Skype traffic continues to thrive

Skype’s international traffic volume continues to soar. TeleGeography estimates that Skype’s on-net (Skype to Skype) international traffic grew 36 percent in 2013, to 214 billion minutes. International telephone traffic from fixed and mobile phones continues to grow as well, increasing an estimated 7 percent in 2013, to 547 billion minutes. However, recent growth rates are well below the 13 percent average that carriers posted over many of the past 20 years, and the benefits of traffic growth have largely been offset by steady price declines. While the volume of international telephone traffic remains far larger than international Skype traffic, Skype’s minutes are growing much more rapidly. Skype added approximately 54 billion minutes of international traffic in 2013, 50 percent more than the combined international volume growth of every telco in the world. Given these immense traffic volumes, it’s difficult not to conclude that at least some of Skype’s growth is coming at the expense of traditional carriers.