This article first appeared in my old blog at http://www.bloglines.com/blog/wsodeman?id=269
http://www.informationweek.com/industries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196603857
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/technology/13skype.html
Skype had been offering free VoIP calls within the United States and Canada since May 2006.
In 2007, users will have to pay a $30 annual fee to make unlimited SkypeOut calls to landlines and cell phones in these two countries. The current SkypeOut plan charges users about 2.1 cents per minute.
Calls outside these two countries will still incur the usual Skype fees.
Skype is offering a special until January 31. The US$30 fee is reduced to US$14.95 and includes 100 minutes of SkypeOut service, which can be used for international calls.
Skype has been working with mobile phone and computer manufacturers to offer Skype services on mobile handsets. This service makes sense when the handset has 802.11 features, <a href=“http://billso.com/2006/11/27/wifi-phones>as I discussed on November 27. The mobile phone network is still too slow to support Skype’s VoIP services. Next year, Skype is partnering with Google and Yahoo to offer a Skype WiFi phone.
Still, analysts are wondering how Skype fits into eBay’s corporate strategy. eBay spent US$2.5 billion to purchase Skype in October 2005. Given Skype’s roster of 136 million registered users, eBay paid about US$18 per user.
