Skype’s new beta for Windows (3.1 beta) comes with an interesting feature: the ability to charge people who are calling you. Dubbed Skype Prime, the new beta service allows customers to charge incoming callers by the minute or assess a one-time fee. Skype believes that the service will spur new business models, including fee-based help services online.

The new service only works on Skype-to-Skype calls, but this also accounts for how customizable the experience is. All calls placed using Skype are free at first, but after making a connection to a Skype Prime partner, a number of payment options become possible. A caller can review those payment options in the Skype client, and chose to accept them or not. No fees are automatically paid just by calling a Skype Prime member, in other words.

Now that’s pretty slick, but you can’t allow a POTS number to call you like you can with Ether, a competing service. Ether takes a smaller chunk of change from you for each call. The big difference is the number of features and the NAME that’s behind it. Obviously Skype is a big player.

Check the full article over at ars.