Mobile operators seek to 'block' Skype in Sweden

Would it be the same case post offices trying to block hotmail, for example?. What is next? Car companies blocking the use of bicycles?

Corp's looking for more ways to F-ck consumers in the arse.

It's expected for the carriers to want the ban. It's already happening across the pond, making them jealous.

It's up to responsible politicians and other respective authority bodies to stand their ground against these, let's face it, ridiculous capitalistic claims.

The example given by Antonito in the first comment is the perfect analogy. Data is data.

Technology is being misused. Internet should not be 'owned' and provided for free.

We are coming into an age where we don't always need ownership to prosper. The idea of ownership is only relevant when there is scarcity. Something like internet has the potential to be 'freely abundant for everyone.

Profits will kill us in the end if we don't put a stop to the insanity soon. A new era of abundance from the evolution of technology must NOT be allowed to be suppressed.

The capitalist right wing fat cats now know what it is to "Want". The majority of us already know, but we are not allowed to have. If these parasites could have their own way you would be paying for the internet. Communication charges are already excessive and overpriced.

All the EU needs to maintain is their regulatory approach towards net neutrality and flatfee subscription fees.

This will not allow them to block Skype and it will not allow them to charge you based on data usage or call usage. That would be the best scenario for everyone. As a result they might raise subscription prices if they feel they don't make enough money, though that is where the market and competition will jump in.

im with Antonito on this it sad now thay want to just take a way skype whats next it comes down to money

On that case they will adversite as "Pay xxx amount for internet browsing, spotify, mail check and chatting only". Which is now "Pay xxx for 10 Mbps Connection"

Maybe they want to block iPhone messenger as well as that's taking money from text messaging services!

Yet again the famous Swedish jealousy rears its ugly head

As communications leans more towards internet based solutions, obile operators also upgrade their networks to better the data services they can offer.

It seems a bit silly that they would not accept that these voice over IP services are harmful to their revenue since they actively push data bundles to promote the use of the internet over their network. They get their money still regardless if standard calls are made or not.

It should be down to the consumer how they wish to use the service they subscribe to.

we'll just use msn messenger, yahoo messenger, google talk ....

how about that :)

It seems that these companies are just bitter. They have to face the fact that in this fast changing world, they have to prioritize on what the customer needs and wants and not just focus on their selfish motives of collecting income. I'm not saying that they should never generate income but I want to tell was that if they will provide the best and cheapest solutions for the customers, income will flow through their company. I challenge them to do the same with skype or viber and they will notice that people will patronize their product even with less marketing as long as they are providing really good services with the customers.

As they say ''Access is King''

hasn't my provider already charged me for the bandwidth? how i use it should not be of concern to them. they need to find a real solution if this is going to be a problem for them as traditional telephony services are almost at the point of irrelevancy.

they need to focus on being a dumb, fat pipe as soon ALL information is going to be fed through it. a stupid protectionist stance by the providers and the government is going to hurt everybody, first the consumer, but eventually the providers as well. it will hamper innovation, and stagnate the market.

i have hope that not all providers will be so short sighted and gain a huge competitive edge by being the best dumb, fat pipe possible. i know thats the company i'll be using and most people would too.

'hasn't my provider already charged me for the bandwidth? how i use it should not be of concern to them.'

@jdbpogo

You're exactly right. As long as people arent accessing illegal content then it has nothing to do with them whatsoever.

As if any sane minded people would let this happen.

bandwidth is bandwidth... period.

how i use it is my business not the provider.

this is just another of providers looking to screw over their customers and i hope there will be massive protests over this.

then who's going to use TELIA???... not many. i think that will just do more damage than voip does. we pay them and it certainly is not their business to dictate what to do and what not to do. WE PAY AND WE DECIDE!!!

People who want the service bad enough will get it, one way or another.

In this high-tech world innovation cannot be stifled indefinitely.

You can't put the genii back into the bottle.

If the telco don't like that people use Skype through the data allocation of their mobile package then perhaps the problem is with the pricing point and services that the telco offers.Give the customer what they want used to be the maxim of business. Now it's "stop the customer from doing anything that we don't like".

There are many they would have to battle with (BBM, Skype, iMessenger... etc). They would only block apps, to then find new ones replacing them. They will just have to accept it and move on, or face new mobile phone operators more happy to overtake them...

It comes as no surprise to me that Swedish telcos want to do this. I know other countries also want the same but I bet the Swedes initiated it. Nothing is free here.

We have different types of security in the socialist system that other countries don't have but our government does anything it likes to make more money from us.

I hope there will be protests of some kind about this, but knowing Swedes I bet there won't. It will just be ja-ha in the end.

