Updated: Skype's peer-to-peer technology appears to be to blame for a large-scale network outage, with users around the world experiencing connection problems.

The scale of the SNAFU isn't known, but users are reporting problems connecting to the Skype network, or being disconnected within moments of connecting.

Some of you may be having problems logging in to Skype. Our engineering team has determined that it's a software issue and hopes to have this resolved quickly. Meanwhile, you can simply leave your Skype client running and as soon as the issue is resolved, you will be logged in. We apologise for the inconvenience.

The outage had Reg readers smacking their heads off the desk in frustration. Well kind of.

Reader Dan reported "Occasional login success but mostly not."

While Vincent said:

Cannot connect to make/receive calls and moreover, their website is not responding!

Been using their services for many years and this is the 1st time ever I see smthg like this happen.

Kenny said, "No-one that I’ve spoken today has been able to sign into Skype at all today."

There is no word yet on when the service will be working properly.®

Update

Skype tells us they're expecting the fix to take between 12 and 24 hours; so best not sit around hoping for a connection then.

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