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Internet bandwidth used in a skype call

Hi Gary what would the Internet bandwidth beused in a skype audio call say for a minute on a 1 Mbps speed connection?
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Cyrus Dubash

Comments: 7 Responses to “Internet bandwidth used in a skype call”

    13 years ago

    It would depend. Audio doesn't use much, but I don't know exactly how much skype uses. Your best bet is to see if there is a way to monitor your bandwidth use. Sometimes ISPs have that on your account page or on the modem admin page. Then make a call and take a measurement.
    I'd think that you use about 64kbps in each direction for audio, just because I believe that is what VOIP telephone lines use. Very similar. So, that's 128kbps, which is 16KB per second, which 960KB per minute, so about a meg a minute.
    The speed of your connection is probably irrelevant once your connection is above a certain speed. But note that a 1 Mbps connection is probably 1 Mbps DOWN, but less up. Maybe. At least that's true of most DSL and cable modem connections. Still, 16KB per second is pretty low.
    So that's my guess. Measure it if you can and see how close I am.

    Cyrus Dubash
    13 years ago

    I spoke to Singapore from india on my 3G connection for 26 minutes and Used up 12 Mb. So that is about 500 Kb approximately per minute of an Audio call only (no video).

    so is this because the bandwidth Speed is about 1 Mbps ?

      13 years ago

      No, because 1Mbps is much much higher than what you would need to use 12 meg for 26 minutes.
      1Mbps would get you 1 meg every 8 seconds. That's 7.5 meg/min which means you could potentially use 11,700MB in 26 minutes. Much higher than 12MB. So Skype is simply only using about 64kbps (half of my estimate).

    Cyrus Dubash
    13 years ago

    Ok but I was calculating the usage so i can keep within my Cap ! I only have 500 Mb of 3G data usage per month ! so I want to know that how much will be used up for a certain duration of a skype audio call.

    Cyrus Dubash
    13 years ago

    Am I right if i say I am consuming 500 kb per minute for the call?

      13 years ago

      Sure. 12MB for 26 minutes = 12/26 = .46MB or 460kB.
      But it could vary, so keep monitoring your bandwidth.

    Cyrus Dubash
    13 years ago

    Thanks Gary !

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