Just read an article that describes the new Skype Prime service and I must say that my gut feel is this is a mistake on Skype’s part. To summarise, you need to pay Skype for the privilege of charging other Skype users who call you. So the big advantage of using Skype in the first place (i.e. free calls between Skype users) has now been undermined. I wonder if Skype saw all the free calls that were being made and thought “We’ll have some revenue from that, thank you very much !”.
It remains to be seen how many people will go for this, and it all likelihood it will be attractive to companies providing support and advice services, but I can’t help wondering if less scrupulous people will find justification for charging for other calls.
Thanks for blogging about Skype – it’s always great to hear feedback from our users.
Firstly, free Skype to Skype calls are a big part of our current offering, and there are certainly no plans to get rid of them.
Skype Prime adds an extra layer of functionality, and it isn’t really aimed at monetising existing Skype to Skype calls. Rather, the aim is to allow people to innovate and provide new services, whether they be advice, support or tuition.
Your concern about less scrupulous people should (I hope) be dealt with partly by our terms of service, which restrict what you can use Skype Prime for, and the fact that charging only commences after the clear consent of the person paying has been given.
Peter,
Firstly thank you for taking time to comment on my post….a pleasant surprise ! And believe me I do like your software, it has exposed many people to VoIP telephony and made it easier for me to reassure them that it is possible to run a business phone system over an internet connection.
Regarding your comment I do appreciate that you are not, and have no intention of, removing free skype-to-skype calls from your offer. But I’m sure that a minority of ‘commercial’ users (e.g. a business that provides some support through Skype) will take this as an opportunity to gain some revenue from an established communication medium and audience. It’s not your fault that this will happen, but you are certainly enabling it to occur. For the people who were previously getting free calls it will certainly change their opinion of the other Skype user, but is also likely to change their own Skype usage and possibly even their desire to recommend Skype to friends and family.
I had a look at your terms of service, and I must admit I am struggling to find somewhere where it says that you will suspend an account if the content of calls are objectionable. Indeed, to me it reads very much that you are disassociating yourselves from anything that is said or done on a Skype call (see the “Special Disclaimer of Skype Liability for Content” section). One point that seems contradictory is where you specify that Skype Prime is for “personal use only”. You mean people can’t make any money out of it after all ?