[Note: crossposted to uk.telecom, uk.telecom.broadband and
uk.telecom.voip]

<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/22/skype_down_again/>:

"Up to 10,000 Skype customers have to change their SkypeIn number by
20 December, an email to customers advised last night.

By way of recompense, it also offered affected punters a year's free
service with voicemail and a grovelling apology.

According to the email, Skype is having to 'return some of the 0207
SkypeIn numbers' to their suppliers, though it makes no mention of
why, or to whom, these numbers need to be returned.

It seems numbers starting '020 7870' are affected, which Ofcom shows
are allocated to a company called Gamma Telecom. Skype leased these
numbers from an intermediary called GCI Telecom, who tell us that they
are still in negotiations with Skype regarding the numbers, and have
promised us a fuller explanation real soon now.

Skype's message board is full of complaints from users about to lose
their numbers, who have printed up business cards or even '...had to
pulp a mailshot to 3,000 people, already stuffed, stamped, and ready
to go, with first class stamps stuck on'."
--
Martin Jay