New York — Skype, eBay’s troubled VOIP provider is extending its first unlimited flat rate overseas calling plans to as many as 35 countries, including Mexico, as part of its plan to attract more users on Monday.
For $9.95 per month, users will now be able to make unlimited calls to land-line phones in 34 countries, said Don Albert, vice president and general manager for Skype North America.
It is a vast fold that encompasses most countries in Europe as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan. Depending on which country, calls to cell phones are also included (Canada, China, Hong Kong and Singapore).
Although unlimited call plans to the U.S. and Canada have already been available for $3 a month. Skype, in addition has a new calling subscription for calls to Mexico is now available, including unlimited calls to landline and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada, and to landlines in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.
The three subscriptions now available to consumers in the U.S. and Canada include the following:
-
Unlimited U.S. & Canada: Unlimited calls to landline and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada. ($2.95 per month)
-
Unlimited Mexico: Unlimited calls to landline and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada, and to landlines in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey; up to 80% off normal SkypeOut rates to landlines in the rest of Mexico and up to 40% off normal SkypeOut rates to all Mexico cell phones. ($5.95 per month)
-
Unlimited World: Unlimited calls to landline and cell phones in 34 countries including the U.S. and Canada, as well as Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey; up to 80% off normal SkypeOut rates to the rest of Mexico landlines and up to 40% off normal SkypeOut rates to all Mexico cell phones. ($9.95 per month)
Skype is by and large used as a software application running on a computer equipped with a microphone and speakers or a headset. However, subscribers will also have the option to call a local number from their phones and be connected to international numbers that fall under their plan, paying only local access charges or using their cell-phone airtime.
A large number of unlimited international calling plans have come out lately from hardware-based phone services like Vonage International Holdings Corp. and cable companies, but the prices are generally higher, and the plans are add-ons to basic calling plans that cost even more.
This push is possibly to help Skype remain a viable solution; what with last year’s admission by eBay that they had paid too much and much current speculation that eBay might just cut its losses and sell.
Skype said its subscribers called phones for 1.7 billion minutes in the first three months of the year. For free computer-to-computer calls, they instead saw a total of 14.2 billion minutes.
To purchase one of these subscriptions; simply log on to Skype’s subscription page for more details.