What prevents a SIP <=> Skype Gateway?

#1 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006, 07:42 AM

Skype presumably maintains its incompatibility with SIP through a
commercial calculation that it is in Skype's interests to lock in customers.

But what is to prevent someone setting up a SIP <=> Skype Gateway that
had eg 'sipgateway' as a skype address that could be suffixed by any
sip-address, and vice versa?

(A) Technical problems? Translation between protocols, timelags?
Bandwidth bottleneck when usage exploded?

(B) Financing problems? Charge a small monthly fixed fee to register for
the gateway? Or a very small usage charge? Both Skype and SIP parts
would be cost-free to the gateway.

(C) Legal problems? Might Skype shut off the Skype connection if they
thought their interests were threatened?

Has nobody thought of/tried this before? If one of you sets this up and
makes a fortune, can you cut me in for 1% for providing the idea? :^)

Inman Harvey

#2 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006, 07:59 AM

Inman Harvey wrote:
.....
> Has nobody thought of/tried this before? If one of you sets this up and
> makes a fortune, can you cut me in for 1% for providing the idea? :^)

.... I was just starting to work out what 1% of $1 billion was when I
thought I would Google "sip skype gateway"
eg
http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keat...ll-of-voip.asp
or
http://forum.skype.com/lofiversion/i...hp/t59496.html
.... but this runs just one connection.

I am still interested in answers to the questions :^(

Inman Harvey

#3 (**permalink**) 10-18-2006, 08:35 AM

Inman Harvey wrote:

> Skype presumably maintains its incompatibility with SIP through a
> commercial calculation that it is in Skype's interests to lock in customers.
>
> But what is to prevent someone setting up a SIP <=> Skype Gateway that
> had eg 'sipgateway' as a skype address that could be suffixed by any
> sip-address, and vice versa?

the cost / complexity of having to reverse engineer the Skype protocols
perhaps, and possible licensing / patent legal problems ? SIP is open
standard publicly defined, Skype is proprietary ie someone owns it.

Easier to wean people off Skype by pointing out that its a proprietary
monopoly - Microsoft reincarnated.

Phil

#4 (**permalink**) 10-20-2006, 08:18 PM

On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 08:42:29 +0100, Inman Harvey
<inmanh@cogs.susx.ac.uk> wrote:

>But what is to prevent someone setting up a SIP <=> Skype Gateway that
>had eg 'sipgateway' as a skype address that could be suffixed by any
>sip-address, and vice versa?

I set one up when I was playing with a voip setup here. Basically, it
was a sip interface that ran a copy of skype on a pc, so although it
worked fine, it was a one call at a time solution, and the transcoding
took processor time as well as reducing quality.

I really can't see much point in it, but then again I don't use skype.

#5 (**permalink**) 10-21-2006, 09:48 AM

On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 21:18:09 +0100, hairydog@despammed.com wrote:

>On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 08:42:29 +0100, Inman Harvey
><inmanh@cogs.susx.ac.uk> wrote:
>
>
>>But what is to prevent someone setting up a SIP <=> Skype Gateway that
>>had eg 'sipgateway' as a skype address that could be suffixed by any
>>sip-address, and vice versa?
>
>I set one up when I was playing with a voip setup here. Basically, it
>was a sip interface that ran a copy of skype on a pc, so although it
>worked fine, it was a one call at a time solution, and the transcoding
>took processor time as well as reducing quality.
>
>I really can't see much point in it, but then again I don't use skype.
The only advantages of Skype are that it does video and that it takes
no setting up. However, I think that the SIP 'Gizmo Project' doesn't
take any setting up afaik - It must be easy as it seems that quite a
lot of people are using it.
Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.
Skype Free Zone!!

#6 (**permalink**) 10-21-2006, 03:07 PM

Brian A wrote:

> On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 21:18:09 +0100, hairydog@despammed.com wrote:

>> I really can't see much point in it, but then again I don't use skype.

> The only advantages of Skype are that it does video

SIP does video too.

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#7 (**permalink**) 10-23-2006, 10:22 AM

alexd <look@my.sig> wrote in news:1406592.pqgfTq3FKu@ale.cx:

> Brian A wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 21:18:09 +0100, hairydog@despammed.com wrote:
>
>>> I really can't see much point in it, but then again I don't use skype.
>
>> The only advantages of Skype are that it does video
>
> SIP does video too.
>

.... and the XTEN free SIP phone supports Video (and Video conferencing). It
is now based on the eye-beam phone.

Peter