On 2008-03-05, Larry <noone@home.com> wrote:
> SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in news:47cea9a9$0$36367
> $742ec2ed@news.sonic.net:
>
>> Skype (other than free Skype to Skype calls) is a not a great deal
>> compared to other VOIP providers. It _does_ remind me of AOL (is AOL
>> even still around, I no longer get any CDs from them?).
>>
>>
>
> How much are you paying for incoming and outgoing VoIP per month to call
> any phone/sellphone in the USA/Canada with virtually unlimited service?
>
> If I only had the one phone number, here, it would be $5/month with no
> other fees/tax loads/connection fees or other nonsense.
>
> (Someone's bound to mention Skype's imposable fair use "limit" of 3000
> minutes per month. This is reserved by Skype, but, so far, is not
> enforced. I know Skypers using twice that much that haven't been charged
> extra.

Who? My Skype, with Skype Pro, starts charging for calls automatically
when you pass 3000 minutes, and the Skype forums are full of complaints
about the same thing. Here's a recent one:

http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=110480

The people you know who ran past 3000 minutes probably had the Unlimited
Calling Program which, after Verizon got their knuckles rapped, is probably
truly unlimited now. Skype doesn't sell that any more, however (Coincidence?
I think not!).

> Most won't talk over 50 hours per month, except maybe for teenage
> girls...(c

Speak for yourself. The people who live at my house can collectively do
that without any effort at all. If you've lived in enough places and
collected enough good friends that you want to keep in touch with it
isn't that hard.

> Is your service less than $5/month with no per minute or per connection
> fees?

Maybe it's not $5/month, but 3000 minutes isn't unlimited either (and there
should be some penalty for making knowing exactly what you are spending
the $5 for so difficult). Even for people who are unlikely to use 3000
minutes per month, the advantage of "unlimited" is that you never have to
think about it, and thinking is something I'll pay extra to avoid.

Still, I keep on with SKype since three unlimited use inbound numbers in
three countries for $9 per month is a deal I can't match elsewhere. If
I stop having a use for those, however, Skype's use for me will be down
to the occasional hotel room where the NAT/Firewall router is unfriendly
to SIP.

Dennis Ferguson