Published April 27, 2009

IDA turns down hotels' appeal to block Skype

Regulator against any practice limiting consumers' choice

By WINSTON CHAI

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(SINGAPORE) Singapore's telecommunications regulator has rejected requests by four luxury hotels to block the use of popular Internet telephony software Skype.

The appeal came from one 'six-star' and three 'five-star' establishments here, according to Andrew Haire, deputy director-general of telecoms and post at the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

'That kind of appearance of anti-competitive activity troubled me,' he was quoted as saying at a recent telecom conference in Hong Kong.

Skype allows computer users to call one another over the Internet - a much cheaper way of making long-distance calls. Skype calls made between two computers are free, and calls can be placed from a PC to a fixed line or cellphone for a fraction of typical IDD costs.

This price-advantage has helped make Skype one of the most popular Internet telephony services, with more than 405 million registered users worldwide.

The company's rising star has made it a thorn in the flesh of telecommunications companies because of the threat it poses to their IDD revenue. And its popularity with business travellers and tourists appears to have the same effect on the creme de la creme of Singapore's hospitality industry.

While the hotels may be up in arms, their appeal to block Skype was turned down as software falls outside IDA's telecommunications jurisdiction.

'IDA's approach to regulating the telecommunications market is to ensure that it remains vibrant and accessible by allowing the greatest number of choices for consumers,' an IDA spokeswoman told BT. 'We would therefore discourage any practice, such as blocking access to a service or a capability that eventually limits choice for consumers.'

She declined to reveal the names of the hotels involved.

When contacted, St Regis and Ritz Carlton - two names often associated with the six-star label here - denied they filed such requests.

While the attempt to cut off Skype may be new in Singapore, a precedent has been set by telecom operators in the United States and Germany.

AT&T prohibits its iPhone users in the US from using Skype over its cellular network.

And Germany's T-Mobile has gone a step further by shutting Skype out of its wireless hotspots and threatening to cancel the contract of any subscriber who tries to sidestep its lockdown.