[powerlifter]

Originally Posted by Stu

I have moved from free incoming numbers because it was a game of "whack a mobile." Wack a mole was a video game where you tried to stop a mole from popping up. When you whacked the mole, it popped up elsewhere.

I used to purchase free incoming SIMs, find the cheapest route to connect to it, forward a DID to it from my Asterisks box. These rates, however, would change on the fly. The typical carrier didn't realize that they were quoting a particular termination below cost and would try to retroactively change the rates which would create a fight. Sometimes I'd win, sometimes I'd lose. When I won, I'd win that fight only and then would have an unusued balance witht he carrier that I would have to try and use up doing something else. I'd also wind up buying new SIMs on new routes and repeating the saga.

Perhaps it is a product of age, but I decided that I was better paying a little bit more and getting a little more certainty. I don't ask people to make international calls to reach me, I eat that. Therefore, it is a question of whether I pay the VOIP carrier or the roaming SIM provider. I decided to try Plan B.

Plan A (the super cheap approach) also contributed to the company's failures. They projected a profit plan (in a narrow profit industry) based on receiving termination rates that were often not paid. Many of these folks also assumed that the ratio of incoming to outgoing calls that applied in domestic cellular behavior would extend to international. I think people organize their life to take advantage of the cheaper incoming rates and carriers that don't plan for this take a bath.

I could not have said it better myself. This is why I have stopped using Intl. sim cards. I have used Hop and GT-sim. I got burned on both cards. So now I have a UK sim that I use for roaming if I am only be in a country for a day or so. If I am spending any time there I will get a local sim. If some one needs to reach me I use a call forwarding service to reach me anywhere in the world I am in. Yes in some countries it is somewhat expensive, but I can deduct the cost to business expenses. If I remembered correctly Hop was 35 cents to receive and 99 cents to call. So not a cheap sim at all .
If I need to make a call back home there is Skype which is to me a great product for the price.