Carriers suffer as users turn to Skype

Carriers suffer as users turn to Skype
http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/carriers-suffer-as-users-turn-to-skype-20100120-mjvj.html

Users wanting to call home from abroad are increasingly turning to Skype's internet telephony service to the detriment of international carriers, new data showed.

"Skype is now the largest provider of cross border communications in the world, by far," said Stephan Beckert, analyst at research firm TeleGeography on Tuesday.

Skype's technology allows consumers to make practically free long-distance calls over the internet on fixed lines. It is mostly used on desktops but Skype has made the move into mobile too and it now comes pre-installed on some mobile phones.

According to the firm's data, over the past 25 years, international call volume from telephones have grown at a compounded annual rate of 15 per cent.

In the past two years this growth has however slowed to only 8 per cent, rising from 376 billion minutes in 2008 to an estimated 406 billion minutes last year.

By comparison, Skype's on-net international traffic between two Skype users grew 51 per cent in 2008, and is projected to grow 63 per cent in 2009, to 54 billion minutes.

Skype is another reason why more travelers are carrying mobile devices. They can make free international phone calls with Skype over WiFi from a mobile smartphone or iPod touch...