SkypePro

Yesterday Skype launched SkypePro, something I have been looking forward to as the connection fee made Skype more expensive then ever before.

Skype Pro is indeed offering a lot of extra’s but I am still very disappointed.
Let me first list the extra’s :

* pay nothing per minute within the following countries:
US, UK, France, Hong Kong, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Estonia, Australia, Brazil and Japan.
* Includes €5 Skype Credit as a special introductory offer.
* €30 discount on SkypeIn numbers - people can call you at local rates.
* Free Voicemail
* Save €30 on a Philips VoIP 841 cordless phone.
* Save €10 on an SMC WiFi phone.
* Exclusive discounts on Unyte Desktop Sharing Extra.
* Two free animated avatars from CrazyTalk.
* Three free ringtones from Emotive.

Note:
* €11.50 where VAT applies.
* Connection fee and fair usage policies apply.

Unfortunately there are no Dutch SkypeIn numbers. Varras Consultancy has numbers in the UK and Sweden so will benefit (in a way) of the discount. But…….. this connection fee….. I have to admit it annoys me.

Let’s do some simple arithmetic’s:
876 connection fees is as much as € 30 which still leaves an additional € 20 for a one SkypeIn number (€ 50). It sounds like a lot of calls but it is only 2.4 call per day. Maybe the average user doesn’t make that "many" calls but others do.

Calls within the above mentioned countries are free of charge apart from the connection fees. But now a days there are very cheap mobile subscriptions and Skype clearly states it is not a replacement for your landline so as an alternative I have a mobile subscription of € 2.50 per month (including VAT) and 500 free calling minutes within Holland and to other subscribers of the same provider.

Needless to say I am not going to use SkypePro for national calls because with 6.25 connections, I already reached the mobile monthly subscription.

I do use Skype a lot for calls outside Holland and will continue doing that but will it be cheaper with Pro? No, the connection fee comes on top of the existing calling rate. Here we are back again with Free SkypeIn….
On top of all of this there is the monthly € 2 (€ 24 per year…) which will be deducted from my credits (with my permission because this is a free choice when you purchase Pro).

I signed up for Pro because I think it isn’t fair to complain without trying and I am told people with a bump of languages are horrible mathematical geniuses’ so please feel free to add your comment to convince me of the opposite: SkypePro makes calling cheaper….

SkypePro FAQ