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Microcap & Penny Stocks : FRANKLIN TELECOM (FTEL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BuzzVA who wrote (36221)	7/16/1998 1:01:00 AM
From: vic klimpl	Respond to of 41046

Most will be done imho with pre paid calling cards like bosnia.instant cash

To: BuzzVA who wrote (36221)	7/16/1998 1:50:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Respond to of 41046

Buzz, and All, >>[they] may begin to use the VoIP capacity for $.xx/minute. Who bills them? FNet locally? FNet from USA? A local billing service?...I'm trying to understand the mechanics of how FTEL will actually receive these revs.<< Excellent question! In this age of renegade operations around the globe, characterized by increased opportunism which in turn is fostered by low costs of entry, wild-catting and paper-only corporations, the question you posed regarding billing is the essence of what many a thesis will be written on. I've already read one such paper by Al Niven of Planet.com, and it knocked my socks off. He gave it at one of the Jeff Pulver shows several months ago. If I can find it on one of my many platforms that I hop from and to throughout the day, I'll post it in the VoIP thread. Controlling the end points through ownership [or franchise] is one way of getting around getting taken to the cleaners. The other way is to do your homework to the point of distraction, before signing up with just any old "partner" that comes along with a closet full of gateways, for it has already been proven that closets are sometimes portable. The temptation for startups is to jump in and take whatever sticks up its head as being available in the way of new potential traffic. But diligence is paramount, I can't over-emphasize that, when selecting the distant-end entities. That's why it seems to take so long in establishing new beach heads, er... landing points. And then there are the mechanics that you spoke of. Those are accommodated by various methods using different kinds of billing systems, depending on the modality of the traffic being handled. If the traffic is of a true IP inter-networking nature (which is still very rare for high-quality, metered voice), then it's rather complicated if it is metered at all. For the purist IP nets, in other words, there are settlement conventions that consortia have agreed to, which only work if everyone is in synch and plays by the rules. And in the non-ITXC type, there is a lot of slippage and arbitrage that takes place, and sometimes inequalities exist between the profitability of one partner versus another. And as long as those inequalities are spelled out, and agreed to, everyone is happy. This category usually includes smaller operators who act as independents, called node meisters by some, and who abide by a charter that was made up under democratic principles. I kid you not. It's a somewhat tedious process and demands that everyone obeys the rules. If, OTOH, the VoIP component amounts to simply tie-line substitution service, then in many cases traditional billing systems which count minutes-of-use will suffice. These are already incorporated in many of the host switches that interface with the gateways, or can be found in some gateways themselves, or in the associated host processors on the more sophisticated switches. The point here is that billing for this category of service is no different than that of any other type of gateway provider's services. They're done using the same billing platforms as switched services. Only the international ITU-sanctioned settlements and accounting rules don't come into play... yet. And then there are the settlement companies like ITXC who would take a fraction of the margin of profit to handle all of this hassle for you. And even mix and match ITSPs on the fly, if their wares are certified for such treatment. Suffice it to say that there are many ways that this can be done, and in fact there are many ways in which it is being done. It requires that those who partner on traffic routes agree in principle on how it will be done. There is no single standard in place, yet, in other words, and probably never will be. Again, the key element is securing a high level of trust with the distant parties you are doing business with, and sometimes that's easier said than done. Best Regards, Frank C.

To: BuzzVA who wrote (36221)	7/16/1998 7:37:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 41046

Buzz, This is the link that talks about the international settlements I referenced earlier in the thread. It's a transcript by Al Niven of PlanetTel.com that starts off: "Transcription of my presentation at Spring '98 Voice On The Net at the session, 'WideSpread Deployment of Gateways'. I always speak without slides, AV, or written notes." planettel.com The full text can also be seen in the VoIP thread here in SI, at: Message 5212530 Enjoy, and Regards, Frank C.