Skype Survey Finds UK Ready for Internet Communications Revolution





-/September 30, 2005 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- Anyone who has ever had a long-distance relationship knows how difficult it can be to keep it alive across the miles. For today?s long-distance lovebirds, the Internet is increasingly providing the solution, according to a new UK survey commissioned by Skype, the pioneering Global Internet Communications Company that lets anyone with an Internet connection to make free high-quality phone calls.

According to the survey, Britons? favourite way to keep long-distance love alive is via the Internet. Nearly two-thirds (59%) of those currently in a long-distance relationship say they prefer to use the Internet to keep in touch. The traditional telephone is still in second place, and text messaging (9%) is coming up fast, especially among younger people. Younger people are also the most likely to use free Internet phone calling, such as Skype, to keep in touch with their long-distance loves.

Internet Communications Saves Romance

?What these survey results tell us is that Britons still love to talk when it comes to keeping their long-distance relationships going, and are increasingly turning to the Internet to fulfil their communications needs,? said Niklas Zennstr?m, Skype CEO and co-founder. ?With email it is too easy to misinterpret the tone of a message. If you look at what you can do with Skype, it makes e-mail look positively Victorian. We view free Internet calling as the next big evolution in communications, just as e-mail was ten years ago. Skype makes communicating through the Internet natural and easy to do ? whether for voice calling or instant messaging.?

Skype also found that many people wish they?d had access to Internet communications to keep a previous relationship alive. Over two-thirds (68%) of respondents say that a failed long-distance relationship in the past would have stood a better chance today with the advances and cost savings that modern technology provides. Perhaps not surprisingly, the older people are, the more they agree with this: 78% of over-55s say new communication methods would have helped save a past long-distance relationship.

Of the Britons who find romance while on holiday, it?s the Welsh who are most likely to keep the home fires burning and stay in contact. Of the Welsh people who say they have had a holiday romance, over 73% say they kept in touch after they returned home. What?s more, 45% say they kept in touch for six months or more, compared with the UK average of 28%.

Skype Survey Finds UK Ready for Internet Communications Revolution

According to the survey of more than 1,600 people across the UK, people are ready to begin benefiting from the cost and quality gains of free Internet phone calls:

? 48% of Britons are aware that they can use their computers to make free calls over the Internet

? the over-55s are the most likely age group to prefer to keep in touch via the Internet (51%), compared with 36 per cent of 16?24 year-olds

? the 16?24 year-old age group is the most likely to prefer to keep in touch by text message (48%), compared with six per cent of over-55s

? on average, Britons are now spending between ?50 and ?100 per month on communications

? over half (53%) of 16?24 year-olds admit they have no idea what their communications bill will be each month, while over one quarter (26%) say they get a shock each month from their bill and feel they are spending too much.

Skype is a simple piece of software that allows people around the world to talk to each other for free, for as long as they want, forever. To start making free calls to friends, family and colleagues, all you need the Skype software, available for free download at www.skype.com, and a headset. Skype has something for everyone. Other free features include instant messaging (IM), group IM chat, privacy settings, conference calling, call forwarding, a world-wide directory of contacts, photo-sharing and file-transfer. And for those who don?t mind paying just a little for a lot of bells and whistles there?s voice mail and the ability to call any phone number from your Skype account, to name just a few.

About Skype Technologies S.A.:

Skype, the Global Internet Communications Company?, allows people everywhere to make free, unlimited, superior quality voice calls via its award-winning innovative peer-to-peer software for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Pocket PC platforms. Skype is available in 27 languages and is the fastest growing voice communications offering worldwide. Since its launch in August 2003, Skype has been downloaded more than 155 million times in 225 countries and territories. Over 52 million people registered to use Skype?s free services, with over 3 million simultaneous users. Skype has more than 2 million premium customers, with over 12 billion minutes served. Skype Technologies S.A. is headquartered in Luxembourg and is growing its offices in London and Tallinn. Skype Technologies is privately held and backed by top tier international venture capital firms, including Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Index Ventures, and Mangrove Capital Partners. http://www.skype.com