![]() ![]() Most of that was free, which has made it difficult for Skype to make money. Skype users made 207 billion minutes of voice and video calls last year - almost 400,000 years' worth. Skype is the largest provider of international calling services in the world, surpassing any single phone company, according to research firm TeleGeography. It has become a popular way to avoid large phone bills. Those to a landline or cellphone using the regular phone network cost money, but much less than going through the phone company. Calls from one Skype account to another are free. Skype allows users to make voice and video calls for free or pennies. Building Skype into it would make it easier for corporate users to conduct video chats with people at other companies, or from home, said Bern Elliott, an analyst at the research firm Gartner Inc. Already, someone using the Skype application on an iPhone can talk to someone who has it installed on a Dell laptop.įor businesses, Microsoft has separate communications software. But the real Skype is far more popular and bridges different computers and phones. Microsoft already has a Skype-like service called Windows Live. Not just Windows, which runs on eight of every 10 computers and servers on the planet, but also its Outlook email program, software for phones and the Xbox video game console. Microsoft believes it can attract hundreds of millions more by weaving Skype into its products. ![]() Microsoft stock was virtually unchanged, falling 0.6 percent.Ībout 170 million people worldwide who use Skype regularly for calls and chats. ![]() Skype's services also span hot markets - online socializing, mobile phones and digital video - where Microsoft has been struggling to catch up with Facebook, Apple and Google.Īnalysts and investors couldn't seem to agree whether Microsoft is wasting its money on an unprofitable service or has pulled off a coup that will help it restore clout. If it wins regulatory approval, the deal announced Tuesday provides Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, with the means to sell more digital advertising and offer more popular conferencing tools to help businesses save money. Microsoft's $8.5 billion purchase of Skype is supposed to make using the Internet for video phone calls as common as logging on to Facebook or instant messaging is today. ![]()
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