Least Cost Routing: Are you still using techniques from the 1990s to manage your interconnect voice traffic?

LCR, Least Cost Routing, Routing, Dynamic Routing, whatever you want to call it, it’s the core of interconnect voice. It’s where all of the business, operational, network policies, and performance metrics are distilled into the basic/fundamental question that is continuously asked in interconnect voice, that is, “how should I route this call”?

Well, surprisingly, many carriers are still approaching this question with the most basic, Least Cost Routing, approach. This means they literally take all of the interconnect vendors, list them in cost order from least expensive to most expensive (hence the Least Cost Routing), and tell their switches to route in that least cost order. This “LCR” approach is overly simplistic in a world of razor thin margins, massive data volumes, IP transports, unpredictable quality or delivery performance, complex business arrangements, and the dozens more variables that need to be considered so that each call can be optimally routed to meet the business objectives.

Using LCR in today’s marketplace as your primary routing methodology is akin to UPS, FedEx, or DHL using paper maps for their drivers to determine how to get the packages from their distribution center to your home! They don’t do that. They leverage technology. And carriers should leverage technology for their interconnect voice operations. There are several solutions that can fundamentally improve the way a carrier routes calls by being able to simultaneously interpret all of the variables we discusses in real-time on a call-by-call basis. That’s how companies like GCS are helping carriers reclaim lost revenues and margins in interconnect voice. It’s the reason why, at GCS, we say we help make voice profitable.