The PhoneBoy Blog

Unlimited*, Skype Style

08 Mar 2009

This seemingly never ending misuse of the word unlimited continues onward. Skype , like many other providers of telecommunication services, offer “unlimited*” calling plans to the regular phone network. The details of unlimited are hidden in the asterisk, of course, or what Skype refers to as their ” Fair Usage Policy .”

To Skype’s credit, they lay out the limits in plain and simple details and explain what happens when you exceed the limits. Here are the specific details (current as of 9 February 2009):

• 10,000 minutes per user per month
• No more than 50 different phone numbers per day
• No more than 6 hours of calling per day
• If you exceed any of these limits, Skype’s normal calling rates (and connection fees) apply

In reality, these seem like completely realistic limits. I don’t know too many people that would even come close to these limits. I could certainly see some people using a Skype account with Unlimited calling on a PBX and “sharing” an account. These limits are designed to make such sharing a bit more difficult.

Still, I’d prefer something other than the term unlimited. Can’t even call this unmetered. What would you call it?