Skype Calls On Rise Represent One-Third Of Global Phone Traffic

Working for multiple International manufacturers like I do, I sometimes take Skype calls for granted. I have been using the service for a long time and have had nothing but good luck with it. I have even used Skype to record podcasts back in the day when we did them here on Mobility Digest. At the peak of Mafia Wars, we even had chat rooms set up to keep our group together and discuss strategy etc. So perhaps you might have taken Skype for granted also and not realized just how important and popular the service really is.  As it turns out, TeleGeography, which is a market analysis firm hasn’t and has put together a study indicating that Skype is now one-third of all International phone traffic and rising at a staggering pace.

In 2012 International phone traffic rose 5% and equaled 490 billion minutes. Skype on the other hand grew 44% in 2012 and used up 167 billion minutes! This is certainly putting pressure on the International telecommunication companies that are seeing a giant emerge and putting their business in jeopardy. With the explosion of International smartphones that have Skype loaded on as an app, the days of finding your way to a PC with a webcam are over. I remember having to be stationary at my desk to make Skype calls and now I have the freedom to use my iPhone or iPad where ever I am at. This has saved a lot of money for the companies I work for and in the midst of a weak US Dollar, global companies are not making the money on the exchange rate they once did and finding more cost efficient ways to run their businesses is critical to compete with low labor rate countries like China.

So, you got Skype loading on your smartphone yet?