5 ms·

13% of international calls now go via Skype

22 points by mcantelon 17y ago

Jach 17y ago
That percentage amazes me. Anyway, when the other person doesn't have Skype or I want to call an actual phone, I prefer localphone ( http://www.localphone.com/ http://www.localphone.com/ ). On average I think their rates are cheaper than Skype's (.9 cents/min for US and Canada), plus I can use different clients.
- davecardwell 17y ago
  Hi Jach. I work for Localphone, so it’s nice to see us mentioned here! We are definitely cheaper than Skype to most destinations - on a crude country-by-country basis we’re cheaper to at least 95% of countries. If you weren’t aware, Localphone-to-Localphone calls are free too when using VoIP.
puredemo 17y ago
I wonder how high that percentage would jump if Skype launched its own line of Skype-enabled phones.
- trin_ 17y ago
  well they already sell those ... http://shop.skype.com/phones/ http://shop.skype.com/phones/ i think i even saw some phones branded as "skype ready" or something similar in brick and mortar store
tom_ilsinszki 17y ago
There is a potential danger with Skype. If I know correctly, phone companies (at least in eastern Europe) have to meet some standards set by the government. Since Skype is not a phone company, it does not have to meet any of these standards: http://heartbeat.skype.com/2007/08/what_happened_on_august_16.html http://heartbeat.skype.com/2007/08/what_happened_on_august_1...
- lkjuhgfghjk 17y ago
  Even 'real' phone companies don't have to meet standards for international calls. And if somebody cuts a cable - Skype's IP packets are likely to route around a problem quicker than an East European state telecoms company can negotiate a pairing agreement with another cable provider.
billpg 17y ago
87% don't?
- bosse 17y ago
  I use SIP with Localphone as long as I don't need the video features of Skype, mainly because it's more flexible for me (SIP integrated in my desk phone, Ekiga and my S60 phone) and for the called party (not needing a computer)
  - davecardwell 17y ago
    You should generally find that we’re cheaper to most countries than Skype too, with equal or better quality. Do you consider video to be a must-have feature? It’s something we could look into supporting since it’s all just SIP to us.
- JoeAltmaier 17y ago
  I use Socco (www.sococo.com), but more as a group-collaboration tool than calling the family. Its got a cute map-based GUI, which is OK. Its intended to keep a small group together e.g. my software development team has it running on the desktop all day. Not call-based or connection-based, you just click into somebody's home room or a conference room and voila you hear everybody there. So yes, I actually work for Sococo, but this is really a cool tool, breaks the "arranged meeting/conference call" paradigm to pieces. And its free so far.
drinian 17y ago
As a SIP user, this disappoints me; it's just one proprietary network to another.
- stcredzero 17y ago
  I might jump from Skype to SIP if I had some more information. As it is, I'm not aware that I know any SIP users. Are there rating sites for SIP providers, apps, and hardware?
  - davecardwell 17y ago
    Between http://www.dslreports.com/ http://www.dslreports.com/ and http://www.voip-info.org/ http://www.voip-info.org/ you should be able to find all the information you need.
    - stcredzero 17y ago
      With some collation and searching on my part.
  - drinian 17y ago
    I'm using Callcentric and am very happy -- have also switched over my parents. I'm traveling the world and their call-forwarding feature (to my local SIM card in country X) works very well. http://www.callcentric.com/ http://www.callcentric.com/
JoeAltmaier 17y ago
I stopped using Skype when they embezzled my account. I put money into a Skype account to call outside vendors, then my vendors got Skype so I didn't need to any more. Months later I got notified Skype was absconding with my "dormant" money. Not dormant account - still used that every day. Apparently money gets stale just sitting there, so they decided it was theirs to keep. Customer support said it was "standard accounting practice". For embezzlers anyway. SO anyway I would never trust Skype with my money, any more than say a guy in an alley with watches for sale.
- cjlars 17y ago
  It does seem a little odd, but this actually is standard practice. When a company is holding money for you, with the expectation of you spending it on some service or good the company can hold on to those funds for only so long before they need to recognize it as revenue. The reason they need to recognize it as revenue is because if they didn't, they would be subject to an ever ballooning set of obligations to provide service to people who don't redeem their prepayed minutes. So why does Skype take your money after a few short months of inactivity instead of, say, two years? 1. Part of it is that current tax law requires that you recognize the money as a gain before too long a period (this increases profits and tax revenues, btw) 2. Skype decision makers decided to go with the flow on the issue, at a cost to customer satisfaction. ("Hey, they want us to take the free money, let's take the free money") As an aside, redemption rates after 3 months are ridiculously low. Since they are going to get to keep the money regardless, Skype's only gain is on the service they wouldn't have to provide versus a longer grace period. Which considering profit margins and so forth, is likely negligible. So like I said, it is standard practice, but it's also bad business. For more, look into the matching principal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matching_principle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matching_principle
stcredzero 17y ago
I bought my Mom a Skype WiFi phone. Now she talks to her sisters in Korea hours at a time, and it only costs $12 a month. No need to turn on the iMac. Just turn on the family room lights, and the Wifi router comes on, and she uses "the other" handset.
- jimmyjim 17y ago
  Oh cool, a Skype WiFi phone. Can you make a suggestion please? How much did it cost? I've to have my mom use the computer with the USB mic, and it usually turns out to be a big hassle.
  - stcredzero 17y ago
    The phone I got my mom is this one: http://amzn.com/B002V45UEE http://amzn.com/B002V45UEE (IPEVO)

