Skype cuts off Fring in bitter war of words

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VoIP giant Skype has pulled all support for peer-to-peer VoIP client Fring in a bitter dispute that has been waged almost entirely out in the open.

Fring, which offers cross-platform video-calling on mobile phones integrating a variety of VoIP services, Skype included, recently launched its iPhone 4 app, giving owners of the Apple phone an alternative to the handset maker's own software, which uses Wi-Fi.

But with the sudden surge in demand that followed the availability of the Fring iOS 4 app, the company's network was unable to cope, and on Friday afternoon the service decided to temporarily block Skype users trying to access the service using the Skype API while it addressed the issue.

Having beefed up its equipment to cope with the extra demand, however, Fring found a furious Skype had severed the tie from its end.

The dispute quickly moved to the companies' respective blogs, with Fring's chief executive Avi Schechter labelling Skype's behaviour as “cowardly” and Skype's vice president, legal, Robert Miller, claiming Fring was using its software incorrectly and damaging its reputation.

“We are disappointed that Skype, who once championed the cause of openness, is now attempting to muzzle competition, even to the detriment of its own users,” Schechter wrote yesterday. “We apologise to our users for the impact of Skype’s bullying and we will be happy to reconnect with Skype once Skype reverses their decision.

“We’re sorry for the inconvenience Skype has caused you.”

Skype's response wasn't long in coming, with Miller taking less than an hour to threaten Fring with legal action. “An hour or so ago, Fring reported that we had blocked their access to Skype. I want to make one thing absolutely clear: this is untrue.

“Fring was using Skype software in a way it wasn’t designed to be used – and in a way which is in breach of Skype’s API Terms of Use and End User License Agreement. We’ve been talking with Fring for some time to try to resolve this amicably.

“However, over time, Fring’s mis-use of our software was increasingly damaging our brand and reputation with our customers.”

Miller went on to deliver a canned statement reaffirming the company's support for developers looking to build products that worked with Skype, provided of course that they were “in accordance with our various API licences”.

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