Quick question regarding Skype

[JackJ]

Hello everybody!

Bit of a Skype noob, but I need it for something soon so I need to get to grips with it.

My question is - can I call any other Skype account in the World for free? i.e. calling a US Skype account from my account here in the United Kingdom?

I'm assuming I can? But I don't know. Also, what's the sound quality like at this distance?

Look forward to hearing your feedback,


Jack <3

[Kali]

You can video chat for free or just voice chat with another skype account holder, but if you call an international phone number it does cost money. The rates are very low, though.

[JackJ]

Originally Posted by Kali

You can video chat for free or just voice chat with another skype account holder, but if you call an international phone number it does cost money. The rates are very low, though.

This is what I thought Awesome, okay! Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

Mahalo,


Jack <3

[WonderofTech]

Hello Jack, yes, you can call anywhere in the world from Skype account to Skype account for free. But if you are calling a phone from your Skype account, be careful because the charges for calling a landline can be drastically different than the charges for calling a mobile phone in some countries. Make sure you know whether you are calling a cell phone or a landline if you are calling a phone number outside the US.

[Elrond]

Originally Posted by WonderofTech

Make sure you know whether you are calling a cell phone or a landline if you are calling a phone number outside the US.

The rates are the same in the US but not elsewhere?

[Le Roi]

Originally Posted by Elrond

The rates are the same in the US but not elsewhere?

Yeah because in the US, the receiver with a cell phone pay for the communication along with the caller.

In a lot of places, especially in Europe, the receiver with a cell phone call does not pay for the communication, meaning the caller has to pay more for the call to make up for the receiver not paying anything.

However, to answer the OP, yeah, any skype account can call any other skype account in the world for free. I've chatted with Europeans from the US via skypes for free. The quality was good.

[CoolBee]

Yes, unless you are calling the US, then do NOT call a mobile phone anywhere else in the world without checking first!

Call charges for UK and Egyptian mobile phones for example from Skype are around 20-25p a minute. Also some countries even the landlines are that expensive - eg many Middle Eastern companies. It all depends on what wholesale rates Skype have managed to negotiate with national providers / local law.

If you are going to be calling phones a lot do check out their subscription packages - eg I have a one country subscription which allows me to call UK landlines up to 10000 minutes per month for something like £4 a month (not sure without checking - set it up yonks ago and they just deduct a sub from me every 3 months - I have it set on auto-recharge from my credit card so I don't have to worry about it as I also have one of their skype in numbers that looks like a London number people without skype can call at whatever their rate to call a London landline would be).

Quality of call depends mostly on your internet connection. It is rare that skype itself is the issue. If your broadband is less than wonderful, then if you are making or receiving important calls, make sure you turn off any background downloading which can kill the quality - also be sure Skype software often reports 'computer speed is too slow to make a call' when you are having a perfectly fine conversation!

My broadband connection is an internet dongle via the 3G networks, not an ADSL line and is absolutely fine most of the time.

I think the longest sustained call I have made to someone is about 3 hours! There are rare occasions when it drops repeatedly which is annoying, but as I say, they are rare.