Software allows Internet cell calls

New software from a Cambridge company will enable cell phone users to place cheap international calls over Skype, a popular Internet telephone service.

Skype is used by millions around the world to relay phone calls over the Internet. But it usually requires the calls be placed through a computer. Software from iSkoot Inc. , called iSkootMobile , loads a version of Skype onto the user's mobile phone, and users can see if friends or family are available for a chat by viewing their Skype buddy lists. Calls are routed over the Skype network instead of the commercial phone system so users can reach any other Skype subscriber in the world for the price of a local cell phone call.

"You have the benefit of not paying for international long distance," said iSkoot chief executive Jacob Guedalia. That can mean a major cost reduction because phone systems often charge high international calling fees.

Shiv Bakhshi, wireless telecom analyst at IDC Corp. in Seattle , hasn't used the service, but liked the concept.

"Fantastic service," he said. "I want it too."

He also said "It's a very good recruiting tool for Skype," adding that up to now Skype has been hampered by the need to use it with a computer or a costly new phone.

The iSkootMobile software is available for free downloading at iskoot.com, but the company eventually plans to charge for the service. The product works with phones based on the popular GSM cellular standard, including phones from T-Mobile and Cingular . Subscribers must have a cellular data plan as well as voice service.

For now, the service is unavailable to users of the Verizon Wireless or Sprint networks, which use the rival CDMA cellular standard. But Guedalia said his company is in negotiations with these carriers to provide a version of the software.

In addition, iSkoot has signed an agreement with 3 Group, a mobile phone company that provides service in Europe, Australia, and Hong Kong , which will pre load iSkootMobile software on the Nokia and SonyEricsson phones it provides subscribers.

Apart from offering inexpensive international calling, Guedalia said iSkootMobile is a major step in efforts to add "presence" features to mobile phones. A presence system lets callers know whether a person is available even before he or she dials the call. Instant message programs work on this principle, displaying an "away" message when a friend or colleague is unavailable.

Mobile phone providers are planning to adopt a technology called IP Multimedia Subsystem that will add this feature to cellular networks. But Charles Golvin, a telecom analyst at Forrester Research in Cambridge, said this system is several years away.

The iSkootMobile software will provide the capability to Skype users immediately, said Guedalia, while serving as a bridge to next-generation mobile presence services.

Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com.