We’ve done multi-currency billing/payment for decades, with multiple different service levels according to need and preference (no-commit, PAYG through to high commit, minimal variable cost). Then, last year, we recognised that while some customers wanted as much granularity as they could get (in price and prefix specificity), others couldn’t handle the level of granularity we defaulted to. So we introduced the ability to specify the granularity from summarised to extended, as well as our default which is suitable for most.
Throughout this time though, our rate sheets and billing have been UK-oriented with peak, off-peak and weekend prices, as well as connection charges where appropriate (usually on UK Special Services and Premium codes). This is a problem for some of our newer international customers who are used to a single 24hr rate. While we can’t make the connection charge go away (but our fraud controls enable calls to such numbers to be barred), we’re now adding the additional option of a single 24 hour rate in rate sheets and billing.
To avoid anybody wasting time, with reduced granularity, be it in prefixes or in times of day, there will never be an arbitrage opportunity. If we are providing less specificity the rate concerned will represent the worst case scenario. Best value will always come from the most specific rate deck options, for those who are able to consume them.
To be clear on the options to consider now:
- Account currency – GBP, USD or EUR. This cannot be changed once an account is open. We’re open to other currencies where there is demand and, regardless of account currency, payment can be made in USDT/USDC as well.
- Service level – Developer (premium pricing for non-production testing), Startup (no channel fees, PAYG rates), Virtual Interconnect (committed channel capacity, lower rates), Managed Interconnect (highest commitment, lowest rates and bespoke packaging).
- Prefix profile – Standard (317,461 prefixes at the time of writing), Extended (NPA/NXX for USA plus expanded UK codes – 362,215 prefixes at time of writing), Compressed (109,422 prefixes at time of writing). Exact prefix counts will change but the structure / relative size should remain consistent.
- Time of day profile – UK/default or now 24h.
By my maths that is 72 combinations, before accounting for account-specific custom rates where agreed. We hope that gives you the perfect combination to suit your needs. Don’t forget too, rate sheets are available in a variety of formats through the portal or the API – many customers script a daily import of them to pick up changes automatically.
To switch any options, please speak to your account manager.
