LUXEMBOURG and MADRID, SPAIN, November 15, 2006 – In a move aimed at fueling conversations and lowering communication costs around the world, Skype, SMC and FON have combined their technologies to create a stylish and practical platform that makes it easy to enjoy Internet calls without any need for a computer.
The bundle is exclusively available to U.S. and European consumers from the Skype Web store at skype.com/shop. Priced at just 139 euros ($159.99 in the U.S., £99 in the UK), the bundle includes everything you need to make Internet calls at home, at work and on the move: the sleek SMC Wi-Fi Phone for Skype™ (WSKP100), FON’s wireless router "La Fonera", 500 minutes of SkypeOut™ credit, and Skype Voicemail for a year.
While calls between Skype users will always be free, 500 SkypeOut minutes come in handy when making cheap calls to ordinary telephones around the world. With the optional purchase of a SkypeIn™ number, you are reachable from any phone in the world.
”The arrival of WiFi phones has helped liberate Skype users from the PC and made Internet calling truly mobile,“ said Stefan Oberg, Skype’s General Manager, Hardware. ”But never before have all the necessary ingredients been combined in one package at such an attractive price. This partnership delivers a ready-to-use system, leaving more time for conversations with family, friends and colleagues everywhere.“
”The SMC Wi-Fi Phone for Skype is a new category of voice communication product and a good example of how we develop solutions and work in alliance with market leaders and innovators such as Skype and FON,” added George Zervos, General Manager, SMC Networks Europe.
SMC‘s Wi-Fi Phone for Skype can be used anywhere where there is an open wireless access point. FON is offering the La Fonera WiFi router, which allows users to share some of their bandwidth at home, and get free access to the global community of FON Access Points in exchange. FON already has tens of thousands of access points where the SMC Skype Wi-Fi Phone can already be used. In fact, it is the world’s fastest-growing WiFi community.
"Our goal at FON is to build a global WiFi community so that consumers can benefit from the fantastic capabilities and services that ubiquitous WiFi has to offer,” said FON founder and CEO Martin Varsavsky. "The combination of Skype, SMC’s Wi-Fi phone and FON is a huge leap forward towards this new realm of WiFi everywhere.”
About Skype
Skype is the world's fastest-growing Internet communication offering, allowing unlimited free voice, video and instant messaging communication between users of Skype software. With over 136 million registered users, Skype is available in 28 languages and is used in almost every country around the world. Skype generates revenue through its premium offerings such as making and receiving calls to and from landline and mobile phones, voicemail, call forwarding and personalization including ringtones and avatars. Skype also has relationships with a growing network of hardware and software providers.
Skype is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). To learn more visit skype.com.
Skype is not a replacement for your ordinary telephone and cannot be used for emergency calling.
About SMC Networks
SMC Networks is a leading provider of LAN hardware and broadband connectivity devices. Globally, SMC Networks leverages manufacturing resources and strategic relationships to bring to market a growing range of affordable, leading-edge products; including Gigabit and Fast Ethernet Switching, wireless networking, broadband connectivity products as well as traditional wired network adapters. SMC Networks specialises in solutions for the SMB/e, and the home. Worldwide, SMC delivers network solutions through an infrastructure of VAR partners, ISPs and retailers.
About FON
FON is building the world's largest WiFi community. Founded in 2006 in Madrid, Spain, FON's mission is to stimulate growth of WiFi Internet access through its WiFi sharing community of "Foneros". FON’s La Fonera WiFi routers, which are subsidized for those who join the FON Community, have been specifically designed to enable Foneros to share their home access points with the FON Community. In return for sharing, Foneros gain free WiFi access everywhere in the world. FON's investors include Google, Skype, Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital. For more information, please go to www.fon.com.
* Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Me, Skype Certified, Skypecasts, associated logos and the “S” symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.
