Do we use CLi or non-CLi termination?
This is something we get asked regularly.
The answer to that is simple, we only use Premium Plus i.e. CLi routes, often referred to as Business Quality.
So, what is the difference between the two sorts?
This is often a follow-up question as that first question may have only been posed because of something they heard.
And we found a very good, concise and clear answer for you.
(This is not our answer but an answer we came across quite a while back.
I'm afraid we don't have the source address anymore so if you wrote it, let us know, we'll credit you, of course. )
On the surface, the answer is:
If your call goes out on a CLI route the received party will likely see your callerID information, if your route goes out on a non-CLI route they will see either a blocked call or some generic number.
Having CLI or not having CLI in and of itself shouldn't affect call quality.
A little deeper into the looking glass, however:
CLI routes are typically "white" whereas non-CLI routes are often "grey".
A white route is a route where the termination is legal on the remote end.
As a result, it is often well connected with the country's telco infrastructure and stable.
White routes typically offer the best possible audio quality and the most reliability
This is opposed to a grey route that has questionable legality at the remote end or perhaps is violating some providers AUP on the remote end.
These tend to be more ad-hoc setups often using the GSM or cellular gateways to hand the traffic over to the destination phone network via RF.
An example of this is often seen in telecom routes from the USA to a certain foreign country.
In this country, a telecom monopoly is run essentially by the government.
Hence, all legal ("white") telecom traffic to the country from the US is subject to the rates imposed by this monopoly and is very expensive.
This adds significant revenue to the monopoly telco.
To overcome this restriction many people set up VoIP routers in homes and offices around the country.
Telecom traffic from the USA is sent to these VoIP routers via IP and terminated to the local PSTN at the local rates that are significantly lower than the international termination rates charged by the monopoly carrier.
This process is illegal on the foreign end ("black"), but likely lawful on the USA end ("white").
A route like this, white on one end and black on the other is said to be "grey".
Grey routes might disappear without notice, display all sorts of odd audio behaviours and/or might terminate calls unexpectedly.
That's my $0.02
(answer created by someone called Sam)
Last updated: 01/01/2024
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