How much bandwidth does Skype actually use up?

Skype doesn't run 100% on 56K Dailup, sometimes stutters due to low-bandwidth.

Skype over ISDN 64K runs 100% (ISDN can do 8kb up,8kb down) *my skype ran 100% when i had ISDN*


On ADSL i checked the download/upload speeds :
Netlimiter shows stats of around ruffly 6kb up , 6kb down. (12kb per sec)

on average 720kb per minute

3.6mb over 5min

7.2mb over 10minutes

43.2mb per hour

If u was thinking of running Skype over GPRS/EDGE/3G/HSDPA

Virgin mobile is 50cents per meg, Vodacom/MTN/CELL-C is R2 per meg out of bundle. or If u buy bundles Vodacom is R189 for 500mb(giving u 11hours on skype) , R289 for 1gig(23.7hours of skype) and R389 for 2gig(47.4hours of skype)

R189 will give u 11hours of skype (R17.18 per hour, or +- 28cents per minute)

Out of bundle @ R2 per meg for one hour of skype is R86.4 , or R1.44 per minute

Skype runs fine over EDGE and 3G, would prolly stutter over normal GPRS
 
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http://support.skype.com/index.php?_a=knowledgebase&_j=questiondetails&_i=151
How much bandwidth does Skype use while I'm in a call?

Skype automatically selects the best codec depending on the connection between yourself and the person you are calling. On average, Skype uses between 3-16 kilobytes/sec depending on bandwidth available for other party, network conditions in between, callers CPU performance, etc.
Click to expand...
That works out between 1.75 and 9.37mb for a 10 minute call.
 
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From my 3G connection (not HSDPA) calling a person on a 3Mbit connection in Europe Skype used 5 kBytes/sec for send and 5 kBytes/sec for receive, so 10 kBytes/sec which is 600 kBytes/min.

GoogleTalk used exactly half of the above.

The lag was minimal and from what I could gather while speaking, the same .
 
Skype uses a dynamic codec, so it will sense what connection you have and use the best codec for optimal voice quality. When I tested this some time ago, it uses less bandwidth on a 56k dialup & 64K ISDN, than it would on a 4mb ADSL line.
 
Tell me, the above usage estimates, is that for voice only, or voice and video?
 
Skype Usage

In skype:

Tools--> Options--> Advanced--> Connection-->

Then tick "Display technical call info during calls" and "Display Skype bandwidth usage"

Now while in a call you can hover your mouse over the call window and it displays a massive popup with all the bandwidth details!

Easy as 3.14! :p
 
What bandwidth is Skype quietly using in the background (ie when u r not on a call but Skype is online)?
 
K question about skype.
uhmmm i was capped recently but my parents can still use skype.
they use that thing to phone landlines to phone my brother in england.
 
On a 384k line skype uses 10KB/s on my PC.

@MactheKnife: Basically nothing. It sends info often, but the amount sent is tiny. No need to worry about it.

jacqvt said:
Tell me, the above usage estimates, is that for voice only, or voice and video?
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It will be for voice only. Video on SA intarwebz = fail in my experience. The voice quality also takes a hit if video is enabled.

@Noah: that is kinda unlikely. For skype to work, it needs to contact the overseas skype servers. Even if you are connected to an SA supernode, it will still ne4ed to authenticate with the main servers.
 
HavocXphere said:
@MactheKnife: Basically nothing. It sends info often, but the amount sent is tiny. No need to worry about it.
Click to expand...
I would advise a bit more caution.

Remember Skype is a P2P network that will at every opportunity try to relay calls through intermediate nodes. Its just depends on how your NAT/firewalling is setup.

Firing up Skype on a PC directly connected to the Net with a PPP connection is asking for your bw to be eaten up.
 
HavocXphere said:
@Noah: that is kinda unlikely. For skype to work, it needs to contact the overseas skype servers. Even if you are connected to an SA supernode, it will still ne4ed to authenticate with the main servers.
Click to expand...

well it works for us. we use the skype credits thing to phone landline if that makes a difference.
 
lol, i got a 128k line unshaped + uncapped for R350 p/m, and as long as u are not viewing other people with a camera it generally runs ok most of the time, but when u are using a camera it tends to get that lag with the person moving every now and then
 
Roman4604 said:
I would advise a bit more caution.

Remember Skype is a P2P network that will at every opportunity try to relay calls through intermediate nodes. Its just depends on how your NAT/firewalling is setup.

Firing up Skype on a PC directly connected to the Net with a PPP connection is asking for your bw to be eaten up.
Click to expand...

That is the issue I was getting at.
How does one manage this situation??
 
MactheKnife said:
That is the issue I was getting at.
How does one manage this situation??
Click to expand...
Not 100% sure, havent used Skype in years, but see it quite often at customers (in their traffic logs).

At minimum use an ADSL/broadband router in front of your Internet connection and make sure the firewall is active. Not certain if this is enough to ensure you dont become a supernode (able to relay calls for other parties). Only way to find out for sure would be with a protocol analyser (e.g. Wireshark) to see what it does under various NAT/firewalling situations.
 
My apologies for the bump - but does anyone have an updated record of how much BW a video skype call uses?
 
I just activated the "advanced" call details mentioned in this thread earlier and I seem to have between 3-4 KBps up and 1-2 KBps down. So 300KB per minute or about 17megs per hour...
 
Take care with Skype, cause the Skype protocol is like a peer to peer protocol (no central server). If someone close to you want to call , he can use your computer to "jump" to another computer and will then use your Internet bandwidth and Cpu.
So close Skype when you don't need it.
 
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