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Skype dumps per-minute charges for per-call pricing
Skype is playing with its fee structure in interesting ways that seem to reflect changes in its own cost structure. We wrote last month about the $30/year unlimited calling plan. Now, for everyone else, Skype is moving from a per-minute charge for SkypeOut calls--the ones terminating on the PSTN--to a flat per-call charge. In the U.S., that's 3.9 cents per call, as opposed to about 2.1 cents per minute. For European users, the SkypeOut structure is more complicated: a flat 3.9 euro cent set-up charge for premium subscribers, a base rate of 1.7 euro cents/minute for everyone else. Outside the U.S., Canada and the U.K., there's no unlimited plan. Given the possibility (probability?) of some very very long calls for only 3.9 cents, it would appear that Skype is now being charged for termination on a per-call rather than per-minute basis; otherwise, the red ink would flow like blood in a Peckinpah movie. And if Skype's getting that deal from telcos, won't other VoIP players follow? Any little birds out there willing to confirm or deny?
For more information about Skype's new pricing:
- read this press release from Skype
More stories about Skype
Comments
Posted by Anonymous | January 23, 2007 - 3:16pm
Skype should be able to buy termination from US CLECs or Resellers of CLECs that are flat rated and based on terminating the calls on PRIs rather than Feature Group D's (that pay by the minuite).
This service has been around for 5+ years with SIP gateways (and 20+ years otherwise) and used as bypass termination by lots of different customers. This is especially attractive for high cost intRA state calls.
Assume Skypes per MOU charge is .005 for per min traffic and $1500 for a DS1 of flat rate traffic. The breakeven depends on how much traffic you have - but generally its around 400k+ mou per month per 24 concurrent calls (a DS1/PRI)
So the authors question is "if the telcos are selling this why wouldn't all VOIP companies want to buy it?" Well they can / they do... its on the market - you just need to have a good sized volume of traffic to make the math work a good supplier contract or a big legal budget to get by the incumbent RBOCs when they sue you for the per MOU charge you "bypassed". (right or wrong - they can sue you over this if they want to. Winning or loosing is based on your specific FCC status (CLEC, Enhanced SP, IXC, etc))
I could write about this business for 2 hours - but it would just bore you - so that's enough.
Posted by Chris | January 25, 2007 - 2:34pm
After checking out Skype's site to confirm their pricing change from per-minute to per-call, I found no evidence to support this claim.
According to Skype's official site, "Unlimited Calling gives you a full year of unlimited calls to anyone, on any phone, within the US and Canada for just US$14.95.
(US$29.95 after January 31st 2007)."
The fine print reads as such:
"[Free hour of international calls b]ased on the SkypeOut Global Rate of 2.1 US cents/2.4 CAN cents per minute. Higher rates may apply to other destinations. All SkypeOut calls are subject to a connection fee ranging from US$0.00 to US$0.039 (excluding VAT).
After December 31st, users without Unlimited Calling can still call phones in the US and Canada. The standard SkypeOut rate of ¢2.1 per minute will be charged"
"
(Source: http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/, accessed 1/24/2007)
I would be ecstatic if Skype changed their pricing policy, but at this point I don't believe this to be the case. It appears that the SkypeOut connection charge (if any) is in additional to any minute charges for inernational calls outside the US and Canada. I truly hope I'm wrong.
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