Digital Trends

Skype's unlimited calling promotion for U.S. and Canadian callers must have worked: the ViOP leader is now offering unlimited calls for $30/year.

VoIP leader Skype has announced it is now offering U.S. and Canadian customers a flat-rate plan which offers unlimited Skype-Out calling to any phone in the U.S. and Canada for $29.95 a year. What's more, folks who sign up before January 31, 2007 will pay just $14.95 per year, receive 100 minute of SkypeOut credit for international calls, and over $50 in discount coupons for Skype-certified hardware products.

"The new Skype Unlimited Calling Plan is an affordable option that will save consumers and small businesses hundreds of dollars compared to high rates charged by traditional phone companies," said Don Albert, Skype North America's VP and general manager. "We want to give Skype customers convenient options of choosing either an unlimited calling plan with a flat annual rate and or staying with our standard pay-per-minute offering."

The offering marks the first time Skype has made an annual subscription plan available to customers. The new pricing plan follows on the heels of a promotion which made calls within the U.S. and Canada free through December 31, 2006; it would seem consumer interest in unlimited calling plans was high enough for Skype to justify a flat-rate plan to attract and retain customers.

The Skype Unlimited Calling Plan enables Skype users to place calls from their computer or Skype handset to any standard landline or mobile phone via Skype's SkypeOut service. Skype-to-Skype VoIP calls remain free. Customers can still choose per-minute rates for SkypeOut service; currently, that's 2.1 cents per minute in the U.S. and Canada.