By Sharla Sikes

VoIP’s greatest lure to business and personal customers alike is its price. Most VoIP providers offer low prices on local and international calling, some with unlimited long distance. The peer-to-peer service Skype provides functions a little bit differently, however, and may be losing the battle for dominance in the VoIP market.

Skype users may call each other for free, but dialing a non-Skype number using SkypeOut can rack up per-minute costs.

Other VoIP services can offer better calling rates, and even traditional phone providers often have lower rates than SkypeOut.

Skype fits its niche perfectly: Talking to other Skype users. For purposes beyond that, however, it has a long way to go before it offers competitive pricing.

Skype is offering other new services in its Skype Pro package, including Skype To Go, for international calling through Skype using a mobile phone, and Skype Unlimited, which are not available in some areas. SkypeIn allows non-Skype users to dial your Skype number. All carry their own subscription fees, of course.

“Millions of Skypers around the world already make cheap international calls from their computers. With Skype To Go, you don’t have to think twice about the cost of making an international call from your mobile phone. If you have a friend living abroad, you can now talk to him or her anytime and anywhere you want.” says Stefan Oberg, VP & GM Telecoms at Skype in a press release.

Skype is also recruiting its customers to act as service providers through its Skype Prime Beta program.

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