioned in the article. The Western Press does not give a true picture of what’s going on.
Krakista, don’t they ever! 🙂
This provider‘s rate is at 0.18 yuan per minute which you can see on the top banner. 0.18 yuan = 0.02225826 U.S. dollars as of today. Their prepaid cards are actually being retailed in sidewalks of Chinatown.
Funny, why don’t I see the Pinoy bypass operators cashing in? 🙂