What's the point of SkypeIn?

okay, you know I'm a Skype junkie. I've had a Skype account for years. My entire business runs because of Skype. If Skype didn't exist, TPN wouldn't exist - it's that simple.

And so today we hear that Skype have finally released Australian SkypeIn numbers, something a lot of us have been waiting for since forever (thanks to Grade A Student for IM'ing me the news). But I went over the buy one and found myself questioning the value. 30 Euro is about $100 Aussie. For a phone number for 12 months. So I've been trying to think about who would use it and why. I've come up with the following scenarios:

1. People who live in Australia who aren't on Skype and don't have my mobile phone number. How would they get my SkypeIn number and not get my mobile?

2. When I'm travelling overseas, and my mobile either doesn't work or I don't want to pay the GNP of a LDC in "roaming" charges (what a frakkin scam that is), I can give people a local Aussie number to call me on, leave voicemail, etc. That's a scenario I can see. But for $100 a year? Perhaps.

3. There's always the option of getting a US/UK number for my many fans who want to call me but, again, aren't on Skype and can't afford to call my mobile internationally. Quite frankly, there aren't many people I want to hear from who fit into those two categories.

So perhaps #2 is worth the spend. Are there other scenarios I'm missing?

Comments

[Glenn Vassallo]

I just got my SkypeIn number because I wanted to have a "landline" number that people can call me on. I just started a small business and was exclusively using a mobile number, now with SkypeIn my customers (and friends) can choose to call my new "landline" number. The beauty of this number is that it follows me where ever I happen to be. The other reason I got the SkypeIn number is for testing purposes, I want to see if you can successfully use this technology in a business situatiom with out ever having to get a landline set up.

[Phillip Molly Malone]

Isn't there a way of using the Skype-in to then forward to another number using Skype? Sort of a follow me situation?
Also is a good option for Audio comments from Aussies (although probably wouldn't want to be the only thing that you use).

But the other option would be for you to get rid of your home phone and go Skype only. Aren't there portbably Skype phones?

Just a thought.
Molly

[pascoe]

I Google'd the conversion rate, and The Mighty Monolith tells me 30euro is about AU$50 (but you know, I didn't actually take it any further to verify that, lazy git that I am)

http://www.google.com.au/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=30+euro+in+aud

[Tom Morris]

It's a darn sight cheaper than having a landline. Now if we can just get it so you can have DSL without having a home phone line, which thanks to our monopolistic telephone companies here in Blighty is pretty much impossible.

[Jaanus]

Molly asks -- "Isn't there a way of using the Skype-in to then forward to another number using Skype? Sort of a follow me situation? " -- yes, there is Call Forwarding in SkypeIn. You can forward incoming calls either to another Skype Name or to a phone number.

[william dutton]

how about internode/agile voip solution, pity you can't tie in open codec use into skype....

will