“AT&T supposedly just told Apple and the FCC this afternoon that their network is ready for VoIP over 3G for the iPhone, meaning it might take a bit to show up in apps, but the floodgates are open now.” – Gizmodo
The biggest use of Skype and many other VoIP services is for cross-border calls. Many of us had already adjusted to AT&T and other carriers messing with VoIP packets by using SkypeOut. You dial a US number they assign (and is covered in your allotted mobile minutes) and from that dial the international number at 2c a minute for most European land line numbers, 5c to Brazil, 9c to India etc. Worth it compared to the unknown quality of a VoIP call through AT&T’s patchy 3G network. Also, I read somewhere Skype usage averages 20 mb of data traffic for every hour of calling and considerably more if you also have video – so you may end up hitting AT&T’s 5GB a month limits on some data plans.
Now where I would like to consider a VoIP call is when I am overseas. Because AT&T meters you by the minute on those calls. At “reasonable” rates of $ 1 to 4 a minute. To beat those I would love to get on Skype and call back at 2c, 5c, 9c a minute. But to do that I would have to use AT&T’s data plan. AT&T charges you $ 24.99 a month for 20MB of data roaming. So, give or take 40c a minute if the Skype 20 mb for an hour of calling holds true. Better than their roaming voice rates but still pretty exorbitant. That is where I wish AT&T would improve.
Without that, VoIP over 3G, is at least to me a yawner…
