Mobile operator 3 announces that Skype services are a success

At the end of April, we reported that 3 was introducing Skype services on it’s network, including a SIM card and pay-as-you-go deal. 3 now claims that these services (along with a big advertising campaign) have seen a surge in customer numbers in the last month.

3 announced the release of a SIM card specifically for Skype use, which allows 3 customers to make free Skype-to-Skype calls. It also announced that pay-as-you-go customers would be allowed to make Skype calls without topping up. Along with these, it spent 3 million pounds advertising the services.

3 is claiming it has seen a “jump” in both customers and Skype use since then.

Source: Mobile News

From the story:

3 chief executive Kevin Russell: “Sales and usage have gone up remarkably. It’s a cracking proposition, and we have seen a great jump in Skype usage and are very happy with it.”

3 sales and marketing directors Marc Allera: “It’s very early days, but we are very pleased with it. All new campaigns take time to get going, but we have seen some really pleasing results come through in terms of sales and usage. We are on TV at the moment and will be in cinemas nationwide in June, and also have a big out door campaign planned for June as well as an extension on what we are already doing.”

What we think?

I still stand by what I said a month ago. This comes across as a ploy to grab as many customers as possible by jumping into bed with Skype while it’s still possible. VoIP is pulling more and more customers away from traditional phone calling. 3 has seen a temporary spike in sales as people are drawn towards its Skype deals, but what’s the monetisation plan for afterwards? If it plans to drop a surcharge on customers like Deutsche Telekom has, then it’ll be like turning off a lightbulb that has attracted a load of moths. The moths just fly away.