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  • VoIP pricing changes at CallCentric

    From Lars Poulsen@21:1/5 to All on Sun Aug 31 23:32:10 2025
    For a number of years, I have been using CallCentric (front-ended by the SoftPhone app) to call my family in Denmark on week-ends. For some time,
    I have noticed that the calls were disconnected after some time, but
    would reconnect immediately with no problem. A few days ago, I was
    annoyed enough to find out what was happening.

    When I first started using CallCentric, calls to Denmark were 7
    cents/minute for landlines and I think 26 cents/min for mobile phones,
    while the regulars AT&T rate from my mobile phone was around 1
    dollar/minute. This made it affordable to talk to my family for an hour
    on Saturdays.

    What has happened now, is that the billing rates have flipped. Calls to
    mobile numbers are now 1.6 cents/minute, while landlines are billed at
    38.5 cents/minute. This causes the 10-20 dollar reserve I keep in my
    CallCenric report to get exhausted, and when it hits about 3 dollars,
    the call drops. The account automatically rechanges and I can call
    again. Until I hit the maximum number of daily recharges (which I have
    set to 2).

    I am shocked at this change in rates. I was sure it must be a data entry
    error in thir rate table, but their customer service says that these are
    indeed the rates now.

    Do other VoIP providers (SIP telcos) have similar rates? What happened
    to cause these changes? I would have expected that 7 cents/26 cents might
    turn into 10 cents/30 cents over a decade or so (although I would have
    thought it more likely that thay would turn into 4 cents/10 cents, given
    the general trends in wholesale tececom costs.

    Lars Poulsen
    Santa Barbara, CA

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  • From David@21:1/5 to Lars Poulsen on Mon Sep 1 14:22:02 2025
    On 8/31/25 7:32 PM, Lars Poulsen wrote:

    Do other VoIP providers (SIP telcos) have similar rates?

    In the EU, the mobile user pays /min for outgoing, but the caller pay$
    for to-mobile calls.

    What happened to cause these changes?

    Good Question.

    I know a while ago the EU dropped the hammer on outrageous intra-EU
    roaming charges [ie: German user goes to France, makes a call, $$$] so
    the carriers quickly found other ways to be greedy. One was multiplying
    charges for terminating inbound calls from outside the EU.

    But I have no idea why they have flipped. I know Callcentric uses
    Bandwidth on their back end, and would guess that's who hosts their EU
    calls, but that's a guess.

    Here's Google Voice's rates <https://voice.google.com/u/0/rates>

    Denmark - Landline $0.02
    Denmark - Mobile $0.02
    Denmark - Premium $0.70
    Denmark - Shared Cost $0.01
    Denmark - Special Services $0.01
    Denmark - Toll Free $0.01
    Denmark - Universal Access $0.01

    So maybe you want to look at Google Voice.

    Or ask CallCentric why they are so uncompetitive...

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  • From Lars Poulsen@21:1/5 to David on Mon Sep 1 23:23:11 2025
    On 2025-09-01, David <[email protected]> wrote:
    Here's Google Voice's rates <https://voice.google.com/u/0/rates>
    Denmark - Landline $0.02
    Denmark - Mobile $0.02
    Denmark - Premium $0.70
    Denmark - Shared Cost $0.01
    Denmark - Special Services $0.01
    Denmark - Toll Free $0.01
    Denmark - Universal Access $0.01

    So maybe you want to look at Google Voice.

    Or ask CallCentric why they are so uncompetitive...

    Thank you so much for that list.
    I will indeed ask CallCentric ...

    - Lars

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  • From John Levine@21:1/5 to All on Tue Sep 2 10:56:27 2025
    According to Lars Poulsen <[email protected]>:
    On 2025-09-01, David <[email protected]> wrote:
    Here's Google Voice's rates <https://voice.google.com/u/0/rates>
    Or ask CallCentric why they are so uncompetitive...

    Thank you so much for that list.
    I will indeed ask CallCentric ...

    VoIP long distance prices are all over the place.

    VoIPdiscount which used to be very cheap is now 29cpm US to Denmark landline, 35cpm to mobile.

    Mytello, which has a phone app, is 1cpm landline, 3.6cpm mobile.

    Mint Mobile, T-Mobile's captive MVNO, charges 1cpm landline, 20cpm mobile.

    My guess is they're passing through prices from their long distance wholesalers, but the wholesale prices are all over the place too.

    --
    Regards,
    John Levine, [email protected], Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
    Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

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  • From Adam H. Kerman@21:1/5 to Lars Poulsen on Tue Sep 2 23:38:18 2025
    Lars Poulsen <[email protected]> wrote:

    CallCentric essentially said: Those are the prices ... live with it or
    leave.

    I am now setting up a VoIP.ms account, preparing to move. They are about
    1 cpm regardless of mobile or landline.

    I've been a VoIP.ms subscriber for years but when you started this
    thread, I couldn't spot interational calling rates on the Web site. I
    spotted something vague about not being able to complete some calls.

    I would ask specifically about the surcharged caller-pays mobile numbers
    you are trying to reach.

    Their customer service people are so pleasant that you are shocked that
    they work in telecom.

    fwiw, I pay per minute inbound and outbound; don't receive enough
    inbound calls to justify the monthly inbound rate.

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  • From Lars Poulsen@21:1/5 to David on Tue Sep 2 20:53:08 2025
    On 2025-09-01, David <[email protected]> wrote:
    Here's Google Voice's rates <https://voice.google.com/u/0/rates>
    Or ask CallCentric why they are so uncompetitive...

    According to Lars Poulsen <[email protected]>:
    Thank you so much for that list.
    I will indeed ask CallCentric ...

    On 2025-09-02, John Levine <[email protected]> wrote:
    VoIP long distance prices are all over the place.
    VoIPdiscount which used to be very cheap is now 29cpm US to Denmark landline, 35cpm to mobile.
    Mytello, which has a phone app, is 1cpm landline, 3.6cpm mobile.
    Mint Mobile, T-Mobile's captive MVNO, charges 1cpm landline, 20cpm mobile.

    My guess is they're passing through prices from their long distance wholesalers, but the wholesale prices are all over the place too.

    CallCentric essentially said: Those are the prices ... live with it or
    leave.

    I am now setting up a VoIP.ms account, preparing to move. They are about
    1 cpm regardless of mobile or landline.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)