'We already had cheap international calling using the Internet,' said Martin Geddes, a leading Britain-based telecommunications consultant.

In another sign of success, Skype has spawned competitors with a host of similar technologies, most importantly Apple's FaceTime.īut revolutionary as Skype's technology may seem, it didn't start completely from scratch but built on existing communication technologies. And in the surest sign of success, the brand name has been turned into a verb - a rare distinction shared by the likes of Xerox and Google. Internet messaging service Skype, which celebrates its 10th anniversary on Thursday, has shrunk the world in profound ways that few could have foreseen in 2003.Ī total of 300 million users make two billion minutes of online video calls a day.

'Skype has made work easier, but more important than that, it has enabled me to talk to my family whenever I feel like it,' he said. Now, with the help of Skype, the 35-year-old businessman is able to reach relatives from his Stockholm home as easily as if they lived around the corner, and not half a world away.

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