Surely they ARE being paid, the fee's for data rates covers Skype use.

it does not really matter i think, as, according to my experience, voice IP comm is far too bad over cell data network. Cell network providers are simply trying hard to convince us that they cannot provide the necessary bandwidth and we should stop buying data subscriptions from them.

Sorry, I slightly incorrectly worded my post but could neither edit nor post a follow up corrective message. Of course the carriers are getting paid.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Let me provide some thoughts on the tonight's topic. Some background information is required. Cellular network operators (CNOs) are in a regulated industry. To become a CNO, one has to purchase a license that costs millions and sometimes billions of euros or dollars. Governments charge for the right to use frequencies for commercial purposes. Secondly, CNOs have to buy equipment: base stations, cell towers, land plots, roof masts, base station controllers (BSCs) to connect base stations together, mobile switching centers (MSCs) to interconnect different segments (BSCs) of the network, and so forth. Then CNOs have to plan and build the radio network, incurring costs for operation (electricity) and maintainance (repairs, fine-tuning). Add here connection equipment (gateways) to other telcos (mobile and fixed) and you will see the capital expenditures (CapEx) required to start a mobile network. So, the governments impose the rules by charging for licenses and frequencies, and CNOs have no other option but to protect their income streams.

Enter VoIP. No mobile networks of its own. No licenses. No costly frequencies. They usually have just data center with VoIP servers connected via gateways to one or several fixed telephony providers, who in their turn have interconnection deals with CNOs. Look at the calling rates. They are dirt cheap, being a reflection of the low overheads of running a VoIP business. To be fair, VoIP operators would need to buy traffic from CNOs at wholesale prices and then resell it to customers. Much in the same way as mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) do.

The argument about the bandwidth (BW) being paid for is wrong. The price of the BW is given on the assumption that voice traffic will be kept intact and data BW would be used for non-voice services. Given that voice goes to VoIP, CNOs will shift the pricing so that regula voice services will be cheap (as data BW now) and data BW will become more expensive (to compensate for lost revenue from voice). Prohibition of VoIP is a wrong step, in my opinion. It is a legitimate service that is in high demand, and it should be just priced right (let the market work here). If you have read so far, you will see that blocking VoIP is wrong, but cheap data BW may soon disappear as CNOs recover their revenues. I think thet governments will support CNOs in this move (remember the heavy license fees).

Swedish mobile companies are 50% more expensive than other EU companies on there abonnemang and call prices. They want it all ways.

@Kr0n

I don't think it is important for the general public to know this license cost. The main thing that most people considers is getting the service that they want in the cheapest possible price.

@seychelle_18

When the quality of service is as bad as for swedish cell data network, it is very natural wanting to get it at the cheapest possible price.

Personally i agree to pay more for a really good quality cell network data services. But these "really good services" are simply not available for purchase.

I am angry about any move against the free use of skype. I want the companies who are behind this move to make themselves know so that users can make a choice about boycoting them or not.

For those of you who has already seen their VoIP services blocked by their CNO, there is a simple trick. Configure your Skype or Viber or other VoIP service to use those ports that are normally used for web browsing or e-mail (the legitimate uses for data plans). These ports are 80 (used for regular web access, http) and 443 (used for secure web access, https). If your operator does not block e-mail, you can also try e-mail ports 21 (SMTP), 143 (IMAP), or 995 (SSL/TLS). Good luck!

Where is the human rights in this??? New dictators are breeding , telia, tele2 etc, stop selling weapons to dictators and now stop all mobile companies who violates human rights. skype is not porr or terrorists brand etc. ban telia first.. please..

Typical Swedish Socio-Marxism crap. Don't tell the Swedish Government, they'll figure out a way to TAX anyone using free VOIP services AND then add 25% VAT - much like they do to electricity. This country is hopeless.

WAKE UP PEOPLE !!!!!!

The telecome are fored to charge so much because of the licenses they must pay to the government for the riht to use a frequency.

The government invents the prices and sells to the telecome nothing but air space.

So it is basically a TAX by the government on you via the Telecoms.

Its totally crazy way of licensing spectrum.

what is the alternative / solution ?

1. Get a wifi router that has multiple SSID's, and share one of them as a guest with 10% of the bandwidth allocated to it. This will allow us the people to just use open wifi everywhere and punish the mobile telecoms.

2. To bypass the Telecoms blockage of VOIP, you just need to get a Router that has a VPN built into it.

then from you mobile you transparently connect to your home router which then connects to the other person your calling.

The Telecoms companies cant block this because it is encrypted over a different IP port.

People that know about this stuff have been using there solution for years now.

We cant change the system, but we can work around their stupid ways of thinking.

Does the postal service want to ban email, too?

It sounds like the carriage-makers are complaining about the automobile-makers.

competition.................high!

Its going to be charged!! No longer blocked - coming in a few months