From the About website: “We know Skype is free for PC-to-PC calls, but when there is a PSTN or cell phone involved, Skype offers a fee-based service.” Read about Skype IPO.

The little girl in the picture is learning to read. She wants to call Gramma to show off. She is using a simple cell phone, not a smart phone with data. She wants to call a local Auckland number with the phone where the call rings to Gramma’s Skype ID in NYC.

Most individuals and organizations who use Skype can get SkypeIn™ phone numbers from 25 countries as of 12:30 PM CT on August 4, 2010. The price is $18 USD for three months at a time or $60 USD for one year. Great deal and it is highly recommended by millions, but what about the other 170 countries or so? What about if you want the phone numbers to ring to your cell phone, landline, sip phone, instant messengers, or even Skype for that matter… and change that ring to as you need?

How would the telecom landscape change if any wholesale IP communications-related company could do this, offer ring-to Skype? That is buy phone numbers from all over the world, and then resell the numbers to their users who would have the option to make the phone numbers ring-to SIP, PSTN or Skype?

A recent press release extends an invitation to all wholesale IP communications-related companies to join DIDXchange and have that extra option to offer ring-to Skype. It’s a free feature during the beta stage of the ring-to option on DIDX. The DIDX Care Team was asked this week what is the typical turn-around time from sign up to activation of a wholesale DIDX account.

Answer? This announcement has increased our new sign-ups exponentially, and of course, our current DIDX members are taking advantage of the feature. The turn-around time for new members getting started is 1 to 7 business days depending upon their technical setup, knowledge, experience, technical team, completing the interop testing and agreement to terms.

Carolyn Schuk, the VoIP Princess, known for her excellent writing skills and knowledge of the big picture in telecommunications answered among many others… a survey of thoughts on DIDX enabling its 17,000 + wholesale telecommunications members with its beta ”ring-to” Skype feature. She responded,”

On the face of it, this makes sense in the context of unified communications and fixed/mobile convergence — it’s a logical extension to SkypeIn and SkypeOut. In general, I think that as more and more people use Skype they will increasingly expect it to work like a “telephone;” which means that they will want to be able to use a Skype number just as they use a conventional phone number — forwarding, find-me etc. One application I can easily see is for people regularly traveling overseas, who are already more likely to be Skype users.

Questions I would ask include: What’s required technically to support Skype’s proprietary communications protocol? Are the potential customers already doing this in some way — and is it easy or complicated?”

Another survey response from Kone Mohammed, Marketing Executive for MTN Africa states, “Law-abiding entrepreneurs need services like this from their telecommunications providers… ring-t0 Skype and other instant messengers, phone numbers from different parts of the globe, access to 3G networks. This is a the way to help families survive, children to become educated. It appears that it will open new markets, possible business ventures, and revenue for both traditional companies and next generational startups. No one will lose. It has potential for all.”

The complete press release from Super Technologies, Inc. announcement follows:

Super Technologies, Inc. announces that over 17,000 carriers and operators, both wired and wireless, as well as newer voIP companies and social community applications providers, who are members of DIDX, have access to to beta “ring-to” Skype.

(I-Newswire) August 3, 2010 – Super Technologies, Inc. announces that over 17,000 carriers and operators, both wired and wireless, as well as newer voIP companies and social community applications providers, who are members of DIDX, have access to to beta “ring-to” Skype. It enables all active members of the wholesale direct inward dialing ecosystem to forward calls to not only session initiation protocol and IAX2 on most Windows, Linux and Mac computers and netbooks, smart phones, and other Internet devices.

“Our aim as the developer team at Super Technologies, Inc. and in this case for our DIDX solution is to enable our wholesale customers to capture more of the global market and serve as many of their users’ IP communications needs as possible. Adding the Skype module to IP communications-related solutions and services for origination (direct inward dialing or in every day language for incoming calls) changes everything. Now, scores of end-users who use Skype will be able to easily buy phone numbers from 70 or more nations and 10s of 1000s of cities worldwide, not currently available on the Skype service itself. Our advice to individuals and organizations who want to use this new empowering tool, should ask their service provider if they are an active member of DIDX.net, to take advantage,” stated Muneeb Iqbal, Sales Executive at Super Technologies, Inc. and DIDXchange.

What specific types of companies and entrepreneurs will be able to gain from phone numbers’ ability to ring to Skype? Mobile applications providers, virtual office suppliers, and even incumbent telecoms with a softswitch will be able to add call in to Skype services via direct inward dialing for their users.

There is no other online wholesale marketplace that offers SIP/IAX2 DID voip phone numbers in over 70 countries which option to ring to Skype. The current countries that DIDX.net offers phone numbers from via its seller members include: D.R., Jamaica, USA, Canada, Russia, S. Africa,Greece, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Austria, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Noway, Poland, Germany, Peru, Mexio, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Malaysia, Christmas Island, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, S. Korea, Vietnam, China, Turkey, Niger, Togo, Sierra Leone, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Guinea-Bissaw, Seychelles Island, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Luxembourg, Ireland, Iceland, Albania, Finland, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Antarctica, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, N. Korea, Hong Kong, Israel, Bahrain, and Georgia.

Thomas Lombard, a computer programmer and video editor from San Diego, California says he understands now how it works, “Individuals and small businesses can ask their telecommunications service provider if they are an active member of DIDX in order to take advantage of this new feature. If the telco, wired or wireless, does, it will enable the users’ friends, family, customers and acquaintances to call from cell phones, landlines, and other types of calling devices to the users’ new phone numbers from up to 70 countries that  can ring on users’ Skype instant messenger through the users’s Skype ID.”

He continues, “Like this example… I live in San Diego, but my girlfriend lives in Honduras, my parents in Malaysia, and potential customers in USA, Canada, Latin America and Thailand. I ask my cell phone service provider T-Mobile if they are an active member of DIDX. If they are, I ask to buy local phone numbers in those six areas. Because T-Mobile is a member of DIDX, my six international phone numbers can be set to ring to my Skype ID. Now, I am a local call to those people who are super important to me. They will start calling me a lot, and I am more likely to get the call because I am on Skype almost 24/7. Right now, Skype only sells phone numbers in 25 countries, and I would rather buy from my cell phone operator anyways if possible.”

“We at Super Technologies, Inc. discussed internally the fact that the “ring-to” Skype option our developers under the leadership of Arfeen Muhammed on DIDX is still in beta. Should we enable this module for all our 17,000 plus wholesale client members of DIDX? Yes. It will be complimentary and free to active DIDX buyer members for a limited time and this will be during the beta period. Any new entities not currently members of DIDX who would like to leverage this feature should sign up on DIDX.net and then complete the set of interop tests and buyer agreement,” Suzanne Bowen, Vice President and co-founder of Super Technologies, Inc. and DIDX. “Listen to our DIDX podcast channel that even feeds to iTunes to learn about DIDX from its members. Let them tell you about it.”

For understanding more about the DIDXchange, the marketplaces has an extensive knowledge base at kb.didx.net and an array of demonstration videos at didx.net/videos and on DIDX Youtube channels.

“We are really proud of the companies and individuals who are members of DIDXchange. They are truly a gathering of some of the brightest minds in IP communications. Offering the new “ring-to” Skype option is another way to show our appreciation. We have more surprises for 2010, too,” Rehan Allahwala, inventor of the DIDXchange concept and CEO as well as co-founder of Super Technologies, Inc. and DIDX since 1999.