Going the (long) distance: Skype's new calling subscriptions
By
Villu Arak on April 21, 2008 in News, Events, Milestones, Skype Around the World, Skype announcements.
Most people look forward to Fridays (or their cultural equivalent that promises rest, fun and fresh air). Banishing the ruthless alarm clock until Monday morning which, for a brief moment, appears eons away.
Well, my kind colleagues here at Skype have taken a crack at making the world’s Mondays a bit less blue. Enter Skype’s brand new flat-rate calling subscriptions that were announced this Monday, i.e. today. According to the announcement, the subscriptions “signal the first time Skype has offered a single, monthly flat rate for international calling to landline numbers in 34 countries.”
Depending on your location and calling ambition, there are several subscription levels to choose from:
There are no hidden costs or additional connection charges. You will only pay one flat monthly fee, as long as you don’t call premium, non-geographic and other special numbers. And the fair-usage policy will only kick in once you’ve exceeded 10,000 minutes per month. That’s pretty darn generous — as you’d have to talk more than five hours every day for four weeks to even approach the limit.
In which case it’d be a good time to resuscitate your first-person social life. ‘Cause, man, I know they’re addictive, but you shouldn’t go crazy with them unlimited calls, you know…
Comments
So I'm limited to 10000 minutes??? Then this won't work for my girlfriend and I as we're perma-skypers, i.e. continuously connected by way of love, audio, and video (except for when the line drops, ahem)
Jk.... this is one of the more exciting developments y'all have had for quite some time!
sinajahn | Monday, Apr 21
Great news, but what about my SkypePro subscription that is very similar to the new US & Canada plan, but does not include calls to cellphones? Am I automatically upgraded to US & Canada plan?
alipatov | Monday, Apr 21
Same question here... just subscribed to a Skype Pro account with (that's what the site mentioned) no calling cost per minute for national calls. What's the catch? Call setup costs?
Great news about these bundles but please keep charging simple... Simplicity and transparency is what skype stay competitive!
martijn.brouns | Monday, Apr 21
@ "What's the catch? Call setup costs?"
No catch, no hidden costs. No call setup costs. Just the monthly price and you're done.
To switch from Skype Pro to one of the new subscriptions, just go to http://www.skype.com/go/subscriptions click the 'Sign Up' button for your subscription of choice and you'll be converted from Pro to the new subscription. No need to cancel anything else manually, Skype does it for you.
arne_has_skype | Tuesday, Apr 22
So what about a skypein number for Canada??? This would make it all work together nicely... then I could just use a skype phone instead of having to pay for a landline... then you'd have my business... any ideas of a launch date?
ritchieandjo | Wednesday, Apr 23
I very much appreciate this and have signed up right away.
Now I definitely don't need any landline.
There's one feature though that I miss and that would make this perfect:
The ability to call from a phone (landline or cell) and listen to the messages on my voicemail. How about extending the SkypeToGo menu with that option?
Thanks!
halinagold | Wednesday, Apr 23