MILPITAS, Calif.-GoRemote Internet Communications Inc. will partner with Skype to offer free wireless Internet voice services to business users.
GoRemote, which provides managed broadband services, said it will bundle Skype’s software with its Mobile Office client software. The companies hope to allow managers and chief information officers to provide on-the-go workers and teleworkers with free Skype service through GoRemote’s mobile broadband offerings.
“Use of the Internet is clearly no longer only about access to data; it has become a global, converged communications network,” said Tom Thimot, GoRemote’s president and chief executive officer. “Skype is driving this convergence by popularizing free Internet phone calls and creating a marketplace for Internet voice services.”
The move is the latest step toward wireless for the Voice over Internet Protocol provider, which recently was purchased by eBay for at least $2.6 billion. German wireless operator E-Plus said last month that it will bundle Skype’s software with its service for laptop use, and Skype is teaming with China-focused wireless Internet portal Tom Online Inc. to develop and market a stripped-down Chinese version of Skype’s service.
Carriers have been loath to embrace Internet voice services, though, which are poised to eat into cellular voice revenues. E-Plus doesn’t allow Skype to make VoIP calls from their handsets, and T-Mobile International AG already has said it won’t allow phones that support Skype.
