This morning at a press briefing, 3UK have announced that from May 1st users with a 3UK SIM and a 3-provided Skype-enabled handset will be able to use Skype for free.  This means no need to topup (previous deals for free Skype involved a monthly topup of £10 on PAYG), and there will be no data charges at all; Skype will be completely free (subject to their standard fair use policy).

Even better, later this year (around Summer), 3UK will also open this offer up to 3UK SIMs and non-3-provided phones (they still need to be compatible with 3’s “Skype on 3″ solution).  However, 3UK also mentioned they are hoping to expand the range of phones that the Skype on 3 service supports.  3UK also confirmed the free Skype will apply to 3UK contract customers too.

The free Skype applies both to Skype calls and Skype instant messages, and there are even hints of Skype video calls coming to 3UK at some point.  Kevin Russell, 3UK’s CEO added “In future you will be able to buy a 3 SIM for unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls for less than the price of a cup of coffee and talk for as much as you want without ever paying us another penny. We won’t ask you for a top-up or a monthly commitment. If you want to talk on a mobile for free, just join us and give it a go. This is for everyone.”

3UK even confirmed how popular Skype has been; “Currently, 3 UK’s growing Skype community enjoys 1.5 million minutes of free Skype-to-Skype calls every day.” and added

“3 UK has found that regular Skype users:

• Are less likely to churn than non-Skype users
• Use more traditional voice minutes than non-Skype users in addition to calling their Skype contacts
• Use Skype IM, but also send more SMS than non-Skype users
• Are more likely to browse the internet on their mobile
• Are higher margin customers
• Are twice as likely to access social networking sites as non-Skype customers”

3UK will, from May 1st, offer a 3UK SIM for £1.99 which can then be used in (initially) a 3UK phone for free Skype access.

3UK also announced that there will be a new Skypephone device coming in Q3/Q4 this year, and there was mention of a new PAYG handset supporting Skype available soon for £79.99 too (possibly a new INQ device?).

Finally, whilst speaking Kevin Russell mentioned the “acquisition of Skype“; was that an error on his part, or will we possibly see greater ties between 3 and Skype in the future…?

We weren’t able to attend the press briefing this morning, so thanks to Ant Carroll (who was there) and Gerry at nokiAAdict, and you can get more information direct from 3UK here.

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