With the aim of giving its users the benefit of cheaper calls to landline and mobile phone numbers in over 170 countries, Internet calling service Skype Wednesday unveiled paid subscription plans.

The new Skype subscriptions, beginning Thursday, will be available to users who sign up for the plans for a monthly fee of $1.09.

The various option available under the subscription plan will include - the option of unlimited calls to US- and Canada-based mobiles and landlines, which will be available for $2.95 a month; unlimited calls to landlines in 39 countries, excluding the US, available for $5.95 a month; and unlimited calls to over 40 countries, including US mobiles and landlines, for a $12.95 monthly fee.

According to Neil Stevens, general manager of the consumer business segment at Skype, the paid subscription plans are chiefly aimed at people who make calls into developing countries, where making calls through conventional carriers can still be rather expensive.

Noting that Skype also intends to expand its service beyond computers, and focus on getting its service on devices like mobile phones, Stevens said that the introduction of the subscription plans underscore the fact that “a very large percentage of our revenue and growth can come from having products to call cost-effectively to the long tail” of mobile phones in the developing countries.