Minister for Digital Britain the Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP has helped mark a major milestone by notching up the 1,000,000,000th minute of usage for 3’s free internet-based calling service, ‘Skype on 3’.
Skype on 3 has already saved UK customers more than £120m* in calling costs and paved the way for people to make 3 million minutes of free Skype calls to each other every day on their 3 mobile phones.
The Digital Britain Minister clocked up the billionth minute during a Skype call with the CEO of medical aid charity Merlin, where they discussed the organisation’s work in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
The call was made possible because 3 recently donated five Skypephones to Merlin so the charity’s UK based staff could stay in touch 24/7 with colleagues on the ground in Haiti. Communication has proved difficult since the earthquake struck as much of the normal telecommunications infrastructure has been wrecked, leaving people dependent on the internet to communicate.
Carolyn Miller, CEO of Merlin, explains: "Here in the UK we take communications for granted but Merlin works in countries with some of the worst infrastructures in the world. Being able to use Skype from a mobile has been more helpful to our team than you could imagine and has really helped facilitate a fast and effective response in Haiti."
Merlin has a fully equipped surgical hospital on disused tennis courts in Delmas 33 – “Wimbledon” - performing surgery and providing essential health care for around 100 patients a day. Merlin's health workers will also be running mobile clinics going into more underserved areas, diagnosing and swiftly treating potentially fatal diseases such as acute diarrhoea, malaria and respiratory infections. Merlin will stay on in Haiti for as long as it is needed working with local partners and the Ministry of Health to train local health workers, rehabilitate and re-equip health centres crippled by the earthquake.
Digital Britain Minister Stephen Timms, MP, said: “Services like Skype on 3 have been vital to the aid being delivered by relief agencies in Haiti. Digital Britain sets out a framework for the modernisation and growth of the UK’s communications infrastructure. This will enable internet technologies such as Skype to thrive, ensuring Britain sustains its position as a leading digital economy.”
3’s Chief Executive Kevin Russell, said: “3 UK’s network was purpose-built to bring the benefits of the internet to mobile users. With Skype on 3 users now making more than 3 million minutes a day of calls, we have taken this service mainstream. We are building the UK’s biggest and best network for mobile data through an intensive and ongoing upgrade and expansion programme, and we expect the growth of Skype on 3 to continue.
“Skype on 3 is a fantastic communications tool. Its use by aid workers in devastated areas to communicate via the internet and our 3G network to their UK colleagues is a great example of how mobilising an internet service gives it even greater reach.”
“Bringing Skype and 3 together has helped people to talk to friends, family or colleagues from their mobile phone, whatever the circumstances, without the worry of running up large phone bills, even if it’s an international call,” said Russ Shaw, GM EMEA and Mobile at Skype. “We have helped to make it possible for anyone, from friends contacting family or loved ones to colleagues liaising during a crisis, to communicate no matter where they are. Passing the billion minutes milestone shows just how important this is to people.”
3 is the only mobile phone operator in the UK to offer all customers mobile Skype completely free of charge. The service was launched in May 2009 and already has hundreds of thousands of users.
Skype on 3
- 3 launched Skype on its network in October 2007.
- The Skypephone, developed jointly by 3 and Skype, fully integrates Skype enabling customers to make a Skype call at the touch of a button.
- 3’s handsets come pre-loaded with the Skype mobile application.
- Skype to Skype calls on 3 are free forever. There is no requirement to top up and no data charges are applied on Skype to Skype calls.
- Over 2m people use internet services like Skype on 3.
Use of Skype by UK aid agencies in Haiti
- At 16:53 local time (21:53 UK time) on 12 January 2010, an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck Haiti about 10 miles south-west of the capital Port-au-Prince.
- Following the earthquake 3 donated Skypephones to the UK based logistics teams of charities who were using Skype to stay in touch with their teams working in Haiti. As well as giving Skypephones to Merlin, 3 has also loaned phones to Oxfam, Save the Children and Unicef so they too can contact their staff on the Caribbean island.
- With normal telecommunications not working in the aftermath of the earthquake these charities have all relied on Skype to communicate with their teams in Haiti. Prior to being given Skypephones their UK logistics staff were having to go everywhere with their laptops so they could stay in touch with their teams in Haiti 24/7
- One Merlin staff member reported having to pull over on his bike on his way to work and boot up his laptop by the roadside in order to take a call
About 3
3 is a communications company focused on bringing the benefits of the internet to mobile communications. We offer attractive pricing and give our customers the widest choice of ways to stay connected at home or abroad. To do this we're building the UK's best high-speed mobile broadband network. 3 UK is a member of the HWL group of 3G companies, which include 3G operations in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Macau and Sweden.
Three facts about 3:
- 3 launched the UK's first 3G network offering national coverage for calls and texts. 3 have the UK’s biggest 3G network and have over 92.74% population coverage for 3G services. On 3/3/03, Minister Stephen Timms MP made the first video phone call on a mobile in the UK on the 3 network.
- As we consolidate our radio access network with T-Mobile we expect to reach almost complete UK population coverage for 3G by the end of 2010.
- 3 have over 4.4 million active customers in the UK and over 20 million worldwide.
Skype Facts:
Skype is software that enables the world's conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users. Everyday, people everywhere also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles. Download Skype to your computer or mobile phone at skype.com.
About Merlin
Merlin is a UK aid agency that specialises in improving health where it is most needed. All our work - from saving lives in times of crisis to supporting the long-term delivery of essential care - is geared towards building a health system that can cope with needs on the ground now and in the future.
Training local health workers underpins every Merlin programme, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. We also work to influence health policy and practice at local, national and international levels using evidence gained from our work on the ground.
A strong health workforce is central to everything we do, which is why we campaign for urgent and sustained investment in health workers in fragile states / where the needs are the greatest.
Merlin is a member of the Disaster Emergency Committee. To donate to the DEC Haiti appeal please visit www.dec.org.uk. To find out more about Merlin's work in Haiti please visit www.merlin.org.uk or call 020 7014 1714
3’s Press Office can be reached on 0845 603 8333
*This figure is based on an average calling cost of 12p / minute on both in-bound and outbound calls. The real saving figure will be far higher, as Skype on 3 customers can call, and be called, by other Skype users anywhere in the world for free.