Comparison of Skype & VoIP
Consumers who want to make Internet-based calls to save money on long-distance calls have two major choices: using Skype or another Voice over Internet Protocol service, such as Vonage or AT&T VoIP. There are only subtle differences in the technologies used to deliver calls and the basic features, but there are more obvious differences in the equipment needed to make calls. Neither Skype nor other types of VoIP services are yet as reliable as conventional phone systems.
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Skype
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An Internet phone and video calling service of Skype Ltd. of Luxembourg, Skype was introduced in 2004, and by 2011, had grown to 170 million active users worldwide. Skype requires users to download software to a PC, and calls originate from the computer. Calls are free if they are made from a computer to another Skype user on a computer. Calls from a Skype user on a PC to landlines or mobile phones are as low as 2.3 cents per minute. Users also have the option to purchase unlimited calling to landlines or mobiles for as low as $1.09 monthly. Skype also offers free video calling to other Skype users, in addition to group video calling, which can be purchased as part of a Premium Skype package.
Other VoIP Services
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Vonage is one of the most popular VoIP calling services in the world, with 2.4 million subscribers as of 2011. Vonage routes calls over the Internet rather than over conventional telephone lines, and subscribers can use their existing telephone wiring to connect Vonage's service to their existing telephones and jacks. Vonage offers unlimited international calls to landlines in several foreign countries for as low as $34.99 per month. CellCentric, another VoIP provider, offers pay-per-call rates with unlimited international calling for $29.95 per month, in addition to a single phone number than can forward calls to any phone line. AT&T offers residential VoIP services through its U-verse Voice service, with unlimited calling starting at $35 per month.
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Equipment Differences
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The major difference between Skype and other VoIP providers is that a Skype user can't use standard phones to make Skype calls. Skype offers a mobile application that allows users to make Skype calls from Android, Symbian and iPhone devices, and some new televisions come equipped with Skype video calling capabilities. Otherwise, Skype users make calls to each other using the computer's microphone and speakers. By comparison, Vonage uses a phone adapter that connects to a user's high-speed Internet connection, and to a cordless or wired telephone, and they are able to make calls.
Technology Differences
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Skype uses a unique method of delivering Internet-based calls, according to "PC Magazine." Rather than using standard VoIP protocols, such as session initiation protocol or H.323, Skype uses its own proprietary protocols that are based on peer-to-peer technology. If a direct connection can't be made between two Skype users, Skype will use a third person, called a "supernode," to relay the call.
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