Carrier rates

The rates for termination of calls by carriers can be viewed and modified using the Least Cost Routing page of the DUAL Softswitch Administration System, and it is these rates that are used to build DUAL Softswitch's routing tables, which are based on Least Cost Routing. You can reach the Carrier Rates page by clicking on Least Cost Routing link in the Routing box on the left sidebar.

The first section of this page shows all carrier rate tables currently in effect. The rates can be downloaded by clicking on the name of the carrier. Rate tables are downloaded as Microsoft Excel workbooks. A rate table can be deleted using the [Delete] link shown after the carrier's name. One set of carrier rates must always exist. Up to ten carriers' rates can be uploaded.

If carrier rate tables for future dates have been uploaded, then these are shown in separate sections of this page; one for each date. They can similarly be downloaded and deleted.

New rate tables can be uploaded from the section "Uploading a new carrier rate table". The form in this section has three fields:

Excel file location	Press the Browse button and navigate to a locally installed file on your computer. This is a Microsoft Excel file (2003 or 2007) that you will need to prepare based on the information sent to you by the carrier in question. If you select "Zero rates", then you do not need to upload a file.
Zero rates	Click this button if you would prefer not to upload rates. All rates will be defined as zero, but the routing table will still be built.
Carrier	Select the carrier for the rate table to be uploaded.
Date	Select the date on which this new table comes into effect. This entry is not required if you have selected "Zero rates".

This form can also be used to introduce a carrier into the Least Cost Routing system without defining its rates. The button "Zero rates" achieves this by simply defining all of the rates as zero. This is a quick way of building the routing tables and implementing Alternative Routing, but is not strictly Least Cost Routing, because DUAL Softswitch has no knowledge of the cost of each carrier.

There are two buttons on the form. The Validate button will not upload the rates to the database, but will check the file for errors and display them. The Upload button causes new rates to be uploaded to the database from the file you have selected.

If you choose to upload the rates rather than select "Zero rates", then the Excel worksheet must be exactly correct in format for the uploading to be successful. It must have two columns:

•	The dial code in E.164 format (ie. without an international access code) - maximum 11 digits long.

•	The per-minute rate charged by the carrier for terminating calls to that dial code or any other longer dial codes starting with the same digits and not overridden by other entries.. This should be specified in your softswitch's currency, but without a currency symbol.