Skype to release VoWLAN phone

The CEO of voice-over-IP provider Skype told a conference earlier this week that the company plans to offer its customers a phone that can connect to its voice network via Wi-Fi networks, the Reuters press service has reported.

The Wi-Fi phone will be offered later this year, according to Reuters. The move would match that of Vonage, which also is expected to provide its users with a phone that can be used for voice-over-IP using wireless networks.

Skype CEO Niklas Zennstrom told attendees at the Reuters Telecoms, Media and Technology Summit in Paris on Wednesday that his privately-held company now has 39 million users. About 1.4 million of those users are paying for the ability to make calls to standard phones while the others use the service for free to call other computer-based Skype users.

Reuters reported that Zennstrom said that he expects the company to be profitable by the end of the year and that it is no plan to go public in the short-term, although he said that eventually could happen.