Wireless Internet provider Skyrove has signed a deal with Skype to offer free WiFi connectivity for this week, for anyone who has an account with the international Internet telecommunications company.
The offer, which ends this Sunday, will allow Skype users to access the Internet using any of Skyrove's hotspots, without using their SkypeOut Credits. These credits are normally used to pay for calls from the VOIP service to ordinary landlines and cellphones.
Skyrove CEO and founder Henk Kleynhans says the idea is to make people aware they can use Skype to connect to WiFi hotspots without signing up for new WiFi accounts.
The idea for the limited trial period is to test out the feasibility, he adds.
“We have entered into an agreement with Skype, whereby their subscribers are able to use their SkypeOut credits to buy WiFi connectivity. This is a launch promotion to make people aware of the deal,” he says.
According to Kleynhans, the service is aimed mainly at foreign visitors to SA who want to reduce their exposure to high cellphone roaming charges. However, South Africans will also be able to use the service where billing is time-based, not usage-based.
“People are used to making telephone calls in time-based units rather than usage. The main reason they use Skype is to make telephone calls.”
Kleynhans says that, depending on how this promotion goes, another free WiFi period may start when the Cape tourism season kicks off into high gear from mid-December.
“It is just another example of how we can use voice on data networks, rather than data over a voice network.”
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