Why your business doesn’t need to pay more for superior Voice services

With some vendors raising their prices for Voice US routes, many impacted businesses are rightly re-evaluating their Voice strategies as these increases not only disrupt budgets but also impact customer experience as features are withdrawn to save costs.

In this blog we look at how businesses affected by the price increases can reduce Voice costs without losing out on features, reliability, and reach.

The impact of price increases for Voice services

One major provider of Voice US routes has recently implemented pricing increases that more than double the cost of Voice services for US destinations.

• Zone 1 (48 States): 88% increase
• Zone 4 (High Cost Areas): 48% increase

To put this into context, if we take an average $0.005 increase per minute and then extrapolate this to the typical volumes of midmarket and enterprise businesses then we can see the immediate impact on operating costs.

Note that these are just the base cost increases and don’t take into account associated services, for example:

• Connection fees
• Call recording
• Storage
• Emergency calling
• Insights and reporting

While these features are optional, they can significantly increase total costs if used frequently.

Facing these increases, some businesses may be tempted to look at lower tier Voice providers or use a combination of providers to take advantage of discounts on specific routes.

However, they should carefully consider the pros and cons of taking this approach where the only positive is a theoretically lower monthly bill.

The hidden costs of poor-quality Voice services

Dropped or poor-quality calls: Every dropped call wastes minutes and frustrates customers. If calls drop or lag, users are more likely to hang up without a resolution for their issue – but the business still gets billed.

Inefficient handling times: Low quality audio on Voice calls can increase AHT (Average Handle Time) and reduce FCR (First Call Resolution). As well as frustrating customers it also impacts staffing and operational costs.

Vendor fragmentation: Trying to reduce costs by managing separate suppliers for region-specific coverage leads to complexity and resource drain. What looks like a saving on monthly Voice costs just means increased staffing and administrative overheads.

How to evaluate the best Voice provider for your needs

Every business is different, but there is definitely some common ground when it comes to non-negotiable Voice requirements.

Here are some factors that you should be considering when looking to switch providers.

1. Call quality and reach

Providers that can ensure direct routes for Voice calls with zero hops mean reduced latency and noise, less dropped calls, and improved agent efficiency as a result.

2. Global coverage

Look for providers with global coverage, including local compliance routing. Even if you don’t need these routes right now, don’t put restrictions on future growth and new revenue opportunities.

3. Transparent pricing

Look for providers with clear pricing models, no hidden costs, and genuine discounts as you scale the number of minutes that you use.

4. Flexibility

Providers that offer traditional voice (PSTN) and digital voice (SIP) but also voice via more modern channels like WebRTC and OTT, and digital channels like WhatsApp and Viber.

5. Network ownership

Vendors that have their own infrastructure will have greater control over both the routing of calls and pricing, resulting in lower and more predictable costs and greater call clarity. They will also be able to resolve any issues far more quickly.

6. Unified omnichannel provider

We may be focusing on Voice now but remember that it just one of the channels that customers want to use to interact with your business. Look for a vendor that can provide SMS, WhatsApp, email, and other digital channels in one unified platform so that you can provide a consistently good customer experience across all touch points.

7. High quality support

Most providers say their prices include ‘customer support’ but in practice this can mean very different things. Look for a provider with a reputation for being responsive and proactive in resolving technical and network issues and has proven experience of different industries and global markets. This will be priceless when you need help with specific local compliance or implementation queries.

8. True value for money

As prices increase across the industry, you should ensure that you are getting bang for your buck. With the right provider you can reduce your Voice costs without sacrificing call quality, reach, or feature availability.

Migrating to Infobip’s voice service

If you have been affected by price increases from your Voice supplier, you may be looking to migrate to a provider that offers superior levels of service at a consistent, transparent, and fair price.

The migration process is probably far easier and less disruptive to your operations than you might think.

We have tools created specifically to help with migration, and for customers that want to keep their existing contact center or UCaaS/CCaaS solution and switch to Infobip for their Voice requirements, for example we have one that makes this simple and covers the following providers:

• Cisco Webex
• Genesys PureCloud
• Twilio
• Five9
• Microsoft Teams

Getting started

• To migrate to Infobip Voice, you first need to create an Infobip account if you don’t have one already.
• Register the number you wish to migrate through our Numbers app and provide specific details such as your current number provider and migration volume.
• If you’re migrating a short code for the U.S., you will need to provide a CSCA receipt and a migration letter, as well as create a brand in the US Sender Registration app.
• Create a brand in the U.S. Sender Registration app for the business associated with your campaigns.

When this is in place you can simply submit migration request and Infobip Support engineers will perform the migration on your behalf once they have checked the provided information to confirm feasibility.

You can then leverage our web interface or Voice API to route calls, send voice messages, and build Interactive Voice Response (IVR) flows.

Infobip voice features

In addition to benefiting from sensible and transparent pricing, here is an overview of some of the features that you can enjoy once you have migrated.

Customized call scenarios

Create any inbound or outbound call scenarios with our library of 60+ APIs, 50 events, and 100 languages supported.

Outbound voice messages

Use the Voice API to send messages, including one-time PINs read aloud, or create broadcasts over the web interface.

Text-to-speech

Convert text into audio files for voice messages, selecting from over 30 languages and 100+ voices.

Answering machine detection

Reduce costs by configuring the system to detect answering machines and choose to hang up the call or save the contact for a future campaign.

Start voice calls from a link

Call Link lets you instantly create a shareable link that starts a voice call with no app or account required. Just click the link to connect, making it perfect for one-time or urgent conversations.

Voice calls over the web

WebRTC lets you embed real-time voice (and video) calling directly into your website or mobile app with no downloads or plug-ins needed. With Infobip’s WebRTC SDK, developers can easily add calling features to their solutions.

Branded calling (Beta version available in US only)

Branded calling, or Branded Caller ID, is the next evolution on traditional CNAM (Caller Name), which displays caller names to add verified brand information into a phone call. With Branded Caller ID, customers can instantly see:

• The brand name
• Brand logo
• Reason for the call