Skype cuts ties with Nimbuzz leading up to IPO

Skype is cutting its ties with third-party apps and other service providers as it sets its sights on an initial public offering. Nimbuzz Inc. has been asked to remove support for all Skype services by the end of the month, Techcrunch reported.
Nimbuzz followed up soon after on its blog to confirm the change and talk up its own VoIP service called NimbuzzOut.
“Skype’s decision to ask us to stop supporting their service seems to be part of a strategy to disconnect all open third-party support. So it doesn’t come as a surprise, but it is certainly unfortunate,” GM Tobias Kemper wrote. “Instead of locking you in, we will continue to let your mobile do more for you for less, and offer the same quality of free and low-cost communications services. It’s your phone. They’re your contacts. Communicate your way, not someone else’s.”
As a result of the change and in a clear effort to lure at least some of Nimbuzz’s 30 million users to continue using its service, the company also announced some changes to NimbuzzOut. First up, it’s offering a 15% bonus credit on any credits purchased through the end of November. Kemper added that NimbuzzOut lets users call mobile phones and landlines in 45 countries for 2 cents per minute.
Skype is singing a somewhat different tune, claiming that Nimbuzz was breaching the terms of its API.
“Skype has been in discussions with Nimbuzz regarding our concern and belief they were using Skype’s software in ways which it was not designed for, in a breach of our API Terms of Use and End User Licence Agreement,” Skype wrote in a statement. “Skype offered to meet Nimbuzz and discuss the issue however we have not heard back from them since our last correspondence to them in early August. As we have said before, Skype encourages openness and supports developers to build products that work with the Skype platform.”