My favorite Boston Red Sox fan and local Toronto-based telecom analyst Jon Arnold recently interviewed Don Albert, Skype's Vice-President and General Manager for North America. They talked about Skype's penetration into Canada, the unavailability of Canadian SkypeIn numbers and the osmosis of Skype into the small business sector.

With over 3 million Canadian users, Skype's penetration is approaching the PayPal and eBay penetration of over 5 million registered Canadian users (contrary to the worldwide ratio, there are actually more PayPal than eBay accounts in Canada). And at 84% of households with broadband connectivity, Canada represents a significant opportunity for Skype growth.

They discuss one example of how an premium travel agency uses Skype to keep in contact with "local" representatives around the world as they prepare for their customers to travel abroad on excursions and exploration trips. Amongst my personal contacts I have encountered many small businesses who use Skype to build their business globally. One virtual company that is a heavy Skype user is weblog publisher b5media, whose Vice-President Content is tech blogger Mark Evans, with both employees and bloggers around the world.

Access the podcast and hear all the details here.

Tags: Don Albert, Skype Canada, SkypeIn, Jon Arnold

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