Skype Passed 15 Million On-Line User Mark

January 22, 2009

One of the cheapest and reliable VoIP solutions for consumers and small businesses, Skype celebrated a new record on January 12, 2008: more than 15 million users were logged into the service at the same time.

Skype entered the scene several years ago, riding on the coat tails of newly proven peer-to-peer technology that was popularized by file sharing services. The company continued to enjoy constant growth and was ultimately acquired by eBay for an astonishing US$2.6 billion. But, growth did not end there. While eBay has struggled with finding ways to capitalize on its acquisition, Skype has had no difficulty increasing its customer base.

One can use Skype to place voice and video calls to other Skype users for free. If one would like to place calls to regular phone numbers, the company offers a service at an extremely good price: for just US$2.95/month, one can place an unlimited number of calls to PSTN numbers within the United States. A similar plan exists for calls within Europe.

With that subscription service, one can also purchase a phone number to allow incoming calls from the PSTN. Incoming phone numbers cost just US$30/year with the voice subscription or US$60/year without it (for US numbers).

An interesting question is what attracts all of the users. Are users attracted to the free voice and video calls between users over the Internet, or the extremely good PSTN calling plans available?

Either way, Skype is a great value for consumers and there appears to be no end in sight for future growth.