Communication Breakdown
Communications from the world of, er, communications. And other stuff.
Tuesday 27 November 2007, 12:35 PM
Skype's 0207 snafu - more analysis
I contacted a few analysts for their opinions, and one more got back to me this morning, Mark Main of Ovum. He made an interesting point - not only is Skype's approach to VoIP very light on regulation, but its avoidance of infrastructural investment means it will always be over-dependent on those who do own the infrastructure. Over to Mark:
The problem can affect any telecoms business that relies on third parties for the supply of PSTN numbers for call termination. Ultimately it's down to Skype 's commercial people to ensure that the fine-print of supplier contracts does not leave them exposed in the future. Unfortunately its naïveté in traditional telephony may have been somewhat exposed since PSTN number blocks are owned by Ofcom and are clearly allocated to specific carriers. The use of a reseller meant there was an additional layer of contractual detail which has compromised the perpetuity of the PSTN numbers that SkypeIn customers are expecting. Skype has severely misjudged the value to its customers of PSTN numbers in this instance.
While it can be highly advantageous to be focused on services and features rather than networks, the disadvantage of being an infrastructure-light telecoms business is that it is then much more exposed to supplier contractual matters. Unfortunately this episode will add nothing to the confidence of enterprises (in particular) in Skype. The only option for Skype customers who want to retain the London numbers is to port their VoIP service from Skype to another provider that directly resells Gamma Telecom's call termination service.
By the way, Don McQueen of GCI Telecom (the erstwhile intermediary supplie between the wholesaler Gamma Telecom and Skype) suggested yesterday that many VoIP providers who are claiming that they can port/redirect the affected numbers are being economical with the truth, as only Gamma can provide those numbers.
Voipfone, for example, has been actively trying to recruit disgruntled Skypers, but McQueen said they would not be able to use the same 0207 numbers. Vonage, on the other hand, is supplied by Gamma, so its claims to retaining said numbers hold more water.
UPDATE: Speaking of truth economies, it seems Voipfone is indeed cosy with Gamma and can port the numbers. Hmm!
PreviousComments on this post
I think Mr McQueen needs to get his facts sorted out before making these comments. Some legal advice on the position would be a good start.
Also, it is GCI who have been trying to actively recruit. I speak from personal experience of receiving such a call from GCI. It was full of unfounded scare tactics. Voipfone have only put out their offerings and word has spread through ex-SkypeIn users, for example in forums and facebook groups. Yes, there is a procedure to go through. But this ensures all is legal.
So I think those at GCI need to look closely at their own morals and ethics of spreading negative, incorrect rumours. So not only are Skype looking bad from this, GCI have managed to show their true colours and get tarred by the same brush of poor customer service.
sincerely,
Mr D Casement. A disgruntled ex-SkypeIn user.
Hi,
I think your analyst is wide of the mark in certain respects. While its a matter of opinion he seems to have the impression that GCI would not renew the numbers to skype. That in fact is not true , GCI only wanted an increased premium for the numbers.
Skype obviously didnt want to set the precedent that they pay increasing charges but sadly for them they set a much worse one in the process and scored an own goal. Simply put they pulled down the shutters and decided to abandon a largely business clientel. Of all courses of action they could have taken they took the immediate exit route which was the worst. It would have been far better to pay GCI a few quid per number for a number of months and given people more of a transition option to a new number.
Rather sadly the choices taken are very typical of a leaderless skype who must by now be lacking morale and key staff given ebay is cost cutting to try and recover some of its loss. They have become " gadget centric " as oppossed to " customer centric ".
Skype i think some months ago stood at a crossroads and could have easily gone to the next level and become a serious business contender based on the simplicity of their core application. All kinds of spin offs were possible for them to " really " penetrate the business market but now they unwittingly ( ??? ) have slammed the door on their own face.
Why skype are hesitant to be subject to a little more regulation is beyond me . Simply put their product when it works ( and it usually does ) is miles beyond the likes of SIP clients and they would have little to fear with it being easier to port etc. This strategy of staying outside the fold only takes time and energy that could be better spent on sorting out their customer service and developing products that are really useful to the business market. Were they more subject to the regulations they would have avoided resellers as Mark points out and could have recieved numbers directly from Ofc ofcom , cut that cost and offered more stability to the end user.
In regards to the future of the numbers its all a matter of interpretation and Gamma themselves for a time seemed to side with GCI and reversed the ports made by voipfone ( if only for a short time ) . It is my guess that struggle isnt over although in the process I speculate GCI may do more harm to themselves than good. I wondered for a time why in many respects they were so silent untill McQueen confirmed that in large part they are gagged untill the 20th of December untill the skype deal runs out. I think Gamma is only going along with the porting at the moment given they dont want problems with Ofcom who have been flooded with calls. It really is a case of watch this space.
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