By Tony Chung on 26 September 2009 ~ Comments

Skype to Take Over the World?

tech

Or more accurately, voice over IP to take over the world?

Have you ever used Skype on a mobile device?

skype

As I wrote earlier this month, I bought an iPhone 3G in Hong Kong and have been totally digging the experience.  One of the applications I use daily on my iPhone is Skype.  It is a free application and works wonders in my life.

I have been using Skype for several years but only recently did I begin making calls via Skype on a mobile phone.  My cousin Gary introduced me to the concept of being able to call countries all over the world at a very low rate (sometimes free of charge) via Skype on iPhone.  It’s simply awesome.  A few sweet scenarios:

  1. Skype to Skype (free of charge and phenomenal clarity). My girlfriend Michelle is based in Dubai, so we use Skype frequently to chat via wireless internet (at home or outdoors).  I kid you not: the clarity of conversations via Skype to Skype on iPhone is significantly clearer than a cell phone to cell phone conversation.
  2. Skype to (enter country) mobile/landline phone. With wireless internet and an iPhone, I can basically call most countries in the world at Skype’s fixed rates.  The company even has calling plans priced at USD $12.95 per month for unlimited calls to selected countries.

I believe that as wireless internet becomes increasingly ubiquitous all over the world, voice over IP will slowly replace traditional phone networks. Companies like Skype are then going to take over the communications world.

Sidenote: I think Skype is going public early next year… stock investment anybody? ;)

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Tony Chung is a 25 year young music and web lover based in Silicon Valley. He has a BSEE, released an album in Asia, and starred in a film. This blog is about his passion for Apple products, music, and financial investing. (more...)
  • Wow! What a blog. I was looking for something else on Bing when I happened across your site, and I am glad I did. Don't have time to read all of it right now, but I have added your site to my Favorites and will come back to learn more. I find VoIP very interesting. I have learned a lot in implementing a small VoIP network at home, and am thinking of starting VoIP business in my area. There are a number of small businesses in my region that would benefit from it greatly. Please check out my site at www.ArtRL.com when you have a few minutes and please let me know what you think. Have a great weekend.
  • I wouldn't get ready for that IPO just yet.

    Any move from traditional phone networks to voice over IP will be fiercely resisted by several companies, including the company who provides traditional iPhone telephone service in the United States. I'm sure that AT&T, fresh from reporting Google Voice to the FCC as a violator, is probably drawing up similar papers against Skype, and would absolutely love to figure out a way to prevent you from calling Michelle, or anyone else, and bypassing AT&T's rates.

    It will probably take a significant shake-up in the industry, such as a new player who sets up its own cell towers and is friendly to newer technologies, before we see significant changes.
  • I like Skype for their free Skype to Skype calls.But I find their rates for calls to mobile/landline phones to be on a higher side. Fortunately, there are many services (Comfi, Actionvoip etc.) springing up that offer much lower rates.
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