Vapps, the global infrastructure supplier of VoIP conference call solutions announced an initiative to provide unlimited, free conference calling for up to 500 participants to Skype's 100 million registered users through Highspeedconferencing.com. The announcement follows on the heels of SkypeOut calls becoming free to Skype users in the U.S. and Canada.

"Skype is made up of people looking to communicate with co-workers, family and friends," said Michael Jackson, Director, Paid Products, Skype. "With Vapps' technology, conference calling can now be used, not only as a business tool, but also as a method to connect as many as 500 contacts on one call from any country. We are very excited that Vapps is offering this to Skype callers at no cost for the service or the calls."

"Vapps next-generation conference calling service is a natural complement to Skype's offerings for consumer and business users," said Will Stofega, Research Manager VoIP services, IDC. "Offering unlimited usage of these services will further differentiate Skype's offering for the small to medium sized businesses looking to cut down on costs and continue to have a reliable communications tool for their clients and partners."

Last month, Skype announced that all SkypeOut calls within the U.S. and Canada will be free. Skype anticipates that completely free calling will expand Skype's increasing penetration in North America and solidify Skype's position as the Internet's voice communication tool of choice. More people will now have the chance to benefit from Skype's premium products and online calling capabilities.

"As Skype continues its rapid growth within the Internet community, consumers as well as business users are increasingly looking for these types of services for cost savings," said Ben Lilienthal, CEO and co-founder of Vapps. "Our conference calling platform allows Skype participants to have more great features than are available through traditional conference calling services, and at no cost. We are very excited about this launch with Skype and look forward to the rapid adoption of online conference calling."

Conference call participants using Highspeedconferencing.com may be subject to long-distance or national rate charges when using a landline phone. Skype callers incur no fees for using this conference call service.