Skype Review
Skype was one of the first major online VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services to provide an easy to use, affordable way of making telephone calls over the Internet to destinations all around the world, and still provides low cost local, national and international call services for Skype-to-Skype accounts, landlines and mobiles. With Skype there are two choices for VOIP accounts:
Pay-As-You-Go – this is the easy payment option as you can just add credit when you want to, and there are some great rates available for local and international calls. Features include voicemail, call forwarding and text messaging services and you can pay for credit online by a number of different methods such as credit card and PayPal, and you can check your remaining credit on your Skype online account.
Monthly Account - when you pay monthly you have access to unlimited calls (anytime) to a specified country or region (with some limitations) and there are no long term contracts to sign, so you can cancel the account whenever you want. With monthly accounts you will get many great features including voicemail, text messaging and call forwarding.
Business Online Internet Packages
Skype offers business with SIP Open Beta, which allows you to integrate Skype with your existing SIP enabled PBX in order to enhance your communication services to both staff and customers, and take advantage of Skype’s low rate national and international call tariffs. You also have the addition option of purchasing separate online numbers in specific countries to allow customers overseas to call you on local low cost numbers and you can also add click to call buttons on your websites and emails so that other Skype users can contact you for free. Skype offers free browser based Business Control Panels, which enable you to quickly and easily manage your SIP Open Beta account, from allocating your Skype credits through to setting up SIP profiles. Other great features with Skype business include:
• Free Skype-to-Skype calls for your staff whether they are in the office, at home or travelling on business, so that you can all communicate quickly and easily without worrying about costs and budgets.
• Global accessibility with low cost international call tariffs (as little as €1.7/$2.1p/min to more than 35 different countries) and free incoming calls for all Skype users around the world.
• Reduced call rates to mobile phones as well as landlines.
• Skype integrates with your existing PBX equipment so there is no need to purchase any new software or hardware and it is very easy to set up and manage.
There is a connection fee to pay for setting up Skype through SIP for businesses and a monthly channel subscription (based on your call limits set through your SIP profile), and you also have to pay per minute for all calls, but the low tariffs and free Skype-to-Skype calling features mean this is still one of the cheapest Internet phone options for businesses.
Customer Support
The website has a number of help features available including FAQs, searchable knowledge bases, troubleshooters and set up and control panel guides. There are also active online forums where you can get help and advice from industry experts and other Skype users.
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