DID Provider Research

I’ve been doing some research on DID providers. The basic criteria I look at includes:

• Fast, redundant connections to the Net.
• Competitive price.
• Extensive coverage in the markets required.
• Number of channels per DID. It looks like some are two, while others are unlimited. In some cases, this won’t matter, but if a bunch of calls are expected at the same time on one line, it will.
• API. From within my app, will my users be able to search numbers, choose one, and self-provision?
• Additional Services. Do they offer termination as well?
• Portability (in and out). The best provider now, may not be the best provider later. I want freedom to move.
• Client list/track record. If they can provide well known, successful companies with quality service, they can probably do it for me.

Am I missing anything? Let me know in the comments.

I haven’t been researching this too long, but my suspicion is that the DID provider landscape is constantly changing. Also, the terminology hasn’t standardized, so there are a few different angles from which to search. Here are some fruitful keywords when looking for providers:

• sip origination
  
• voip origination
• did
• voip gateway
• sip trunk

Out of all the options, I’ve looked more in depth at just a few:

• Les.net – I use Les.net for my residential/test line. Their numbers are portable and I’ve had a great experience with tech support.
• IPKall – I’ve used IPKall for testing. The service is free! They provide numbers in Washington state.
• DID World Wide – These folks seemed pretty on top of their game. However, I contacted them and found out that their phone numbers are not portable.
• Voxbone – Apparently, a lot of well known brands use them. However, it looks like there’s a $500 per month minimum spend which could translate to 250 numbers depending on where they are.

Obviously, this is just tiny slice of the providers. Who do YOU use? Which companies are the best of the best?