Technology Telephony - Skype Telecommunications is moving from wired and cellular to IP or over the internet. This will have a profound impact on how we communicate globally. New, free products like Skype will have a tremendous impact on what you do and how you interact with people globally. Skype allows you to make free, high quality calls on the internet, at any speed, with from 1 to 5 people. You can also dial out into the switched network form anywhere at very low cost and you can have a phone number anywhere and voicemail. Skype in 2 years has grown to over 140 million users and we recommend it for anyone wanting to communicate more effectively. From a humanitarian perspective, Skype has a number of benefits: Groups or Churches doing work globally can now keep in touch with staff, volunteers and the people they work with globally for free, all that is needed is a low speed 56k connection. Individuals throught the world can now call friends, loved ones from anywhere free and they can place outgoing calls, even though they might be in Africa to anywhere in the world, for less than 3 cents per minute. Individuals can conference, instant message, and share ideas no matter where they are or what time it is. As organizations with staff on the ground globally, you can dramatically reduce your telecom costs and improve overall communications. Download Skype