Skype for iPhone May Be Banned by Carriers

According to a Skype blog post, the iPhone version of the application, that was recently released in the App Store, has been downloaded more than a million times. The free app allows users with a Skype account to place and receive free calls via the VoIP protocol. According to at least one report, Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG is opposing the service and may ban it, in the respective territory.

“In less than two days, Skype for iPhone has been downloaded more than one million times – around six downloads every second,” reads a post over on the official Skype blog. “This is a phenomenal performance, and we’re confident that it’s one of the fastest-downloaded iPhone apps ever,” Peter Parkes writes. “We’ll be back next week with an update, but for now, Skype on,” he says, enthusiastically.

However, Peter and the rest of the people behind Skype may have a less merry state of mind once Deutsche Telekom AG puts into practice what it said on Thursday – that it might prevent its customers from using Skype on Apple's iPhone, according to a 9to5mac report. A T-Mobile spokesperson allegedly said that "even using Skype at a Wi-Fi hot spot is a breach of contract." The same piece goes to say that Canada's carrier, Rogers, might be tempted to approach the free-calls matter similarly.

Needless to point out, with Rogers and Deutsche Telekom AG putting Skype callers “on hold,” AT&T (US) customers may also be banned to use the service on iPhones. Those using the service on an iPod touch should not be affected.

Skype is a software application + service that allows desktop users and, more recently, iPhone users, to talk to other Skype subscribers for free, via Wi-Fi, 3G or EDGE. Calls to landlines, however, are charged a small fee. The VoIP service even works on Apple's iPod touch, as long as there's a headset (with microphone) connected to the device.