[asterisk-biz] CLEC costs

[Brian Scott]

We are preparing to negotiate a contract renewal with our SIP vendor.  
Not having a telecom background, I don't really have a frame of  
reference on what our vendor's costs are. But we are sending around  
$25K/mo their way, and I'm looking to reduce that, so I'd like to be  
armed with some knowledge before I start negotiating. Does anyone know:

1) how much does a DID cost a CLEC. Ignoring usage, per-channel fees,  
infrastructure, etc., what is a CLEC's incremental out-of-pocket cost  
to obtain and maintain a new block of DIDs?

2) for inbound toll-free calls, our vendor charges us a non-completion  
surcharge if over 10% of inbound calls are not answered. But they  
don't charge the same on inbound non-toll-free calls. Is there  
something special about the nature of an unanswered toll-free call  
(e.g. is there some "dip" that our vendor would be doing, or some  
other actual cost that they would be exposed to?) or would this  
perhaps just be "gravy" for them?

3) ignoring the (admittedly significant) human processing time that it  
takes for LNPs, is there an actual out-of-pocket cost that a CLEC  
would pay in order to facilitate an LNP?


Thanks,

Brian Scott
TierraNet Inc.
+1.858.309.6326
+1.800.551.0580 [fax]
+1.877.843.7721 [24/7 customer care]