Skype biggest provider of international calls

Skype is now the largest provider of international phone calls made in the world. A rather big accomplishment for this seven-year-old VOIP company.

"Only five years after its launch Skype has emerged as the largest provider of cross-border voice communications in the world," TeleGeography analyst Stephan Beckert said. Skype is owned by eBay.

TeleGeography estimates that 384 billion minutes' worth of international calls were made in 2008, up 12 percent on the year before, but revenues were flat due to falling call prices.

Throughout 2008, Skype carried around 33 billion minutes of international voice calls which make up around 8% of all international voice traffic.

The growth in the company's international traffic, 41% in 2008, has made Skype the largest provider of cross-border voice communications in the world.

International voice traffic as a whole is also growing, although more slowly than for Skype. Last year it grew 12%, compared to 14% in 2007, according to TeleGeography.