Skype offers free calls to North Americans
Tuesday, May 16 2006
by Ciara O'Brien
Skype offers free PC-to-PC calls over its Voice over IP (VoIP), or internet telephony, service. However, extras such as calling traditional landlines, making calls to mobiles and an incoming call service attract a fee.
Skype's latest offer only applies to outgoing calls within or to the US and Canada. Incoming calls to Skype's SkypeIn service will continue to be charged, while calls to landlines and mobiles in other countries will also incur a fee. PC-to-PC Skype calls will remain free of charge.
It is not yet clear what will happen to the free landline and mobile calls at the beginning of 2007.
Skype's popular VoIP service is coming under heavy competition from the likes of AOL and Yahoo, which are gradually adding further functions to their instant messaging services that allow users to make voice calls.
According to Skype owner eBay, there were more than 100 million registered Skype users as of April 2006 -- a figure that has almost doubled since September 2005. China has 13 million registered users, compared with the US's 6 million.
However, this latest move is already stirring rumblings that the firm may not be living up to performance expectations. eBay bought Skype for some USD2.6 billion late last year, and is almost certainly keen to see a return on its investment.
http://www.skype.com/download/skype/windows/
Tuesday, May 16 2006
by Ciara O'Brien
Skype offers free PC-to-PC calls over its Voice over IP (VoIP), or internet telephony, service. However, extras such as calling traditional landlines, making calls to mobiles and an incoming call service attract a fee.
Skype's latest offer only applies to outgoing calls within or to the US and Canada. Incoming calls to Skype's SkypeIn service will continue to be charged, while calls to landlines and mobiles in other countries will also incur a fee. PC-to-PC Skype calls will remain free of charge.
It is not yet clear what will happen to the free landline and mobile calls at the beginning of 2007.
Skype's popular VoIP service is coming under heavy competition from the likes of AOL and Yahoo, which are gradually adding further functions to their instant messaging services that allow users to make voice calls.
According to Skype owner eBay, there were more than 100 million registered Skype users as of April 2006 -- a figure that has almost doubled since September 2005. China has 13 million registered users, compared with the US's 6 million.
However, this latest move is already stirring rumblings that the firm may not be living up to performance expectations. eBay bought Skype for some USD2.6 billion late last year, and is almost certainly keen to see a return on its investment.
http://www.skype.com/download/skype/windows/
