Skype didn't grow but they are generating more money for eBay.
This tells me Skype is at a cross roads. They are marketing more heavily than ever and ROI is nowhere near as rapid as it was pre-eBay. Then again, eBay is seeking to build value in Skype. Clearly that is happening. Sure there is some spin there, but what public company doesn't spin somethings now and then :-)
Give Skype one more year and see how they grow or don't. Too much of the financial reports geared for the Wall Street crowd and need more clarity. Skype Journal did a very good job with that and also linked to Om Malik.
At the end of the day Skype Out minutes go back to the wholesale carriers who used to be the retail carriers of calling. It's only Skype To Skype minutes that cut into the carriers minutes. If Skype has moved minutes from Mobile to Skype or from landline to all Skype those are minutes lost, but if the call terminates in the PSTN then all that has happened is the shifting of where the money goes.
Bottom line as more users add Skype into their calling methodology, just like cellphones did to landlines, you will see erosion. The question is how soon, and how much, which is why the mobile and landline companies are working to offer more, for less.
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