![]() ![]() Skype was founded in 2003 by Niklas Zennström, from Sweden, and Janus Friis, from Denmark. Dropping the final "r" left the current title "Skype", for which domain names were available. However, some of the domain names associated with "Skyper" were already taken. The name for the software is derived from "Sky peer-to-peer", which was then abbreviated to "Skyper". The 2013 mass surveillance disclosures revealed that Microsoft had granted intelligence agencies unfettered access to supernodes and Skype communication content. Skype has been powered entirely by Microsoft-operated supernodes since May 2012. Skype originally featured a hybrid peer-to-peer and client–server system. Some network administrators have banned Skype on corporate, government, home, and education networks, citing such reasons as inappropriate usage of resources, excessive bandwidth usage and security concerns. Skype-to-Skype calls to other users are free of charge, while calls to landline telephones and mobile phones (over traditional telephone networks) are charged via a debit-based user account system called Skype Credit. Skype allows users to communicate over the Internet by voice using a microphone, by video using a webcam, and by instant messaging. Skype division headquarters are in Luxembourg but most of the development team and 44% of all the division's employees are still situated in Tallinn and Tartu, Estonia. Microsoft bought Skype in May 2011 for $8.5 billion. In September 2009, Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board announced the acquisition of 65% of Skype for $1.9 billion from eBay, which attributed to the enterprise a market value of $2.92 billion. In September 2005, eBay acquired Skype for $2.6 billion. At one point in February 2012, there were thirty four million users concurrently online on Skype.įirst released in August 2003, Skype was created by the Swede Niklas Zennström and the Dane Janus Friis, in cooperation with Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu, and Jaan Tallinn, Estonians who developed the backend that was also used in the music-sharing application Kazaa. At the end of 2010, there were over 660 million worldwide users, with over 300 million estimated active each month as of August 2015. Much of the service is free, but Skype Credit or a subscription is required to call a landline or a mobile phone number. ![]()
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