Comcast's Skype TV Calling Could Be a Hit

14.06.2011
Comcast subscribers will soon have the option to place video calls through their television, thanks to a partnership with VoIP provider Skype announced on Tuesday. Customers will need additional equipment to use the new feature.

The cable company will provide interested subscribers with the necessary adapter box, video camera, and special remote needed to connect to the service. It will also integrate Skype functionality into its and will enable switching from one platform to another.

Like the supported for traditional phone calls, Skype calls will also appear in a similar manner. The service's instant messaging feature will also work when used with the special remote, which will include an integrated QWERTY keyboard.

Skype and Comcast aim to begin trials for the service in the coming months, although they did not specify how the tests will run. Comcast did say that further details on the offering will be announced later this year, however.

While Comcast's offering still suffers from the downfall of other current on-TV video calling services--the need for additional hardware--it does have one thing going for it: the cable provider's wide reach. Comcast had nearly 23 million subscribers , nearly double that of its closest competitor.

Other video calling services simply do not have this reach. Take, for example, Cisco's recently announced product That is a completely standalone service, and cost $599 for the set top box alone and an additional $24.99 monthly for service when it was introduced in October.