As Bill Gates buys Skype for ￡5bn... Is it just hype, or does it mean the end of phone bills?

When transatlantic telephone calls first became available in the Twenties, a three-minute call from London to New York cost close to £10 — almost a month's wages for the average working man.
Today, the same call can be made for nothing. You can stay on the line for a week if you like.
And not only will the sound quality be as good as if the other party was sitting right next to you, but you will be able to see across the ocean as well, in full-colour video — for no cost beyond a penny or two in electricity.
Such endless, free global communication has become possible because of Skype, the oddly-named computer service which software giant Microsoft bought this week for more than £5billion.
Launched in 2003, this free and simple-to-use computer programme turns any broadband-connected computer into a phone for both speech and video calls to hundreds of millions of other Skype users.
It works because even basic broadband internet connections can carry a vast amount of information ('data') and a Skype call (technically known as VOIP — Voice Over Internet Protocol) piggy-backs on broadband.
You must download Skype (free, of course) from www.skype.com to the computer. You then choose a Skype name for yourself — your name or nickname, or a number if you prefer — and you're a Skype user.
Not a penny need change hands. And you're ready to go — simply type in a normal phone number or another Skype user's name and the computer will dial for you. The microphones on your computer should pick up your voice, and the person you're chatting to can be heard through its speakers.
And there is no catch whatsoever; no secret charges; no intrusive advertising; no nasty surprise when you pay your monthly broadband bill.
You can even dial normal phones and mobiles worldwide from Skype — not for free, but for a tiny charge compared with normal phone charges. I pay just under £50 a year for unlimited calls from my laptop to any UK number, from anywhere in the world.
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When travelling, which I do a lot, I used to spend £50 a day or more on rip-off hotel phone charges. Today, those calls from hotels cost nothing, as many hotels don't even charge for broadband any more, especially in the Far East, where it is normally included in room charges.
There are now other versions of Skype, like Apple's high definition FaceTime. But, just as the Hoover brand name is synonymous with vacuuming, Skype-ing has become the catch-all word for VOIP calling.
The only complaint anyone has about Skype is that the calls sometimes 'drop out' — jargon for being cut off — and you need to interrupt a conversation to redial. But since you're paying nothing, you can hardly demand your money back.