Skype snaffles international voice traffic growth

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 10 January 2012 15:08

IT Industry - Market

International Skype-to-Skype calling minutes grew 48 percent in 2011, but growth in traditional international traffic was only four percent - well below the long running average of around 13 percent.

The data comes from research firm TeleGeography, which put cross-border Skype-to-Skype calls (including video calls) at 145 billion minutes in 2011. "Skype added 47 billion minutes of international traffic in 2011 - more than twice as much as all the telephone companies in the world, combined," TeleGeography said.

It added: "Because telcos must rely on strong volume growth to offset inevitable price declines, slowing traffic growth is making life ever more difficult for international service providers."

"Given Skype's enormous traffic volumes, it's difficult not to conclude that at least some of Skype's growth is coming at the expense of traditional carriers," said TeleGeography analyst Stephan Beckert.