So, SkypeOut calls, inside North America, are free, at least until the end of the year.  That means you can call any landline, or cellular phone, from Skype, at no charge. I just chatted with my mother in Victoria for 20 minutes (forgot to call yesterday, although we did send flowers).Â
Readers of this blog will be unsurprised. If you live in the US, go get yourself an AOL free DID, too, and now you have toll free telephony. The Voice 2.0 Manifesto predicts that this will happen.
Skype is calling this a promotion. They’re reserving the right to go back to a toll based service at the end of the year. They’re obviously hoping that a promotion will result in a flurry of new sign-ups. Two questions immediately come to mind: what do they have in their backpockets to replace the lost revenue, and what will they do if this promotion has now established the new baseline for long distance as free?Â
And how will AOL respond? AIM Phoneline is a free DID (which costs about $4 / month on Skype), but unlimited LD costs $14.95/month.Â
Me? I plan to attach my Skype ID to Phonegnome using the new GnomeLink, and have unlimited LD, plus all the great PhoneGnome features.
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
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This only applies to making calls. Call Forwarding is still charged within the US.
Hello- I have used Skype for a year and paid recently paid them 10 euros to renew my credit and never received the credit and wrote their fantomatic customer service about 100 times in the last month and a half AND read the Skype Forums where I realized I was not the only one with the same complaint. I can't find an address for them so I cannot file a complaint about their poor business practices with either the Better Business Bureau, the Public utility commission or the Consumer's affairs branch to satisfy my frustration.
Do you think that's where they get their money to compensate for their free US-Canada promotion?
I still just can't believe I have to bite that bullet.
Valerie, I don't know. File a complaint with EBay would be my advice. They own Skype.
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