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VxJasonxV
Asked: 2011-01-09 22:51:08 +0800 CST

Cheap Solution for Routing a Toll Free Number to a Standard POTS Number

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I do some technical work for an Internet Radio Show/Podcast, and need to fix something that has been broken for a while. The hosts have a Skype-In number to take listener calls, and for convenience sake, I bought and paid for a toll free number for a period of time.

I used to use Asterlink for routing calls, but they folded and sent my number to OneBox, but they're ridiculously expensive by comparison. I'm looking for a cheap solution for this one simple task. Forward toll free calls to a skype-in number.

The Skype-In number has a local California Area Code, and the Toll Free number prefix is 866. Our targeted users is the whole world, but given that the radio show uses Skype, the toll free number is more convenience for our US listeners, technically international users could use it, just as well as they could use the dial by username.

The definition of cheap is as cheap or cheaper than Asterlink was. I paid something like $2 a month, and then the termination/call rate, which was a fraction of a cent for termination, and only whole cents after some serious time on the call. A $20 preload lasted me months at a time.

I don't want to be upsold too, I want a simple web based management screen (CDR/stats are fun!), and obviously, it needs to be reliable. What vendors out there are you a fan of that solves this need?

asterisk skype pstn

2 Answers

  1. Have you started with asking your local telco? They won't be the cheapest, but they probably won't be the most expensive.

    If you want a better answer, you can start with telling us the country that you're in, for starters.

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  2. Best Answer

    I personally would use Vitelity. I like being able to provision numbers on the fly via the web interface. There is no upselling (no humans to talk to, for that matter), and although they specialize in SIP termination, it definitely is possible to configure any number to "failover" to a PSTN number if no SIP device is available to ring when a call comes in. All of their rates seem to be rock-bottom wholesale. There is an option on the web interface to generate reports of CDR info, but they can take a few minutes to run.

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