Silent Circle has just announced that the company will now allow users in 79 different countries to make global encrypted phone calls without racking up roaming fees. The company aims to take on the likes of Skype with this new service.

Silent Circle’s “Out Circle”

It used to be that the person you were calling had to have Silent Circle, but that’s no longer the case. With “Out Circle,” you can call anyone in the 79 supported countries for one flat fee that doesn’t include any roaming charges. That fee is $12.95 (100 minutes); $19.95 (250 minutes); $24.95 (500 minutes); and $39.95 (1,000 minutes) respectively. If you use Wi-Fi while also using this service, you won’t have to pay any roaming fees. But, you will still have to pay for a data plan if you do not use Wi-Fi.

When purchasing an “Out Circle” plan, Silent Circle will send users a ten-digit Silent Circle phone number that is encrypted and secure. Using that number, users can then make phone calls to anyone on the country list for free and without roaming charges when using Wi-Fi. Not surprisingly, Silent Circle wants to target business owners that pay for employee long-distance and roaming phone calls with the new plan.

Saving Businesses Money

As it stands, making long distance calls while traveling can be ludicrously expensive – especially if you are traveling in Europe and using data to make those calls. This is where Silent Circle can help. Instead of getting a bill for long-distance calls that employees have racked up, the company can save businesses money by offering the Out Circle plan. But, is Silent Circle’s new service enough to thwart some of the very low cost calling options that some companies already offer?

It’s hard to tell, but there does seem to be a market with travelers that may just want to call home or check into the office quickly from a Wi-Fi connection halfway across the world.

If Out Circle sounds like something you’d like to use, you can check out the new service on iOS, Android, and with Silent Circle’s own Blackphone devices. It’s hard to tell whether or not Silent Circle can truly trump companies offering businesses low rates already, or Skype services, which are often used for this type of calling. The one advantage of Silent Circle’s new plan is that all calls are entirely encrypted, and that means that you don’t need to worry about spying.

Silent Text

Silent Circle also offers a text encryption service called Silent Text that encrypts text messages. If you want to try and keep your messages private, Silent Text might be a good option. You can also try Out Circle while traveling to see if it cuts down on your expenses – this might be a good option for small business owners that can’t get a corporate rate deal. Or, you can just tell your employees to stick to emails over Wi-Fi.

Can Silent Circle take a chunk out of Skype’s business with this new service?