Skype gets a bigger share of international calling
20-01-2010
While international voice volumes are growing 8%, revenues are flat
Skype's international phone-calling traffic has accelerated, outpacing growth by conventional phone companies, according to new data fromTeleGeography. "Skype is taking away would-be market share of international traffic from conventional phone companies" Paul Brodsky, an analyst for TeleGeography, says
Skype has increased its share of the global voice market despite a recession that almost halved growth, according to TeleGeography. The research firm said international call volumes have grown just 8% in the past two years, compared to an average 15% over the past quarter century. Carriers delivered an estimated 406 billion IDD minutes in 2009, up from 376 billion minutes in 2008. Global international voice traffic will grow approximately 7 to 8 percent annually between 2009 and 2011, the report said.
Skype-to-Skype international traffic is growing at a much faster pace. It grew 51% in 2008 to 33 billion minutes, and is projected to grow 63% in 2009 to 54 billion minutes. That means Skype would be carrying about 12% of carrier+Skype traffic in 2009
But not all of Skype's traffic comes at the expense of phone carries. Skype's paid-for SkypeOut service, which allows users to make calls to standard telephones, generated about 12 billion minutes of traffic in 2009. Skype relies on other wholesale carriers to connect this traffic to the telephone network.
Skype's growth is due to a sharp increase in the number of its users. The internet-calling service has over 500 million registered users as of the third quarter of last year. But "it is safe to assume that a significant percentage of registered Skype users have signed up for the service and either never use it or use it very sparingly" said Mr. Brodsky. "After all, registering is free"
Skype calls are free unless they are made to landlines, but even then the calling rates are generally cheaper than those provided by the phone companies.
Despite the growth in volume, international phone-calling revenue has only seen a slight increase. Skype?s cheap international calling rates and its free user-to-user calls and videos are partly to blame for the flattening revenue growth. The steady decline in prices has also been triggered by fierce competition.
Skype, owned by a group of investors, is still the largest long-distance phone company.
Skype's international phone-calling traffic has accelerated, outpacing growth by conventional phone companies, according to new data fromTeleGeography. "Skype is taking away would-be market share of international traffic from conventional phone companies" Paul Brodsky, an analyst for TeleGeography, says
Skype has increased its share of the global voice market despite a recession that almost halved growth, according to TeleGeography. The research firm said international call volumes have grown just 8% in the past two years, compared to an average 15% over the past quarter century. Carriers delivered an estimated 406 billion IDD minutes in 2009, up from 376 billion minutes in 2008. Global international voice traffic will grow approximately 7 to 8 percent annually between 2009 and 2011, the report said.
Skype-to-Skype international traffic is growing at a much faster pace. It grew 51% in 2008 to 33 billion minutes, and is projected to grow 63% in 2009 to 54 billion minutes. That means Skype would be carrying about 12% of carrier+Skype traffic in 2009
But not all of Skype's traffic comes at the expense of phone carries. Skype's paid-for SkypeOut service, which allows users to make calls to standard telephones, generated about 12 billion minutes of traffic in 2009. Skype relies on other wholesale carriers to connect this traffic to the telephone network.
Skype's growth is due to a sharp increase in the number of its users. The internet-calling service has over 500 million registered users as of the third quarter of last year. But "it is safe to assume that a significant percentage of registered Skype users have signed up for the service and either never use it or use it very sparingly" said Mr. Brodsky. "After all, registering is free"
Skype calls are free unless they are made to landlines, but even then the calling rates are generally cheaper than those provided by the phone companies.
Despite the growth in volume, international phone-calling revenue has only seen a slight increase. Skype?s cheap international calling rates and its free user-to-user calls and videos are partly to blame for the flattening revenue growth. The steady decline in prices has also been triggered by fierce competition.
Skype, owned by a group of investors, is still the largest long-distance phone company.
