Skype hits 100M subscriber mark
Skype said Friday that it now has more than 100 million registered users of its free Internet-based calling service, nearly double the number of registered users it had in September 2005.
Skype, which is only two-and-a-half years old, is a peer-to-peer software service that lets people make phone calls from their PCs to other PCs anywhere in the world for free. The service works by turning voice signals into IP packets and sending them directly over the public Internet. Last year, Skype was bought by eBay in a deal valued between $2.5 billion and $4 billion. When the merger was announced in September, Skype had 54 million registered users.
"Skype has grown in leaps and bounds by making it simple for anyone across the world with an Internet connection to do something they could not do before - talk for as long as they like, to whoever they like for no cost," said Niklas Zennstrom, CEO and co-founder of Skype. "Passing 100 million registered users within such a short time reinforces how much people love how easy Skype makes it to call friends, family and colleagues all over the world for free."
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie. 
