Are You On Skype?

The internet phone revolution is well underway, and many companies are now taking advantage of free telephone services through online providers.  Now that ADSL has become widely available across Europe so internet phone services have become a compelling new way to communicate and to reduce costs.
 
Skype (www.skype.com) is clever, free technology.  Anyone with an internet connection can use the system to speak with anyone else who is also registered, and so far Skype has more than 287 million users around the world.  The best function is being able to speak, for free, from computer to computer, but Skype is also built to allow calls to landlines, though to use this feature there is a small charge.  In order to use Skype, you must either have a microphone and speakers activated on your computer, or a Internet Telephone handset.  These are widely available for around €30, and have the advantage of being more private than using the speakers in your PC.  Skype also works as an instant messaging system in a very similar way to MSN Messanger.
 
The Skype system lets you create an account, and then you can search for users by name.  At the EuRA office we use the system to stay in touch with the council, and this has reduced our international calling bill substantially.  You can also use Skype for conference calls of up to four people, but in some cases, there can be a frustrating delay for one of the participants, which can make the conference call difficult to manage.
 
Skype is not the only system available.  Yahoo have also developed a system, Yahoo Voice (www.voice.yahoo.com), which works in a very similar way.  The only difference is the number of users.  Where Skype was the first system and therefore has nearly 300 million users, Yahoo Voice may find it difficult to attract the same kind of numbers, and its all about the number the of people you can contact that makes the system worthwhile in the first place.
 
A number of large telecommunications suppliers across Europe are developing Voice Over IP systems (Internet Protocols).  We will look at these systems and how far they have come from the unreliable early days, in the next edition of The EuRApean.
 
If you have experience, good or bad, of using systems like Skype, or Voice Over IP, we would love to hear from you and publish your views.  Email Dominic Tidey.