Skype to bar calls on mobile phones, landlines within India

Over-the-top telecom player Skype on Monday said it will
stop calling facility from its application on mobile and
landlines within India from 10 November. “As of November
10, 2014 Skype will end support for calling within India,
meaning calls to mobiles and landlines from Skype within
India will no longer be available,” Skype’s parent company
Microsoft Corp. said in a statement.
Using a feature of Skype, a user can make video or voice
calls using Internet service for which a person will be only
charged for Internet consumed for the service. The
statement did not clarify reasons for the move. The
announcement comes within a week of Microsoft’s mobile
phone arm launching a new smartphone, Lumia 730, in India
which positions itself as phone fit for Skype calls and
videos.
Microsoft said, “Users in India can still make free Skype-to-
Skype calls worldwide, international calls to mobiles and
landlines and users outside the country can call mobiles
and landlines in India.” It added that Skype WiFi and SMS
messages are also available to users in India.
People prefer to use Skype for making free calls using
Internet service. The application has witnessed increased
adoption with boom in smartphone in India. Telecom
operators in India have made hue and cry over applications
like Skype cutting their revenue share.