On 2008-03-05, Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote:
> "Larry" <noone@home.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns9A586A32A4074noonehomecom@208.49.80.253...
>> Skype used to be the VoIP joke....but no more. Considering all the
>> freebies Skype doesn't charge for and the really cheap in-country phone
>> services, $US0.021/min is really cheap to overseas.
>
> Comparted to AT&T, sure. Compared to the $0.011 some other VoIPs charge
> it's 100% higher!

The difference between 1.1 cents and 2.1 cents doesn't bother me much. On
the other hand I have a relative who, sometimes, can only be called on a
Trinidad & Tobago mobile phone, and that difference bothers me a lot. AT&T
landline 40 cents, Skype 34.1 cents, average long distance discounter 11
cents.

Skype seems to have stopped maintaining their price list to follow the
market; their price might have been reasonable a few years ago but not
now. I don't need the absolute cheapest prices, I don't mind paying
a bit more, but I do want someone who'll at least keep their prices in the
ballpark all over so I don't have to think about it.

>> http://www.skype.com/allfeatures/skypepro/
>> They even gave me a 60% discount on my two Skype In POTS numbers in
>> Charleston and London, this year. I don't see how they do it. It's SO
>> cheap!
>
> Because they're selling it under cost! Interconnect fees to US landlines
> run $0.01 (metro) to $0.05 (VERY rural)/minute. Incoming also costs you if
> you don't own your number pool (and Skype doesn't.)

I don't think that's actually right. There are some rural phone companies
which get to charge a very high price for access, but an FCC report I saw
a few years ago said the usage-weighted average price paid for landline
access was below 0.5 cents/minute (cell phones are free, I think) and it has
to be lower now. The plan they're currently considering has the price for
most landlines dropping to between 0.05 and 0.075 cents per minute. Inbound
calls actually earn (a tiny bit of) revenue.

The bigger charges will be what the VoIP-terminating phone company wants
for the service, and that will be entirely dependent on what kind of deal
you can negotiate with them. For big-volume users $2/month for an unlimited
DID might be reasonable (though I'd guess the reason Skype hasn't added a
new country for quite a while is that they've run out of places where the
one-price-fits-all $2 will do it) and, with the 3000 minute cap, Skype
is at least limiting their damage on the outbound side. This might be
sustainable if they get some consequential usage at their per minute
rates too.

Dennis Ferguson