Skype reportedly will be rolling out a new function that will let up to five people participate in a video call at the same time, a capability that will let it counter the video conferencing capabilities of such vendors as Cisco Systems and Polycom.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Neil Stevens, general manager of Skype’s consumer business segment, said that it will launch a public beta program for the feature, which initially will be available for free but will become a paid service within the next three to four months.