Skype to Allow Free US, Canada Calls

In an attempt to boost the number of households which use it service, eBay-owned Skype is making possible free North American SkypeOut calls through the end of the year.

VoIP provider Skype, in an effort to increase its market penetration, today announced it would be allowing users to make calls to traditional phones in North America. This looks to be a limited time promotion which will last until the end of the year.

As part of this market push, said Skype, users who make SkypeOut calls to traditional landline and mobile phones in the US and Canada will be able to do so for free provided they are making Skype-based calls from either of these countries. Other countries called to or making SkypeOut calls to the US and Canada will continue to incur normal charges.

“Millions of consumers around the world are flocking to Skype every month, and we believe free SkypeOut calling will rapidly accelerate Skype adoption in the US and Canada,” said Henry Gomez, General Manager, Skype North America, in a statement. “We’re very excited to be bringing Skype’s convenience and voice quality to so many people for free.”