Origin Based Pricing, Origin based Routing, A # routing, A # billing…say what????

So, by now, everyone should be aware that there is new regulation being imposed on calls that originate and terminate in the EU (see you later GB, I guess?), adding a new level of complexity to pricing, routing, and reporting. This origin based pricing basically means that carriers can buy and sell voice calls based on the origination AND termination side. In an industry where it has been the standard to price and route based on destination since time immemorial, this has caused…CHAOS!
  
Think about it like this, when you jump into a taxi, you pay the cab based on your destination. Cab drivers and cab companies have built their revenue models on this central idea that they charge you based on the destination, and how long it takes you to get there. Now, what if NYC passed a law, or cab rule, that made the cost of the cab ride dependent not only on where you were going, but where you got picked up. Let’s say you are right on Wall Street and you wanted to go to Madison Square Garden.  Well, because you are on Wall Street there is a different rate that you have to pay to get to Madison Square Garden than if you were to have been picked up in nearby Battery Park. Now on top of that, because of where you got picked up, you can’t go on certain streets to get to MSG, you have to take 8th Avenue.  If you try to take the West Side Highway it will cost you more.  Unless...well, you get the point.  It would be a mess.  Well, thanks to the BEREC, WTO and NRA (no, not that NRA), this is what is now happening inside the EU.
 
 Now carriers will have the option to price calls based on origination AND termination. Since they can price it, they have to be able to route it, and those who can’t handle the pricing or the routing they get to be charged, and pay, higher rates.    
 
Fortunately, the vendors are responding. GCS, for example, is rolling out what we call International Ani Based Routing (iABR). This new module in our dynamic management software will allow carriers to take in origination based rate decks, and route, rate, report, and invoice appropriately. Most vendors are hurriedly trying to respond, but it’s not easy. We’ve conducted extensive testing with customers, and we’ve had an advantage over our peers in the industry because for years we’ve supported dABR, (Domestic Ani Based Routing), which is our U.S. based A number rating and routing solution, so, you could say, we’ve had quite a head start.