22 points by mcantelon 17y ago

Jach 17y ago

That percentage amazes me. Anyway, when the other person doesn't have Skype or I want to call an actual phone, I prefer localphone ( http://www.localphone.com/ http://www.localphone.com/ ). On average I think their rates are cheaper than Skype's (.9 cents/min for US and Canada), plus I can use different clients.

davecardwell 17y ago
Hi Jach. I work for Localphone, so it’s nice to see us mentioned here! We are definitely cheaper than Skype to most destinations - on a crude country-by-country basis we’re cheaper to at least 95% of countries. If you weren’t aware, Localphone-to-Localphone calls are free too when using VoIP.

puredemo 17y ago

I wonder how high that percentage would jump if Skype launched its own line of Skype-enabled phones.

trin_ 17y ago
well they already sell those ... http://shop.skype.com/phones/ http://shop.skype.com/phones/ i think i even saw some phones branded as "skype ready" or something similar in brick and mortar store

tom_ilsinszki 17y ago

There is a potential danger with Skype. If I know correctly, phone companies (at least in eastern Europe) have to meet some standards set by the government. Since Skype is not a phone company, it does not have to meet any of these standards: http://heartbeat.skype.com/2007/08/what_happened_on_august_16.html http://heartbeat.skype.com/2007/08/what_happened_on_august_1...

lkjuhgfghjk 17y ago
Even 'real' phone companies don't have to meet standards for international calls. And if somebody cuts a cable - Skype's IP packets are likely to route around a problem quicker than an East European state telecoms company can negotiate a pairing agreement with another cable provider.

billpg 17y ago

87% don't?

bosse 17y ago
I use SIP with Localphone as long as I don't need the video features of Skype, mainly because it's more flexible for me (SIP integrated in my desk phone, Ekiga and my S60 phone) and for the called party (not needing a computer)
- davecardwell 17y ago
  You should generally find that we’re cheaper to most countries than Skype too, with equal or better quality. Do you consider video to be a must-have feature? It’s something we could look into supporting since it’s all just SIP to us.
JoeAltmaier 17y ago
I use Socco (www.sococo.com), but more as a group-collaboration tool than calling the family. Its got a cute map-based GUI, which is OK. Its intended to keep a small group together e.g. my software development team has it running on the desktop all day. Not call-based or connection-based, you just click into somebody's home room or a conference room and voila you hear everybody there. So yes, I actually work for Sococo, but this is really a cool tool, breaks the "arranged meeting/conference call" paradigm to pieces. And its free so far.

drinian 17y ago

As a SIP user, this disappoints me; it's just one proprietary network to another.

stcredzero 17y ago
I might jump from Skype to SIP if I had some more information. As it is, I'm not aware that I know any SIP users. Are there rating sites for SIP providers, apps, and hardware?
- davecardwell 17y ago
  Between http://www.dslreports.com/ http://www.dslreports.com/ and http://www.voip-info.org/ http://www.voip-info.org/ you should be able to find all the information you need.
  - stcredzero 17y ago
    With some collation and searching on my part.
- drinian 17y ago
  I'm using Callcentric and am very happy -- have also switched over my parents. I'm traveling the world and their call-forwarding feature (to my local SIM card in country X) works very well. http://www.callcentric.com/ http://www.callcentric.com/

JoeAltmaier 17y ago

I stopped using Skype when they embezzled my account. I put money into a Skype account to call outside vendors, then my vendors got Skype so I didn't need to any more. Months later I got notified Skype was absconding with my "dormant" money. Not dormant account - still used that every day. Apparently money gets stale just sitting there, so they decided it was theirs to keep. Customer support said it was "standard accounting practice". For embezzlers anyway. SO anyway I would never trust Skype with my money, any more than say a guy in an alley with watches for sale.

cjlars 17y ago
It does seem a little odd, but this actually is standard practice. When a company is holding money for you, with the expectation of you spending it on some service or good the company can hold on to those funds for only so long before they need to recognize it as revenue. The reason they need to recognize it as revenue is because if they didn't, they would be subject to an ever ballooning set of obligations to provide service to people who don't redeem their prepayed minutes. So why does Skype take your money after a few short months of inactivity instead of, say, two years? 1. Part of it is that current tax law requires that you recognize the money as a gain before too long a period (this increases profits and tax revenues, btw) 2. Skype decision makers decided to go with the flow on the issue, at a cost to customer satisfaction. ("Hey, they want us to take the free money, let's take the free money") As an aside, redemption rates after 3 months are ridiculously low. Since they are going to get to keep the money regardless, Skype's only gain is on the service they wouldn't have to provide versus a longer grace period. Which considering profit margins and so forth, is likely negligible. So like I said, it is standard practice, but it's also bad business. For more, look into the matching principal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matching_principle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matching_principle

stcredzero 17y ago

I bought my Mom a Skype WiFi phone. Now she talks to her sisters in Korea hours at a time, and it only costs $12 a month. No need to turn on the iMac. Just turn on the family room lights, and the Wifi router comes on, and she uses "the other" handset.

jimmyjim 17y ago
Oh cool, a Skype WiFi phone. Can you make a suggestion please? How much did it cost? I've to have my mom use the computer with the USB mic, and it usually turns out to be a big hassle.
- stcredzero 17y ago
  The phone I got my mom is this one: http://amzn.com/B002V45UEE http://amzn.com/B002V45UEE (IPEVO)