Skype hits 20 million simultaneous user milestone

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 10 November 2009 05:17

IT Industry - Strategy

Skype says the number of simultaneous  users has hit the 20 million mark for the first time.

The number appears to include all types of Skype interactions ; voice and video calls, and instant messaging. In a posting on the Skype blog announcing the event, official blogger, Peter Parkes, said: "Right now, there are 20 million people around the world, saying hello  to their parents across continents, having dinner with their spouses from hotel rooms across countries, and keeping an eye on their pets from across town.

However he then went on to suggest that the number referred only to callers, saying: "In the 30 seconds since you started reading this, those 20 million people have made around 1,600 hours of free Skype-to-Skype calls and 200 hours of calls to landlines and mobiles. That’s a lot of people talking. Right now."

In March this year Skype claimed to have 405 million registered users, up over 30 million in just three months. However since April 2009 it has no longer provided user numbers in its press releases.