Skype top of the charts for VoIP

Skype has reason to be happy over and above attracting multi-billion dollar buyout bids. New research shows it's the clear leader among Voice over IP (VoIP) providers in north America.

Thirty-five per cent of all VoIP calls placed in the US use Skype's software, according to research from Sandvine, a Canadian maker of broadband network equipment that identifies types of network traffic.

Skype users apparently also talk longer than those using other VoIP apps, as Skype accounts for 46 per cent of VoIP minutes.

Skype was judged against 1,100 VoIP providers. VoIP services from AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo! came in a "distant second", according to Sandvine.

Of the third-party VoIP providers, broadband ISPs are in first place with an 18 per cent share of all VoIP minutes on their networks, followed by Vonage, Primus and AT&T CallVantage.

Rumours have circulated that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp was in talks to buy Skype for $3bn but the deal never came off. Meanwhile Skype shareholder and venture capitalist Timothy Draper has told Reuters the VoIP company is better off remaining independent.