Hack17.Avoid Higher SkypeOut Rates

Hack 17. Avoid Higher SkypeOut Rates

SkypeOut rates can vary depending on the number called. Don't be caught out by higher rates.

Works with: all versions of Skype.

SkypeOut rates vary by call destinationwhere you are calling to, not where you are calling from. A call to your next-door neighbor is charged the same SkypeOut rate whether you are calling from your home or from a vacation hotel thousands of miles away. Moreover, SkypeOut rates do not depend on the time of day or anything like that.

Not only do SkypeOut rates vary from country to country, rates can also be very different for different categories of phone number within the same country. If SkypeOut rates were determined solely by the country calling code (for example, +44 for the UK and +34 for Spain), life would be a lot simpler. Sadly, life isn't so simple.

It would also be nice if SkypeOut rates were chiseled in stone and so would remain unchanged forever. But, again, life is not so simple and SkypeOut rates do change from time to time.

Currently there is no easy way to determine a SkypeOut rate before making a call. All SkypeOut rates are published at http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rates/all_rates.html. Another option is to use the Skype Dialing Wizard, which you can find at http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rates/dialing.html.

For calls made to the same country code, SkypeOut rates can vary based on whether the recipient of the call is a mobile phone, has a certain area or region code, or is a shared cost number (shared cost numbers are premium numbers often used by businesses and other institutions).

SkypeOut rates for mobile phones vary not just by destination country, but also by mobile network carrier. So, for example, the SkypeOut rate for calls to mobile phones in Belgium might depend on which mobile carrier is the provider for the call recipient.

Shared cost numbers in the UK have the area codes 0844, 0845, 0870, or 0871. Calls to these numbers are billed at a substantially higher rate than regular calls to the UK.

2.6.1. Higher-Rate Avoidance Strategies

Obviously, as Skype-to-Skype calls are always free, one way of avoiding higher SkypeOut rates completely is to convert friends, family, and others to Skype. From Skype's menu bar, just select Tools Share Skype with a Friend (Contacts Share Skype with a Friend…on Mac OS X; the option is not available on Pocket PC), and follow the instructions. Its as simple as that.

Clearly, if you can't convert others to Skype, another obvious way to avoid SkypeOut rates for calls that are higher than their lowest global rate is not to make such calls! This might seem a rather fatuous piece of advice, were it not for the fact that it is easy to call a higher rate number inadvertently (for example, a mobile phone or UK shared cost number).

In an ideal world, Skype would tell you if it will bill for the number you are dialing at a rate higher than its global rate, and ask you whether you want to proceed before placing the call. Alas, we live in a less-than-ideal world.

Before making the call, you can either look up the rate on the Skype web site, or place the call through Skype's Dialing Wizard (or through the Skype Widget on Mac OS X; see "Dial Like a Wizard" [Hack #11]). However, doing this for every call would be overkill, so you might want to consider doing this only when you are calling a number you have not called before, or if you are simply unsure.

If you have a regular telephone service in addition to Skype, you might want to check out its rates and compare them with Skype's. There's no doubt that Skype's rates are among the lowest around, but they are not always the best deal (see "Get the Best Deal for VoIP Telephony" [Hack #22]). Obviously, if you want to save money, you should always use the lowest rate available to you, from whatever source.

Similarly, some prepaid calling cards can beat Skype's rates for some destinations. Google on "prepaid phone card" and you'll be overwhelmed by choices.

When shopping around for the very lowest rates, you may want to trade off some potential savings against the cost in terms of your time spent hunting down the very best deal. Once you are down into single-digit euro cent rates (0.01 to 0.09), unless your call volume is exceedingly high, shopping around is most distinctly an activity of diminishing returns.