Skype Uses Data, Right?

[BBMINI]

Sounds like a silly question, I know, but I just wanted to make sure I understand how Skype actually works over a cellular network.

When I was on BlackBerry, one of the big deals about using BBM was that it worked totally within the BBM/RIM network so you didn't rack up texts against your monthly text allotment. And I think calls worked the same way, so by calling through BBM you avoided using monthly minutes. Of course, that was before carriers changed their entire pricing structure so that, generally, texts and call minutes became unlimited and data usage was then users' main concern.

I'm assuming that Skype sort of works the same way that BBM did, in that it travels within its own network, but I could be wrong about that. Regardless, since call minutes and text count really don't matter anymore, I'm just wanting to confirm that Skype calls and IM chats and video calls do use data when placed over a cellular network rather than wi-fi. And in the case of video chats I would assume they use a hefty amount of data.

Am I right about that? Any other insights or additional details about what happens in the network background when Skype is used?

Thanks ahead for any help.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Yes, Skype uses data not minutes/text.
https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA10983/what-are-p2p-communications

 

[BBMINI]

Thanks for the reply.

I was aware that Skype doesn't use minutes/texts, but was mainly wanting to confirm that it didn't somehow avoid data charges by using its own network (although I wasn't sure how a system like that would have worked). I was just thinking about how the benefit of using messaging apps has declined since carriers shifted to giving away calls and texts but charging more for data, then figured I should confirm that Skype over phones works the way I suspected since I use it a lot.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Thanks for the reply.

I was aware that Skype doesn't use minutes/texts, but was mainly wanting to confirm that it didn't somehow avoid data charges by using its own network (although I wasn't sure how a system like that would have worked). I was just thinking about how the benefit of using messaging apps has declined since carriers shifted to giving away calls and texts but charging more for data, then figured I should confirm that Skype over phones works the way I suspected since I use it a lot.

It still uses data. I'm not sure exactly how much, since the only time I did a Skype call, I was on WiFi. I generally only mobile data for Skype messaging, not calls.