Datamation content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
After last year’s trial of free SkypeOut calling in North America, the Brussels-based VoIP provider (now a subsidiary of eBay) instituted a yearly subscription plan for U.S. and Canadian Skypers. For example, at a cost of $29.25 ($14.95 before January 31, 2007), U.S. members can make unlimited SkypeOut calls (calls to land-line and mobile PSTN phones) across North America at no extra charge—for 365 days.
A similar plan—Talk for Britain—is in operation in the U.K.
Today, the company announced some tweaks to its overall pricing policy, and the outlines of a similar plan for European members—to be known as Skype Pro.
On a country-by-country basis, Skype Pro premium subscription packages will allow SkypeOut “domestic” calling (that is, within the country in question) without the per-minute charges that have been characteristic of the service up till now.
(To be perfectly clear, the basic Skype policy of totally free PC-to-PC calls between Skype members remains unchanged.)
Also announced today—one of the tweaks mentioned above—is a new pricing concept for Skype: the connection fee.
Going forward, ordinary domestic SkypeOut calls—as well as all international Skype calls—will entail the connection fee, wherever originated.
Skype Pro calls to the domestic PSTN will also be subject to the fee, while North American Unlimited Calling PSTN calls will not.
Skype connection fees will vary per country. In the U.S., the fee will be $0.039. In much of Europe it will be €0.039 or the equivalent in local currency. Check here for a complete listing of connection fee rates, and other details.
The Skype Pro package (for which no specific pricing was mentioned in the press announcement, but which, according to the website will be €2 per month) also includes a number of other promotional ‘extras,’ such as discounts on SkypeIn numbers and free Skype Voicemail.
On the website linked above, you can leave your e-mail address for notification when Skype Pro is officially available.
This article was first published on EnterpriseVoIPPlanet.com.
RELATED NEWS AND ANALYSIS
-
Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Driving Greater Equality
FEATURE | By James Maguire,
December 16, 2020
-
AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
December 11, 2020
-
Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
December 04, 2020
-
Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 18, 2020
-
Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA
FEATURE | By Guest Author,
November 10, 2020
-
Top 10 AIOps Companies
FEATURE | By Samuel Greengard,
November 05, 2020
-
What is Text Analysis?
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 02, 2020
-
How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 29, 2020
-
Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 23, 2020
-
The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
October 16, 2020
-
Top 10 Chatbot Platforms
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
October 07, 2020
-
Finding a Career Path in AI
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
October 05, 2020
-
CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science
FEATURE | By Guest Author,
September 25, 2020
-
Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 25, 2020
-
Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2021
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
September 22, 2020
-
NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
September 18, 2020
-
Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 14, 2020
-
Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 13, 2020
-
IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 11, 2020
-
Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality
FEATURE | By James Maguire,
September 09, 2020