Tom Online's (TOMO) vice president Feng Yu has confirmed to local media that Tom Online is negotiating with China's telecom operators on behalf of Skype, which was said to have been kicked out of Shenzhen by China Telecom (CHA).
Tom is working on possible cooperation between the Skype and the telecom company, but Feng says she can't say when the cooperation will finally be realized.
Feng says that it is likely that Skype may choose to cooperate with only one operator while trying to reach mutual-connection agreements with the other China providers, or it may choose to operate with several operators at the same time.
Now that only China Telecom and China Netcom have been approved by the Chinese government to test PC-to-Phone service in some parts of China, local media analysts are predicting that Skype may cooperate with one of them, and most probably China Telecom.
Feng also adds that Skype has had "pleasant cooperation within the limit of China's relevant policy", and Skype faces no barriers in the current negotiation.
Earlier this year eBay (EBAY) purchased Skype worldwide and it is unclear why Tom Online, rather than eBay's China office, are handling these discussions with China's authorities.