Today is the 10-year anniversary of the launch of Skype, the voice and video calling service that is now owned by Microsoft and used for about a third of all international calls. For much of that decade, Skype has been synonymous with making calls over the internet: The verb “to skype” even has a spot in the Oxford Dictionaries Online.
Internet telephony has changed a lot since the days of external microphones and webcams. Like everything else, it’s become increasingly mobile, and new players have emerged. Here’s a look back at the past decade.
(Skype’s ownership could constitute a separate timeline. Purchased by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion, it began as an independent startup and was once owned by eBay.)