[asterisk-users] Rate sheet "normalization"

[Alex Balashov]

We solve this problem for our customers all the time, in various situationally-specific ways. But yes, we are not really in a position to genericise it and give it away.  It's not because we are greedy.  The time and resources just aren't there.

--
Alex Balashov - Principal 
Evariste Systems LLC 
235 E Ponce de Leon Ave 
Suite 106
Atlanta, GA 30030 
Tel: +1-678-954-0670 
Fax: +1-404-961-1892 
Web: http://www.evaristesys.com/, http://www.alexbalashov.com

"A E [Gmail]" <all.eforums at gmail.com> wrote:

>On Mon, Mar 12, 2012 at 6:52 PM, Markus <universe at truemetal.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> this question is not Asterisk specific, but since there are so many
>> experts present on this list, maybe its OK to ask anyways.
>>
>> I'm having a hard time "normalizing" rate sheets from different providers.
>> What I mean with this: the goal is to always get the cheapest rate for a
>> given destination. What I would like to do is throw like 10 rate sheets
>> from different providers together and as output get a single rate sheet
>> with only the cheapest rates. However, some providers are listing a
>> country, lets say Germany, as code "49" with a specific rate, and another
>> provider will list each city individually, and each code separately, e.g.
>> Berlin "4930", Hamburg "4940" etc., and probably different cities have
>> different rates as well. Now, if the "49" route of the first provider is
>> cheaper, my system (a2billing) will still use the more expensive "4930"
>> code because it is more specific.
>>
>> I'm looking for some awesome, smart tool that will automatically
>> "normalize" all these code differences and output a clean ratesheet with
>> only the cheapest rates.
>>
>> Does such a thing exist? I wonder how everyone else is "normalizing" their
>> different rate sheets. With a homebrewn script?
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>>
>Markus,
>
>you're not the first person and certainly not the last person who's ever
>asked about this. I had tried this on several mailing lists a little while
>ago.  A tool that could handle 10 or maybe even 5 provider rate-sheets all
>of which can potentially completely differ in formats from each other. Even
>worse are the rate update sheets from each provider which are many a times
>different from the initial rate sheets that the provider may have given you
>and then again they will differ from the rate updates from the remaining 4
>providers you've just painstakingly inserted into your DB.
>
>Given the popularity of Asterisk and other popular OSS based telephony
>platforms with several successful businesses running 100s of millions of
>minutes, you'd think at least a few have sorted this problem out. But I
>believe those who have, never respond to these emails as it took them quite
>a bit of effort to create such a tool and aren't willing to just give it
>away.
>
>Just what I have observed (and was even blatantly told by someone on some
>mailing list, can't remember exactly)
>
>You may have to advertise in the commercial / business list or offer a
>bounty. There are several commercial solutions available but I think they
>all come as a "feature" of a larger billing/rating/routing platform
>
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