I only discovered that the UK termination rates were so ridiculously high (about 44 cents/minute) after making a one-hour call to a friend there. Perhaps there was some attempt to inform Voip.ms users, but if so I was not aware of this.
My concerns are that 1) I don’t see any sign that Voip.ms management view this as a problem 2) this rate has been in place for several months now with no sign of any change or any effort to address 3) it’s completely unacceptable to me, since the UK is the only country that I call on a regular basis.
Does anyone else see this as a problem? Is Voip.ms doing anything about it?
Hello DavidHutton,
We invite you to participate in our beta tester program, which can be activated through the customer portal. Currently, we are pleased to offer enhanced rates for select destinations, including the United Kingdom.
Please check
This update allows you to place calls using a local Caller ID number in these newly added countries, benefiting from local calling rates and emergency service access:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
How to Participate:
To start testing this feature, please follow these steps:
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Caller ID Validation: Validate a number you own outside of our network or obtain a DID number from our available stock from the country you want to locally call.
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Set Your Caller ID: Set your number as the Main Account Caller ID or Sub Account Caller ID.
Using a local Caller ID number from the same country will ensure you’re charged local rates. If you don’t use a local Caller ID number, standard international rates will apply. Please note that for calls within the U.S. and Canada, you can enjoy national rates without needing a local Caller ID number.
If this a regular destination, try directly calling by IP address.
The method depends on your hardware at both ends.
Grandstream allows this method.
Is this a new thing? It was a while ago now that UK termination rates went sky-high. At that time I was placing calls using a UK DID. I stopped using voip,ms for UK calls because of the rate increase.
What are the enhanced rates, where can I see them? In the usual rate table I’m still seeing rates for around 1/2 USD / min (which is just a no-go)…
Thanks
OK, found the rates. A question:
“you must set your Main Account Caller ID or Sub Account Caller ID to this specific number [an in-country number].” My question: is setting the outbound CID my server presents to voip.ms sufficient? Or, must this be hard-coded in the voip.ms control panel?
Reason: when placing US+CAN calls my server will use a US CID, when placing calls to +44 numbers it will use a UK CID already.
TIA.
Hello dampsquid,
The information provided is accurate. The proper transmission of the caller ID is crucial in determining the applicable local termination rates.
When dialing into the UK. if a different caller ID is utilized, such as one from the US or Canada, standard international call rates will be applied to the outgoing call.
Thanks for the reply, but you didn’t quite answer my question…
Hello William,
I find this a very unsatisfactory workaround.
I would like to know why the UK rates are suddenly so different from virtually every other country, and whether Voip.ms has a plan to fix this anomaly.
Hello dampsquid,
I sincerely apologize for not addressing your inquiry immediately. If you are utilizing a PBX-type device, we kindly request that you provide us with the caller ID information from your end server. Conversely, if you are using an ATA, IP phone, or softphone device, we expect you to configure the caller ID information through the settings available in the customer portal.
Perfect, thank you.
I’m also interested in David’s question… I’m in the US, a UK expat, for family communications WhatsApp, FaceTime etc. is fantastic. For anything commercial, business, we rely on cost-effective PSTN connectivity. The UK is indeed an anomaly - France and Germany for example have prices like the UK used to.
So, why is the UK such an outlier?
Hello DavidHutton,
Local termination for international destinations does not specifically apply only to the United Kingdom. In this correspondence, you will find a comprehensive list of countries that are eligible for local calling rates. One of the objectives of this initiative is to mitigate excessive call rates for these destinations.
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I recently experienced this same problem and calls to the UK emptied my account balance to negative. I followed the (vague) steps outlined here to “participate in this beta program” and ordered a UK DID so that I can make calls at a local rate. However, my order was cancelled because they needed proof (gas bill) that I reside in the UK in order to assign a DID.
So I want to know how others are getting into this program when I am blocked from Step 1. What is the point of this program (making international calls at local rates) when you need proof of residence at the destination country?