Skype Takes a Step Backward
I had mentioned this on New Year’s Day that Skype were planning on introducing a “disruptive” pricing scheme. Well, they’ve introduced it, and I have to say that it is a step backwards.
One of the key pieces of the new scheme is the introduction of a connection fee, charged per call. While it may not seem like a lot on paper, 3.9 eurocents is the same as about two minutes of calling at their standard rate to a lot of the world. One thing that is not specified is if you have to pay the connection fee on toll-free calls.
Another item of this new scheme is called “Skype Pro” - a monthly subscription service (priced apparently at €2/month) where you have unlimited minutes to landline phones in your country; the only catch is that you have to pay the connection charge on each call.
If anything about this plan is disruptive, it is the fact that they’re going to disrupt the experience of each user when they find out that the one minute call they just completed cost them the equivalent of a three minute call.
The plus side is that if you did subscribe to the unlimited calling to US and Canadian phones, the connection fee doesn’t apply to your usage.
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Skype - A phenomenal tool for communication | Sephy's Platzish said,
October 23, 2007 @ 10.06 am
[…] the connection charge. They claimed that it would be “disruptive”. It was a complete step backward, if you ask me. In March, they ran a promotion called Skype Casino. I won something called a […]