SkypeOut Rates to India: Why so high?

Hi All,

I wanted to see if some one can answer my question on why the Skype
(SkypeOut) rates to India are so high. I was told that the traffic
from Skype(Out) to India is not over IP all the way to India but stays
over IP until about Indonesia or some place and is converted to TDM
from then on, and that's why the rates don't fall to the dirt cheap
level they are for some other countries.


Would appreciate some insight.


Thanks!
Apurva

Apu

"Apu" <> wrote:
>I wanted to see if some one can answer my question on why the Skype
>(SkypeOut) rates to India are so high.

You asked the same question on the 6th, didn't you like the answers?

Sorry, I thought I was posting on a different newsgroup I did like
the answers, I just did not get a conclusive answer on how VoIP calling
is being done to India (PC to PSTN, that is), and whether VoIP traffic
is all the way to India or terminates outside of India's borders.

Apu wrote:

> Sorry, I thought I was posting on a different newsgroup I did like
> the answers, I just did not get a conclusive answer on how VoIP calling
> is being done to India (PC to PSTN, that is), and whether VoIP traffic
> is all the way to India or terminates outside of India's borders.
>

Does the internet terminate outside the borders?

No, the internet does not terminate outside the borders )) I am
specifically asking a call originating over the internet (PC) and
terminating on a PSTN number in India. How is that done, 'cause I
don't know if there are IP to PSTN bridges at many CO's in India.

Apu wrote:
> No, the internet does not terminate outside the borders )) I am
> specifically asking a call originating over the internet (PC) and
> terminating on a PSTN number in India. How is that done, 'cause I
> don't know if there are IP to PSTN bridges at many CO's in India.
>

Ask some of the VoiP providers if they have calls to India. Why would
you care where the bridge was located?

"Rick Merrill" <> wrote in message
news:ruadnSTnus-...
> Apu wrote:
>
>> Sorry, I thought I was posting on a different newsgroup I did like
>> the answers, I just did not get a conclusive answer on how VoIP calling
>> is being done to India (PC to PSTN, that is), and whether VoIP traffic
>> is all the way to India or terminates outside of India's borders.
>>
>
> Does the internet terminate outside the borders?

No, but there are numerous countries, e.g. India, where it is illegal for
anyone except the monopoly PTT to provide international or even
intranational voice transport. In such cases, the typical result is that
other telcos land in a neighboring country and pay the PTT at normal PSTN
rates. In other cases, e.g. most of Africa, the VOIP provider connects to
the local GSM network and changes locations frequently enough to not get
caught by the PTT.

S

--
Stephen Sprunk "Stupid people surround themselves with smart
CCIE #3723 people. Smart people surround themselves with
K5SSS smart people who disagree with them." --Aaron Sorkin


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The only reason I care where the IP/PSTN gateway is connected (that was
my original question) is because PC to PSTN rates to India are still in
the $0.12 to $ 0.15 per minute range from most providers, while
rates to a lot of countries have dipped below $0.05. I was just
wondering why it is the way it is, since I call India almost seven
times a week to talk to my parents.

Apu

Thanks for the reply Stephen! That is what I was hearing, and the
reason why PC to PSTN rates to India are not coming down.

Apu