Skype Gives It Away
The Internet Phone Firm Hopes a Free-Calling Promotion Nets More of Elusive U.S. Market
By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 16, 2006; Page D01
Internet phone company Skype Technologies SA said yesterday that customers in the United States and Canada can place free phone calls from their computers to any land line or mobile phone in the two countries until the end of the year. The move comes at a time when millions of Americans are beginning to ditch traditional long-distance service and experiment with technology that allows people to talk using an Internet connection.
Skype already offers free international and long-distance calls to other Skype users, but it normally charges a small fee for calls made from computers to phones and for other services, such as voice mail. Executives at the firm said they hope the offer will spur growth in the United States, where adoption has been slower than in China and Europe, where Skype was founded. The firm was bought last year by eBay Inc.
I did not know e-bay owns it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/15/AR2006051500558.html