What is Skype?

Skype is a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) service.  VOIP is all about using the Internet to make phone calls and has been around almost as long as the Internet itself.   However, while it might have been technically possible to make a VOIP call in the 90s, in reality the call quality and general reliability was pretty awful.  VOIP has only really come into its own since the widespread rollout of ADSL broadband connections to homes and businesses, replacing the slow dial-up connections.

What Skype managed to do better than any other VOIP provider was to package the technology in such a way that everybody understood it, and so has become to VOIP what Google is to search engines.

Why use VOIP?

Cost - The main reason, especially for businesses, is cost.  Once you have an Internet connection, sending and receiving data doesn't actually cost you anything.  So if you're in Australia and need to speak to someone in the UK, and if you both have VOIP phones and an Internet connection - then you can chat away for hours on end free of charge.  Even if one of you doesn't have a VOIP connection, you can still save money.  The long distance part of any call can be routed over the Internet, so you only ever pay a local rate charge.

Flexibility - Distributed workforces can easily be connected through VOIP systems.  You can connect from anywhere in the world and still retain your office extension - no one need ever know you on the other side of the world.  You can establish presence in other countries easily by purchasing local numbers and routing calls over the Internet to your headquarters wherever it may be.