[asterisk-biz] US VoIP DIDs that accept collect calls

[Trevor Hammonds]

On Friday, July 31, 2009 at 3:23 PM, Peter Beckman wrote:
>
>I've got a few customers who have asked several times for DIDs that can
>accept collect calls.  Vitelity says their providers don't support it,
>which I can understand.  The purpose is likely to get a local number near a
>prison so the inmate can call locally and not pay $10/minute.  Since the
>collect call can be billed at widely varying rates, I'm guessing it is a
>headache to do well.
>
>Does anyone know of any providers offering US DIDs that can accept collect
>calls?

Best solution I have found for this is to get a Remote Call Forwarding
number from the local ILEC.  Make sure it is in a prefix local to the
institution or area from where they expect to receive the calls.  Have the
RCF number forward to a standard VoIP DID.  While you will pay a per-minute
charge in addition to the Collect Call charges, it is usually around $0.01
(or less) per minute if the forwarded location (VoIP DID) is a local call
from the RCF number.  The client would then pay the collect charges on the
ILEC bill.  

Let me know if you need any assistance.

Sincerely,
Trevor Hammonds