VoIP pioneer Skype Ltd. has launched its own iPhone software. Users will be able to make free calls on Wi-Fi to other Skype users.
Calls to landline numbers will have reduced fees.
Skype, now part of eBay, said the software will be out in May for BlackBerry. Versions for Nokia, Windows Mobile and Google Android phones are already available.
This push puts Skype in competition with large telephone carriers such as Telstra.
The extent of the disruption to such carriers is, however, unclear. In Australia, 3 Mobile has offered Skype on a range of mobile telephones for over a year. In informal tests, SearchVoip ANZ found the Skype-over-mobile experience to be unsatisfactory. We have also tested SIP-over-WiFi iPhone applications and found them unusable - even with the iPhone less than one metre from the WiFi router!