Call Termination: Google Voice and Callcentric

Background

Early 2022 the 833-NYC-MESH number was parked at NumberBarn until further research could be done on how to implement the number. In the meantime the Google for Nonprofits platform was used to get access to Google Voice for a preliminary IVR/auto-attendant solution for routing calls to particular Google Workspace users and email to Slack for voicemail.

Google Voice does not support porting-in toll-free numbers for terminating calls and thus an external provider must be used in conjunction with the 833-NYC-MESH number. Currently, Callcentric has been chosen as our SIP provider due to widespread adoption, low rates, and positive testimonial, though the features it provides can all be replicated using a SIP Trunk->IP PBX architecture.

Routing

The 833-NYC-MESH number is ported into Callcentric for inbound termination and outbound origination. Currently, the [[Call Treatment]] feature forwards all incoming calls to the Google Voice auto-attendant "Hotline - Main", though the beta IVR setup through Callcentric's internal portal is partially configured and can be switched over at any time for testing.

Pricing

After a rigorous cost-benefit analysis on the plans available through Callcentric compared to the cost of expanding the Google Voice service further, multiple scenarios were drawn out to compare the price per a fixed number of minutes per month.