Most of us haven’t heard of QIP, but apparently it’s getting a popular instant messaging and VoIP app in Russia these days. The man behind this product is a billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who is planning to create a rival to Skype and offer cheap online calls.
The service is still not as widely popular as Skype, but it may get there eventually. The problem Skype may be facing comes from the country’s leading mobile operators who are lobbying government against VoIP calls on their networks as we speak. The Russian billionaire guy may get a better deal from its operator buddies or, if that doesn’t work, pitch the service to the users of its Mango Telecom network.
At the moment, QIP lacks its own phone numbers but that could change by providing subscribers with an accompanying Mango Telecom line.
As a reference, QIP’s average monthly audience has reached 10.2 million, while Skype has managed to garner over 500 million customers worldwide.
In my view, if it puts some serious cash behind QIP, Mr. Prokhorov may grab a decent share of the market and eventually become the number 2 or 3 service. Reaching Skype’s level is still far away, though…
[Via: TheMoscowNews]