Questioning Skype
A couple of years ago, Skype was acquired by eBay; now, people are beginning to question what eBay plans on doing with the company, which “still hasn’t made enough money to justify the hefty $2.6 billion price tag.” This article continues to quote an Internet analyst saying, “…at some point, free doesn’t work anymore.” On Monday, Skype was devalued by $1.43 billion after its co-founders recently resigned as executives. In August, Skype suffered a two-day outage, promoting many to question its reliability.
As many people know, Skype is a ‘free’ IP-to-IP phone service which until now, only charges customers for calling in or out to traditional or cell phones, called “Skype-In” or “Skype-Out.” But rumors are beginning to circulate that either the company will have to think about charging for all their services or adding advertising to the site to keep it financially viable. At this point evidence suggests their paid services usage is declining, as VoIP customers look for more reliable and price-conscious providers.
This article leads one to doubt whether Vonage will even be one of those; the company lost its shirt on hefty advertising, showing a loss of $338 million in 2006. It’s stock, once valued at $17 a share in 2006, is now less than a dollar a share. The article concludes, “Large companies are converting en masse to VoIP telephone service, but are relying on network specialists such as Cisco, Alcatel, or Nortel that guarantee reliability and quality.”
Skype is usually a question people have when considering investing in the Global Freedom phone; if they already have and use it, why bother? For one thing, unless you’re paying for Skype-Out, you don’t have a regular telephone number that rings in your house – you have to actually be on your computer, as does the other party you’re talking to, to use it, which isn’t necessary with the GFP. Another point is of course the reliability, and whether Skype will really remain ‘free’ forever. Though many VoIP providers offer some kind of free access, there is always a fine print regarding limited minutes, contracts, or required purchases – trust me, these companies are in it for the money. Free long-term, no-contract, unlimited phone service is unique to the GFP, and possible via its well-structured compensation plan. Yes, there is an initial investment, as with any business you start; but it is easily paid back many times over in bonuses and commissions, and after that it becomes purely an asset, with no further out-of-pocket expenses at all.
The question isn’t whether VoIP will be the communication method of the future; that has already been decided. The question is, are you going to be sending a check to your phone company, or receiving checks from them?
