Skype WiFi which was earlier known as Skype Access, an app for premium customers who would have to pay a ‘per-minute charge’ for accessing the internet at commercial WiFi hotspots using Skype Credits. The company claims that since its initiation in 2009, the application gave the user access to over 2 million WiFi hotspots in the world and could be downloaded on a Windows, Linux, iOS, Android or Mac OS device.
According to the Skype team, the move has been initiated so that they can better focus their efforts on bringing the best possible experience through their core Skype features. In 2015 Microsoft rolled out a similar app called the Microsoft WiFi, only for PCs and Laptops running windows 10. The application worked on the same principle; a service that can be used to connect to commercial Wi-Fi hotspots around the world without having to create an account with each Wi-Fi provider.
Is it possible that Microsoft wants to launch its own cross platform WiFi hotspot service like Skype? Currently if one searches for Microsoft WiFi, the official page states “coming soon“, however, the app is available as a Windows app on Microsoft store. TechCrunch speculated that in September last year, Microsoft closed Skype’s HQ in London and primary engineering site affecting 400 jobs. Maybe the service closure and consolidation can be an after-effect of the same.
