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Skype has announced that it will be offering cheaper calls to more than 170 countries starting from today in a bid to establish itself as one of the leading global telecommunication companies.

The VOIP company will offer pricing plans with unlimited calls for as little as 69p per month to some countries and says that prices may fall down by as little as 60 percent compared to the current one.

Unlimited Skype calls to landline in the UK is charged at £3.39 per month with the unlimited world package which covers more than 40 countries costing a rather steep £8.

But Skype has had to face increasing competition the likes of ISP Talktalk who offers a similar package for as little as £1.95 for the first 12 months for a service, which unlike Skype, doesn't require a computer.

In a statement issued yesterday, Skype said that it would offer more choices for its customers, ranging from 1-month, 60 minute calling subscriptions to 12-months, unlimited packages.

Neil Stevens, General Manager of Skype's Consumer Business Unit, said that "Skype's new monthly subscriptions lower the cost of international calling and make it simple to choose the plan that best meets your needs.  People around the world can now have the simplicity and flexibility to call almost any phone in the world for less."

Source:-  ITProPortal (http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2010/5/6/skype-offer-cheaper-voip-calls/#20)

This is long overdue, but a bit too late in my opinion! Their rates (http://www.skype.com/intl/en/features/prices/payg-rates/) and connection charges (http://www.skype.com/intl/en/features/prices/payg-rates/connection-fees/) have been a bit of a joke for too long. They have always just relied on their good reputation and market share and I suppose they still offer a great peer-to-peer platform. However, unfortunately for them, the vast majority of their customers do not ever pay a single cent and many of their paying customers have already left. It's a bit too late to try and claw them back now!

Some customers are not impressed by the extra costs for them due to changes. See comments at http://blogs.skype.com/en/

Thanks BJ. To be honest I still can't see what has actually changed with their rates. I suppose it is not the PAYG rates that have changed, but their monthly plans. However, I can't really see big differences there either. Still seems to be pretty lousy value to me!