Skype 2 on the iPhone makes mobile VoIP available via 3G networks

The Skype for iPhone application has been updated with the release of version 2.0, bringing it with access to VoIP via 3G… on the condition that your mobile phone carrier authorises access.

The Skype IP communication application is available on the iPhone OS in addition to almost all other mobile platforms (or almost), allowing users to communication with other Skype users by utilising a WiFi connection.

iPhone OS isn’t yet capable of multitasking (this will become available with the iPhone OS 4), so for the iPhone 3GS and third generation of the iPod Touch the application is only of moderate interest.

With the arrival of Skype 2.0, which is now available on the App Store, additional curiosity now comes with it: the possibility of using Skype not just on WiFi, but also via 3G networks. Slowly but surely, mobile carriers are starting to accept VoIP connections on their mobile networks.


VoIP on 3G networks is finally available
In France, this will become a reality in June with some carriers (SFR), while it may take a little longer for others. It will therefore be possible to make a Skype call from the iPhone to another Skype account without having to be near a WiFi access point (which is what is currently required by iPhone users).

Skype states that "calls to Skype users with a 3G connection will be free until at least the end of August 2010", suggesting that the editor will pick up any associated data traffic charges during this period.

Over a longer period though, access to VoIP via 3G will be an option that users will have to pay carriers to use. The research group Juniper Research predicts that more than 100 million mobile phone VoIP users (mVoIP) around the world will access voice services either via WiFi or 3G by 2012.

Skype for the iPhone, as well as other VoIP communication solutions (which are already integrated into 3G networks, or which are about to gain access), are freely downloadable from the App Store.