Skype Will be Native Part of Windows 8.1 Start Screen

A decade ago, many observers might have argued it would be provocative if a major over the top communications app was made a basic part of the Windows operating system, since that would make communications a basic part of the PC operating system. 

But it now seems nobody will protest when Skype becomes part of Windows 8.1, eliminating the need to download a client.

Insrtead, Skype will be "front-and-center" as a native part of the Windows 8.1 experience.

That shows how much the communications market has changed. Communicating using an over the top messaging app simply is a daily part of Internet experiences for many people. Microsoft doesn't really have to worry about angering its business partners by building Skype right into the operating system. 

"Communicating, connecting and sharing should be a seamless part of every Windows experience," Skype says. 

International telephone traffic grew five percent in 2012, to 490 billion minutes, according to TeleGeography. 

However, as call volumes continue to grow, so do the challenges facing the international long-distance industry. But as any industry excecutive can tell you, calling volumes are different from calling prices. 

International migration, the rapid uptake of mobile phones in developing countries, and steady reductions in international call prices, especially in the form of flat-rate and free calling plans, have contributed to traffic increases. 

Nevertheless, recent volume growth rates are well below the 13 percent average annual increases in volume that carriers could count on to offset price declines over much of the past 20 years, TeleGeography says. 

So while international phone traffic growth is slowing, traffic from voice and messaging applications like Skype is growing faster. Cross-border traffic using Skype grew 44 percent in 2012, to 167 billion minutes. 

This increase of nearly 51 billion minutes is more than twice that achieved by all international carriers in the world, combined.

Moreover, if Skype’s traffic were added to the volume of international phone calls, international voice traffic would have grown 13 percent in 2012, in line with historical trends. 

This suggests that the "lost calling volume growth" has been displaced by Skype calling.