IT Week Staff

A number of recent mobile announcements look likely to help both IT managers and remote workers.

BT is offering Wi-Fi vouchers for mobile professionals travelling to Europe and the Americas; Microsoft and O2 are both offering systems to manage business mobiles; and perhaps the biggest blockbuster move is Skype’s tie-up with mobile operator 3 to provide the 3 Skypephone.

Calls between the mobile devices are free over the 3 network, as are calls to Skype’s desktop clients.

For enterprises looking to cap the cost of mobile calls between employees in the office, relief could be at hand. Only £10 is needed each month to top up the Skypephone after the device cost of £49, or £89 for two, has been paid.

The 3/Skype partnership could lead certain mobile operators, who have recently been blocking VoIP use over their networks, to relent. They may have no choice, because if the Skypephone is a big hit and rival operators’ profits nosedive, then they too may have to reach for the Skype or unlock mobile VoIP.

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