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  1. #46
    Dennis Ferguson
    Guest

    Re: skype, was: analog sunset & 911 access

    On 2008-05-17, Larry <[email protected]> wrote:
    > danny burstein <[email protected]> wrote in
    > news:[email protected]:
    >> Just wondering... does skype interconnect to
    >> the Cuban, North Korean, and PSTNs ("regular phones")
    >> in the other countries the US pretends don't exist?

    >
    > http://skype.com/prices/callrates/
    > These are rates w/o VAT (US)
    > Cuba is $1.025 to phones.
    > Korea Dem People's Rep $ 0.684
    > Check the huge list for rates to other places, many of whom most never
    > heard of. Skype is not limited by any US bureaucracy because it is not a
    > US company.


    If you want to phone one of these countries, however, you might be
    better off using Rebtel, another European company, at $0.989 to
    Cuba and $0.410 to North Korea for both mobiles and landlines
    (Skype adds on an extra, gratuitous 10 or 20 cents per minute for
    mobiles in these countries). Or as good is all-American Voicestick
    at $0.984 to Cuba and $0.426 to North Korea, again the same for mobiles
    and landlines.

    In real life it takes real infrastructure like telephone switches
    and transmission facilities to deliver phone calls in a country, so
    in every country there are usually only a small number of players who
    will service VoIP operators (in those particular countries there's
    probably only one). All VoIP operators deal with the same small
    set of carriers, perhaps through the same small set of wholesalers,
    so all VoIP operators will have about the same connectivity. It is
    also no surprise that Rebtel and Voicestick are charging about the
    same amount to call countries with monopoly carriers since they're
    probably being charged about the same amount by those carriers, and
    both those companies seem to operate on fairly small margins.

    Skype's costs are probably, if anything, lower than those other
    two companies since Skype's volumes are a lot higher, but Skype
    is a money-making operation and buy-low-sell-high is a good way
    to make money. Charging differential rates for mobiles in countries
    which don't seem to actually charge differential rates to call
    mobiles is a particularly nice touch.

    Skype has a few nice things on their price list, if you can stick
    to those and avoid the other stuff, and Skype's free stuff is
    always good if you can make use of it. Skype is not a particularly
    cheap way to make overseas calls to phones, however.

    Dennis Ferguson



    See More: analog sunset & 911 access




  2. #47
    Larry
    Guest

    Re: analog sunset & 911 access

    Dennis Ferguson <[email protected]> wrote in
    news:[email protected]:

    > If you are using Skype call forwarding to forward inbound calls to
    > your cell phone the calls aren't free, they're 2.1 cents/minute
    > plus the 4 cent connection charge. Unlike other VoIP operators,
    > Skype's flat rate plans only cover calls you dial. Forwarded calls
    > are charged at normal per-minute rates.


    Not if you have Skype Out Unlimited, then they're free.

    Forwarding to my cell costs me nothing extra....about $2.08/month
    unlimited.

    >
    > This is one of the reasons why comparing Skype charges to other
    > companies on an apples-to-apples basis is so difficult. Skype
    > isn't usually feature-for-feature equivalent.
    >
    > Dennis Ferguson
    >


    Skype is terrible and should be avoided at all costs....





  3. #48
    Todd Allcock
    Guest

    Re: analog sunset & 911 access

    At 17 May 2008 15:00:14 +0000 Larry wrote:

    > Your omnipotent view of the FCC and USA Bureaucrats is flawed. Skype is
    > NOT a USA company, so is NOT subject to its laws/flaws.


    It is when it starts selling US phone numbers. A little Googling shows
    that they talked to the Feds to get an exemption from E911. The Feds seem
    to have classified them as a voice IM system like GoogleTalk, rather than a
    true VoIP, which protects them from the 911 rules.

    > When you make
    > payment to your Skype account, you are making payments to Luxembourg.
    > Skype has no presence in the United States so is not subject to its laws
    > just because a majority of its users are US Citizens living in the USA.



    Again, they sell US numbers, so they probably have to comply, else they
    wouldn't have had to seek an exemption..







  4. #49
    Dennis Ferguson
    Guest

    Re: analog sunset & 911 access

    On 2008-05-17, Larry <[email protected]> wrote:
    > Dennis Ferguson <[email protected]> wrote in
    > news:[email protected]:
    >
    >> If you are using Skype call forwarding to forward inbound calls to
    >> your cell phone the calls aren't free, they're 2.1 cents/minute
    >> plus the 4 cent connection charge. Unlike other VoIP operators,
    >> Skype's flat rate plans only cover calls you dial. Forwarded calls
    >> are charged at normal per-minute rates.

    >
    > Not if you have Skype Out Unlimited, then they're free.
    >
    > Forwarding to my cell costs me nothing extra....about $2.08/month
    > unlimited.


    Ah, you're right. It wasn't included with Skype Pro or the
    old US & Canada unlimited, but it is now. Now it is like
    the other operators.

    Dennis Ferguson



  5. #50
    Larry
    Guest

    Re: analog sunset & 911 access

    Todd Allcock <[email protected]> wrote in
    news:[email protected]:

    > It is when it starts selling US phone numbers. A little Googling
    > shows that they talked to the Feds to get an exemption from E911. The
    > Feds seem to have classified them as a voice IM system like
    > GoogleTalk, rather than a true VoIP, which protects them from the 911
    > rules.
    >
    >> When you make
    >> payment to your Skype account, you are making payments to Luxembourg.
    >> Skype has no presence in the United States so is not subject to its
    >> laws just because a majority of its users are US Citizens living in
    >> the USA.

    >
    >
    > Again, they sell US numbers, so they probably have to comply, else
    > they wouldn't have had to seek an exemption..
    >
    >


    But, as someone said earlier, Skype In has no calling from those numbers so
    cannot initiate a 911 call on an incoming-only line. Skype Out goes
    through the internet to Luxembourg where the call is internet distributed
    to a regional interconnect center even the Mossad may not be able to listen
    in on.

    The split system, sold in pieces may have been a very good political move.




  6. #51
    Larry
    Guest

    Re: analog sunset & 911 access

    Dennis Ferguson <[email protected]> wrote in
    news:[email protected]:

    > Ah, you're right. It wasn't included with Skype Pro or the
    > old US & Canada unlimited, but it is now. Now it is like
    > the other operators.
    >
    > Dennis Ferguson
    >
    >


    I installed Skype into a Best Buy demo Sony PSP-2000 video game, this
    afternoon, but was unable to use it because there was no headphone/mic
    available, a proprietary, of course, headphone with a wierd plug. I did
    call it from my Skype on the tablet and I could hear it ringing. I called
    the tablet from it and it rang the tablet so I guess it really does work.
    I was using the hobbled up Best Buy wifi through BB's filter, which, of
    course, is quite useless to filter out Skype.




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