Skype this week will start offering plans to let users call international wireline and wireless phones at significantly lower rates than its current pay-as-you-go services.
Starting on Thursday, Skype will offer subscriptions that start as low as AUD$1.49 per month and that offer rates starting at AUD$0.01 per minute when dialing to "almost any destination around the globe."
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While the VoIP provider hasn't revealed all the details of the plans yet, its promise to offer a subscription plan for as low as AUD$1.49 marks a significant drop from the monthly subscription that it currently offers. Skype also says that these new subscription plans will offer users "savings of up to 60 per cent" compared to its current pay-as-you-go rates.
Skype is also offering users significant flexibility in the plans they choose, as users can choose to only call landlines or mobile phones, as well as whether they want to subscribe for a month or a year.
In addition to launching its new low-cost subscription plans, Skype is prepping a public beta test of a new group video chat function that can support up to five users at the same time. The new service will initially be free when it launches next week, but the company will start charging for it once it passes beyond its testing stage.