wi-tribe in deal to promote Skype in Philippines, Jordan

MANILA, Philippines - wi-tribe has signed a commercial agreement to promote Skype and its related products over wi-tribe’s networks in Jordan and the Philippines, two key markets for wi-tribe.

In the Philippines, wi-tribe’s mobile broadband services are being offered through Liberty Telecom, jointly owned by San Miguel Corp. through subsidiary Vega Telecom, and Qatar Telecom (Qtel).

Under the agreement, wi-tribe, a provider of wireless broadband Internet, will enable subscribers in the respective markets to easily download Skype software and connect with their family and friends.

“wi-tribe’s collaboration with Skype is further proof of our commitment to finding innovative ways of delivering superior broadband experience to consumers. Through partnering with a world-class organization like Skype, we are further enhancing the value of the service that we provide to wi-tribe customers” wi-tribe group CEO Sohail Qadri said.

Skype had 145 million average monthly connected users for the three months ending Dec. 31, 2010 and according to TeleGeography in January 2011, Skype-to-Skype calling minutes in 2010 were equivalent to approximately 20 percent of total global international PSTN and Skype-to-Skype calling minutes.

With today’s partnership announcement, more users in the Middle Eastern and Asian regions will enjoy easy accessibility to popular Skype features such as free Skype-to-Skype calls, instant messaging, low cost calls to landlines and mobiles as well as the recently launched Group Video Calling.

“wi-tribe is a high performance wireless Internet provider with a customer centric approach, much like Skype. We look forward to working with wi-tribe and support the growth of the Internet ecosystem,” Skype general manager for mobile Russ Shaw said.

To kick off the partnership, Skype and wi-tribe will distribute Skype credit vouchers in the Philippines and in Jordan. These vouchers will enable customers to enjoy free calls to landlines and mobiles over Skype using the wi-tribe broadband network.

The wi-tribe Group is a cornerstone of Qtel’s strategy to develop broadband services in emerging markets and bridge the digital divide. Established in 2007 in partnership with Clearwire, a leading broadband services provider in the US and Abdul Rehman Al Turki Group of Companies, a leading conglomerate in Saudi Arabia, wi-tribe quickly acquired and launched broadband wireless services in Jordan and Pakistan, and later in the Philippines in partnership with SMC.

Officials said today, wi-tribe is recognized in its markets for quality of service, innovation and customer focus. wi-tribe’s goal is to deliver a simple, reliable and quality broadband experience to its customers, enriching their lives, and connecting them to their communities, families and friends across the world.

Meanwhile, Skype is a communications platform provider whose purpose is to break down barriers to communication. With an Internet-connected device, families, friends and colleagues can get together for free with messaging, voice and video.

At low cost, they can also call landlines or mobiles virtually anywhere in the world. Skype has recently introduced group video, allowing groups of more than two people to do things together whenever they are.

Skype can be downloaded into computers, mobile phones and other connected devices for free at www.skype.com.