However, the service isn’t free when you call landlines or other mobile phones that don’t use Skype. VoIP services normally charge a fee per minute for these calls, which are lower than fees for non-VoIP calls. The rates depend on the destination you’re calling.
Connection Fees
Skype charges a connection fee for phone calls. This fee applies to all calls to mobiles and landline phones made using Skype Credit, but only when the call is answered and lasts longer than one second. The connection fee is a one-time charge, per call, that covers the cost of bridging a VoIP call to the packet-switched telephone network. PSTN relies on copper or fiber-optic cable, whereas VoIP uses the internet for call routing. Technically, PSTN and VoIP are separate technologies that cannot cross paths. However, several providers—including Skype—connect the two networks to complete VoIP-to-PSTN calls or vice versa. The connection fee covers this cost. The connection fee varies depending on the country you call. For example, when you make a call within the United States, a connection fee of 2.9¢ applies. This fee can be as much as 8.9¢.
Subscriptions and Per-Minute Rates
Per-minute rates vary depending on the country you call. Enter your preferred country on the Skype website to learn its per-minute charge. If you make calls to mobile or landline phones that aren’t on Skype, save money by using one of Skype’s subscription plans. Skype offers a 5% discount on the monthly subscription rates to people who pay every three months and a 15% discount to people who pay once a year.
Skype Credit
To pay for calls to non-Skype numbers, purchase Skype Credit in $5, $10, or $25 increments. The credit reloads automatically whenever your balance falls to $2.
Skype to Go
The Skype to Go service offers subscribers a nifty trick. Skype provisions a number local to a given contact such that calls made through the Skype to Go number bypass international calling rates. For example, a person from Detroit who calls someone in Dublin may provision a Skype to Go number for calls to Ireland. Calls through that number are treated as local calls, using the Skype VoIP backbone. You can establish up to 30 of these accounts, anywhere in the world except the places excluded on this list of available countries from Skype.
