

13% of international calls now go via Skype - mcantelon
http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/strategy/30579-13-percent-of-international-calls-now-go-via-skype

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JoeAltmaier
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.

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cjlars
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>

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Jach
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/> ). 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
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.

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

~~~
stcredzero
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
Between <http://www.dslreports.com/> and <http://www.voip-info.org/> you
should be able to find all the information you need.

~~~
stcredzero
With some collation and searching on my part.

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tom_ilsinszki
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_1...](http://heartbeat.skype.com/2007/08/what_happened_on_august_16.html)

~~~
lkjuhgfghjk
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.

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stcredzero
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
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
The phone I got my mom is this one:

<http://amzn.com/B002V45UEE> (IPEVO)

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

~~~
trin_
well they already sell those ...

<http://shop.skype.com/phones/>

i think i even saw some phones branded as "skype ready" or something similar
in brick and mortar store

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billpg
87% don't?

~~~
bosse
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
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.

