[asterisk-biz] Experimental/new VoIP rate search engine.

[Alex Balashov]

I think if this gets traction you will see a lot of providers doing  
ultra-low bait-and-switch rates. Most cannot afford to be in a price  
race to the bottom.

On Jan 4, 2009, at 3:16 PM, Nitzan Kon <nk3569 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Well, how to put it.. exposure is exposure. As a provider you'd
> want to get your name out there even if your rates are not as
> competitive as others.
>
> Not to mention that if a provider does have such agreements
> in place that allow them to achieve low rates to a certain
> destination - having those rates searchable and displayed
> as #1 lowest is sure to bring them customers interested in
> those routes/rates.
>
> But at the end of the day it's up to each provider to decide
> if they'd like to be on there or not. You don't have to like
> the idea to get customers from it, nor would we force anyone
> to be on there if they'd like their rates removed. The idea
> is to find the lowest rates, so providers that do not compete
> on price aren't really critical to have in there.
>
> There will also be other comparisons in the future too.
> Calling plan rates, quality (will have to figure out
> how to measure "quality"), length in business, etc.
>
>  -- Nitzan
>
> --- On Sun, 1/4/09, Alex Balashov <abalashov at evaristesys.com> wrote:
>
>> From: Alex Balashov <abalashov at evaristesys.com>
>> Subject: Re: [asterisk-biz] Experimental/new VoIP rate search engine.
>> To: "nk3569 at yahoo.com" <nk3569 at yahoo.com>, "Commercial and Business- 
>> Oriented Asterisk Discussion" <asterisk-biz at lists.digium.com>
>> Cc: "Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion" <asterisk-biz at lists.digium.com 
>> >
>> Date: Sunday, January 4, 2009, 2:43 PM
>> Nitzan,
>>
>> Interesting idea. I wonder, though, what incentive exists
>> for providers to list their rates in a context where they
>> are explicitly bidding against others.
>>
>> Seems like the best rates come from negotiating discounts
>> off the public termination rate deck (something far from all
>> providers think is good to have) through volume commitments
>> privately.
>>
>> In other words, I think folks doing arbitrage are trying to
>> avoid commodification of trunking as much as possible, even
>> though that seems inevitable and kind of obvious.
>>
>> On Jan 4, 2009, at 2:22 PM, Nitzan Kon
>> <nk3569 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello providers! (those of you that are)
>>>
>>> Due to the lack of one being available (that I know
>> of),
>>> I decided to start a VoIP rate search engine. The idea
>> is
>>> to throw in as many providers into the database as we
>> can,
>>> and let the search functionality find the cheapest
>> routes
>>> for any given destination.
>>>
>>> To check it out, please visit:
>>> http://www.comparevoipproviderrates.com/
>>>
>>> If you are a provider and would like your rates
>> displayed,
>>> please email your rates in CSV format to rates
>> NOSPAMat comparevoipproviderrates.com - format is:
>>> dialprefix,destinate name,rate in US dollars
>>> example: 1214,USA,0.01
>>>
>>> destination name,dialprefix,rate is also acceptable.
>>>
>>> Please feel free to discuss and let me know if you
>> have
>>> any comments or suggestions - or if you find any bugs.
>>> This is brand new and will be a work-in-progress for a
>>> while.
>>>
>>> -- Nitzan
>>>
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