On Wednesday, Skype announced a new rate plan for U.S. and Canadian consumers of its SkypeOut service. The new Skype Unlimited Calling plan is a paid annual subscription service that will affect the SkypeOut service within the U.S. and Canada, while Skype to Skype calls remain free.

The Skype Unlimited Calling plan will cost $29.95 per year and allows registered users to make 12 months of unlimited SkypeOut calls to any phones within the U.S. and Canada.

Skype is offering a promotion for people who sign up for the Unlimited Calling plan before January 31, 2007. These customers will get a discounted introductory rate of $14.95, as well as a bonus offer of 100 minutes of SkypeOut credit for making International calls and over $50 in discount coupons for purchasing Skype-certified hardware.

With Skype’s current promotion, calls within the US and Canada free until December 31, 2006, at which time the new Unlimited Calling plan takes effect. Skype is flush with new customers from this promotion and the company hopes that many will decide to sign up for the new plan.