Thursday, December 14, 2006

Article: Skype Replaces Free SkypeOut Calls With Flat Rate

I have been a user of Skype for a few years, and I have been playing with VoIP (Voice Over IP) since it first showed in the late 1990. Back then they were unable and unreliable, well at least the ones that I used.

Skype as has always been a pretty good deal, but it has just gotten better when I read this article. PC Magazine reports: "On Wednesday, Skype announced it will be offering U.S. and Canadian customers a new unlimited calling plan at a flat rate of $29.95 per year, or, for those who decide to subscribe before January 31, 2007, $14.95. ... The Skype Unlimited Calling plan will let users make 12 months of unlimited SkypeOut calls to any phone in Canada or the U.S. and, according to the company, is the first time that Skype is making an annual calling plan available anywhere in the world."

So, if you frequently call people within the United States or Canada (even if you live in other parts of the world), you can call any phone in that region, for an unlimited amount of time, as many times as you want for $14.95 for the first year (if you sign up before January 31, 2007). The catch is that you have use your computer to make the calls.

I expect that this could cause a price war with the other major VoIP carriers such as Vonage, AT&T, etc.

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