Oops. Here's a disruptive "business model" from the company telcos love to hate: Skype. SkypeOut is now free within the US and Canada to all landlines and mobiles, until at least the end of 2006.

How does this work?

If you’re in the US or Canada, you can use SkypeOut to call any landline or mobile number in both the USA and Canada for free.

If you’re in the US or Canada and calling any other country, OR if you’re in any other country and calling landline or mobile numbers in the US or Canada, the standard SkypeOut rates apply.

Of course, Skype-to-Skype calls continue to be globally free, so no changes there.

Is it really free? What are the strings attached?

Yes. It is really very, very free. There’s no prepayment, no minimum use, no subscription, no monthly fee, no nothing. You just download and install Skype and then you start calling. Both the caller and the number called must be in either the US or Canada. There are no strings attached.

The only condition is that we have said free SkypeOut within the US and Canada is guaranteed to last until the end of this year — that is, until December 31, 2006. We’re not quite sure yet what we will do after that. Maybe we extend the free period, maybe not. You’ll hear more about this towards the end of the year.

Until then, happy calling.

According to Skype Journal:

This promotion targets Skype's hardest market: North America. Skype's penetration in the US has been horrible, at least compared to other countries. So Skype North America is knocking down barriers to adoption. First with hardware distribution. Free calling takes NorthAm to the next level of accessibility.

How long will it take the telcos to get Kevin Martin on this? A cynic might say about 2 minutes.

Read more at: http://dailywireless.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5435&src=rss10.