Skype Rising Usage - Best Example for the Net Neutrality Fight

     

Om Malik of GigOM published yesterday some information on the rising use of Skype "Skype By the Numbers: It’s Really Big" - here.

The data, from Skype’s chief technology strategist, Jonathan Rosenberg shows very nice growth in Skype usage, including:

• Skype users made more the 250 billion minutes worth of Skype-to-Skype calls from the time the service was launched through the end of 2009.
   
• Skype in 2009 accounted for 12 percent of the world’s international calling minutes, a 50 percent increase over 2008 when it accounted for 8 percent of international calling, according to TeleGeography Researc.

12 years ago, when I joined Vocaltec, we had a similar application to today's Skype - the name was Internet Phone (or ... Iphone !). Vocaltec went public in 1995, with the press envisioning the end of the incumbent carriers and the PSTN. It did not happen then - for many reasons - but with the above numbers it does happen now to Skype. It is a threat to the carriers - fixed and mobile.

Of course, not every minute that goes to Skype is a minute lost by someone else, as Skype if free (in most cases). But still,. 12% of the international minutes is very significant, mainly where international calls are expensive.

This may bring back the issue of Net Neutrality - maybe not in the US but certainly in other countries - or it will change the Internet flat rates to usage-based rates.