FORT WORTH, Texas ? RadioShack is expected to announce Monday that it will offer net telephone service Skype Technogies as part of its 2005 Holiday shopping promotions.
The Luxembourg-based Net telephony company, founded by the people behind the Kazaa peer-to-peer service, will go direct to US consumers at more than 3,000 RadioShack location nationwide. Each will offer the Skype Starter Kit, which includes the software that enables a customer to use Skype’s free computer-to-computer telephone service, a headset and 30 minutes of Skype’s premium service, with which a user can call a landline or cell phone, company executives told CNET.Com.
The move is an attempt by Skype, the world’s largest provider of voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, to introduce its service to mainstream America. Before this deal, U.S. consumers could only get Skype service by downloading the software from the Internet.
Since launching in 2002, Skype has rattled traditional telephone companies by offering free computer-to-computer VoIP calls and low-cost connectivity between computer and landline or mobile phones. While Skype can boast 66 million registered users and a growth rate of 180,000 new customers per day, the market is still in its infancy, and major conglomerates have begun venturing into the sector.
A tiny fraction of Americans use VoIP, and analysts have predicted that continued growth in the market may ignite a landgrab by large players.
Last Wednesday, electronics kingpin Sony launched a free Web-based phone service designed to link users via their computer video cameras. Yahoo, America Online and others have long offered computer-to-computer phone services. Microsoft revealed plans earlier this month to offer Internet-to-telephone calling.
