SkypeIn


Once again, calls from one Skype account to another are always free. But what if someone using a landline or cell phone wants to call you on your computer, laptop, or PDA? For the times when people using traditional phones want to talk to you, Skype offers a fee-based service called SkypeIn.

With SkypeIn, you can buy one or more phone numbers that are associated with your Skype account. SkypeIn allows you to have local phone numbers in cities, states, and countries where you have friends, family members, or important customers who want to reach you regularly.

When you have SkypeIn and someone calls you from a landline or cell phone, he dials a regular phone number, hears a normal telephone "ring," and is unaware that the call is being received by a Skype user.

This means that you can give someone your number and she can call you anywhere in the world, regardless of whether you are at home using your computer or away from home using your laptop, Wi-Fi phone, or PDA running Pocket PC. No matter where you are, your Skype will ring. SkypeIn allows people to contact you with a phone number (that is local to them) without their knowing where you happen to be.

Here's an example: Let's say you live in Paris, and your brother lives in San Francisco. You can talk to him for free if both of you use your Skype accounts. Or you can purchase a SkypeIn number that is local to San Francisco, so your brother can dial this "local" phone number to talk with you in Paris, thus avoiding the long-distance charges (see Figure 1-3).

Figure 1-3. Calling into a "local" number in a different locale from Skype


SkypeIn is a fee-based service because Skype Technologies purchases blocks of phone numbers from various phone companies to make them available to Skype users worldwide. There are also fees associated with the process of routing calls from the traditional phone system to the Internet, which Skype Technologies oversees and manages. Skype Technologies provides these numbers to Skype users, and manages the connection process and the billing associated with them.

Note

Existing telephone phone numbers currently cannot be transferred to a Skype account.


At the time of this printing, SkypeIn numbers were available in Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong SAR, China, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and many area codes in the United States. Skype is continually adding new countries and area codes. Currently, the rates work out to approximately $10 U.S. for a three-month subscription and $30 U.S. for an annual subscription. Please refer to the Skype Web site for the most current information.

Note

Skype includes free voicemail with a SkypeIn subscription.





Skype. The Definitive Guide
Skype: The Definitive Guide
ISBN: 032140940X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 130

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