Skype to be available on smartphones from March

On Tuesday it was announced that Skype, a popular mobile working tool, will be available on select US smartphones from March. 

Verizon Wireless has joined forces with the internet call service to form Skype Mobile, a service which will allow Blackberry and Android users to make Skype to Skype calls across its 3G network. The software will be available to US Verizon customers with data plans from as early as next month, with similar plans for UK consumers to be announced later this year.

Skype is so popular because it allows users to make cut price international calls. This new service will also allow users to make international calls to any phone at Skype's standard rates. The application will also mimic popular social media sites, allowing users to send and receive instant messages and see their contacts' statuses. 

It's believed the application will be available on 9 handsets in late March and will later come pre-installed in new handsets. 

The move means that Verizon Wireless will become the first large US mobile operator to allow it's users to make free or low cost calls using Skype. Verizon had previously been opposed to VoIP technology, such as Skype and Google Voice, because it allows users to make calls using the data portion of their mobile tariff. This would cause a dent in operators' traditional voice service revenues, which pull in around $700 billion a year. 

"Over time traditional network-based mobile carriers face the real prospect of losing a major slice of their voice traffic and revenue to new non-infrastructure players that use VoIP," said Gartner's Akshay Sharma.

This announcement will come as welcome news to many mobile workers who often spend thousands of pounds a year communicating with overseas business associates for hours at a time.