Could international telcos unite against Skype?

Speaking of mega-ventures, could a dozen or so incumbent telcos from around the world team up to launch a free international calling service that would challenge Skype? ThinkPanmure analyst Anton Wahlman is predicting it will happen, though he acknowledges carriers have said nothing about such a venture, and that he is just posing the theory. Wahlman said in a research note that such a service could be software-based and allow each member carrier to brand the front end in its own way. Customers subscribing to the service would have to buy a broadband connection from one of the member telcos to make it happen.

Frank Dzubeck of Communications Network Architects, an analyst analyzing this analyst's analysis, says at Light Reading that such a cartel-like format could be illegal. The like-minded idea of creating a standard technology for international free calling could have the same effect, but previous efforts to do that have not panned out.

For more:
- check out this coverage [1] at Telephony
- see this report [2] at Light Reading

Related articles:
- Skype recently posted a huge increase in first-quarter revenue. Skype report [3]  
- Skype's offering unlimited international calling. Skype's unlimited plan [4]