Skype doubling U.S. connection fees to many countries

Skype is doubling its connection fee for calls from the U.S. and many other countries to landlines and mobile phones in select destinations beginning Sept. 6, according to the company's website. On that date, calls from the U.S. to countries outside of Skype's "Global Rate destinations" will be subject to a $0.079 connection charge, up from the previous rate of $0.039 per connection.

There are currently more than 30 countries in the Global Rate destinations group, including all of Western Europe, Poland, Argentina, China, New Zealand and Australia. But if you're a Skype user attempting to reach major markets such as Brazil, Indonesia, most of Mexico, or any country in Central America or Africa, you'll pay slightly more for each call.

Skype spokesman Chaim Haas said the cost increase will be very minimal.

"It is only a small one-time increase per call, and these changes do not affect the per-minute charges for Skype calls," Haas said. "Skype regularly reviews its pricing to reflect market conditions, and the company determined that it needed to adjust the connection rates to countries outside of the Global rate group."

Haas did not comment on whether new mobile VoIP entrants or Google Voice had affected the company's decision to raise the connection fees, and he stressed that most major aspects of the company's service remain unchanged. Google Voice's recently announced pricing structure undercuts almost all of Skype's rates to mobile phones. Also, several mobile VoIP companies will offer cheaper connections to areas outside of Skype's Global Rate group after the Sept. 6 increase, though Skype's cost per minute will still remain lower. 

For more:
- see the new connection rates on Skype's website here
- see the list of Global Rate countries here 

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