asterisk users - Jul 2004 - DID VoIP trunk provider for metro Chicago, LA and/or Orlando.

I am looking for a provider that will provide an equivalent of DID/DOD 
trunks via IAX, IAX2 or SIP using numbers in Metro Chicago (prefer 
Skokie), LA (prefer West Hollywood or Venice), and/or Orlando (prefer 
Winter Garden). If I can migrate some of my existing numbers using LNP, 
that would be even better, but it is not a requirement.

While I know that there are several companies that will terminate VoIP 
number using these protocols, none offers a functional equivalent of 
ILEC DID service. From my ILEC, I can purchase one or more DID trunks 
and a block of phone numbers (usually for between $0.01 and $0.10 a 
number). I can receive as many calls simultaneously as I have trunks, 
after that callers receive a busy signal.

All VoIP trunk providers that I have found, want to charge me several 
dollars per phone number, but will allow me unlimited incoming calls 
per number.

I want many phone numbers so that each phone in my facility has its own 
phone number, but I really do not need that many simultaneous calls and 
it would be cost prohibitive to pay several dollars for each phone 
number.

Thanks in advance.

/carmi

On 10:41 AM 7/20/2004, Carmi Weinzweig wrote:
 >I want many phone numbers so that each phone in my facility has its own
 >phone number, but I really do not need that many simultaneous calls and
 >it would be cost prohibitive to pay several dollars for each phone
 >number.

It's a different business plan.  By going to a VoIP provider, you alleviate 
the requirement for hardwware you lease or own to terminate PRI's at 
multiple locations and distribute the calls to your end users.  So, you 
aren't paying for the physical T1 and associated hardware.  The VoIP 
providers are now incurring that cost and must recuperate it (unless they 
are operatiing under the '90s dot com business plans in which recuperating 
costs is not required - but you better be ready to turn up a new provider 
on a moments notice if you are using one of these).  So in the past if I am 
understanding you, you would buy a PRI and pay some fee for the T1 itself, 
as well as $0.01 to $0.10 per number assigned.  In this case, you want to 
not pay the T1 fee but still pay low per number rates.  Maybe if you talked 
to the providers they might come to a different pricing plan for you that 
emulates the old way and gives you a better bang for the number?

-Chris