Skype, the Ebay-owned voice over IP (VOIP) company recently announced some changes to their SkypeOut offering. SkypeOut allows you to place phone calls from any computer with broadband access to any phone in the US and Canada (with per-minute fees for international calls) Previously, Skype had been offering SkypeOut free for the last six months or so, but announced that the free promotion will end on December 31, 2006. However, for $14.95 (until 1/31/07) will get you unlimited SkypeOut per year.
Details include:
- 12 months of unlimited calls to any phone in the US and Canada – right from your computer.
- More than an hour of international calls (based on current rate of 2.1 US cents per minute).
- Over $50 in coupons to get a Motorola headset, Netgear WiFi phone, and a Polycom speakerphone.
Computer-to-computer calling via Skype remains free.