Skype is a software program created by the Swedish and Danish entrepreneurs Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis and a team of software developers: Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn based in Tallinn, Estonia. Skype allows users to make telephone calls over the internet to other Skype users free of charge and to landlines and cell phones for a fee. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer, short message service, video conferencing and its ability to circumvent firewalls.
The Skype Group, acquired by eBay in September 2005, has headquarters in Luxembourg, with offices in London, Tallinn, Tartu, Prague and San Jose, California. Skype experienced rapid growth in both popular usage and software development since the launch, of both its free and its paid services.
