The world now belongs to Skype
Calling International from India has always been a … pain to say the least. First off, getting through was impossible. Notice how I say “was” because that was the case in the early and mid 90′s. With the entry of private operators into the field, things got easier because the state monopoly was over. Getting through to an international number is relatively easy today and simple. The only problem is mobile operators take about a week to activate your ISD (I have no idea why).
Secondly, the rates. My god, Rs. 16 to call the US? At Rs.44 = 1 USD, that comes to around $0.40/minute. That’s just idiotic. Who the hell is going to call their relatives in the US at that rate? I wouldn’t call my uncle just to say hi at that rate, no way in hell. Then the goverment started lowering the surcharge and what not to increase competition among the players and it worked. Today you can call the middle east at Rs. 7/minute, costly but not idiotic. Plus with the advent of VOIP and the illegal calling stations coming up, the players had no choice but to lower rates. We used to call our relatives in the US at around Rs.3.50/minute, very nice.
And then Skype happened. It has blown anyone and everyone out of the water. Granted that only a small population in the country has access to internet that can carry voice data, Skype is still worth mentioning. Do you know at what rate you can call the US with Skype? Rs 1/minute (@ Rs 45 = 1 USD). That’s phenominal. Their rates for calling other countries are higher but they’re still less than what an operator like Airtel, Reliance, MTNL would charge you.
Here’s the reason why the world belongs to Skype. It’s called SkypeIn. Bascically, it allows you to get numbers in 14 different countries. A call to your number lands on your computer when you’re logged into Skype or onto your voice mail. you can even forward calls to an external number. And the cost I hear you ask? Rs. 180/month (@Rs 45 = 1 USD). That’s cheaper than what my mobile operator, Airtel charges me. The world is closing like a paper folded into half and Skype is the hand thats forcing it to close. I love you Skype.
I have two SkypeIn numbers, one for the UK and one for the US. They’re on my contact information page if you’d like to give me a call. I can’t wait for the day Skype makes a deal with Airtel, Relaince, MTNL etc. Imagine calling India @ Rs1/minute. Oh the joy…
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