How does Least Cost Routing (LCR) work in telecommunications?
Posted: Mon May 19, 2025 4:23 am
Least Cost Routing (LCR) in telecommunications is a method used to automatically select the most economical path for outbound voice calls. The primary goal of LCR is to minimize call costs for businesses and individuals by intelligently routing calls through the carrier or route that offers the lowest rates at a specific point in time.
Here's how LCR typically works:
1. Rate Table and Route Analysis:
Compilation of Rate Data: A system implementing LCR maintains a comprehensive database of call rates from various telecommunication carriers for different destinations (countries, regions, or even specific phone number prefixes). This rate data is usually obtained through agreements and contracts with these carriers.
Route Identification: For each possible destination number, the LCR system identifies all available routes through different carriers and their associated costs. This involves analyzing the dialed number and matching it against the prefixes and routing rules configured in the system.
2. Real-time Cost Assessment:
Dynamic Evaluation: When an outbound call is initiated, the LCR system analyzes the destination number in real time.
Cost Comparison: It then consults its rate table to afghanistan mobile phone number list compare the costs of routing the call through each available carrier for that specific destination at that particular time. Factors like time of day, day of the week, and any special tariffs can be taken into account.
3. Route Selection:
Lowest Cost Determination: The LCR algorithm selects the carrier or route that offers the lowest cost for completing the call to the dialed number.
Prioritization (Optional): Some advanced LCR systems may also consider factors beyond just cost, such as call quality (e.g., based on historical performance or service level agreements) and network capacity, to ensure a balance between cost savings and a satisfactory user experience. Users may be able to prioritize routes based on a weighted average of cost and quality.
4. Call Routing and Connection:
Automatic Routing: Once the cheapest (or most optimal based on configured rules) route is identified, the LCR system automatically directs the call through that specific carrier's network to reach the destination.
Seamless User Experience: This entire process happens in the background, often within milliseconds, and is transparent to the end-user, who simply experiences a normal call connection.
5. Ongoing Monitoring and Updates:
Rate Changes: LCR systems require regular updates to their rate tables as carriers frequently change their pricing. This can be done manually or, more commonly, through automated feeds from the carriers.
Performance Analysis: The system may also monitor the performance (e.g., call completion rates, quality metrics) of different routes and adjust routing rules accordingly.
Benefits of Least Cost Routing:
Significant Cost Savings: The primary benefit is a reduction in telecommunication expenses, especially for businesses with high call volumes or frequent long-distance and international calls.
Improved Profitability: By lowering operational costs, LCR can contribute to increased profitability for businesses.
Competitive Pricing: For telecommunication service providers, LCR enables them to offer more competitive calling rates to their customers.
Efficient Network Utilization: By intelligently distributing call traffic across different carriers, LCR can help optimize network resource utilization.
Flexibility and Scalability: LCR systems can often be configured with complex routing rules to adapt to specific business needs and can scale as communication requirements grow.
In the context of Dhaka, Bangladesh, businesses and potentially even individual users could benefit from LCR, especially for international calls, where rates can vary significantly between different carriers. Implementing LCR would require a telecommunications setup (such as a VoIP system or a sophisticated PBX) capable of supporting this functionality and having access to the rate information from various local and international carriers serving Bangladesh.
Here's how LCR typically works:
1. Rate Table and Route Analysis:
Compilation of Rate Data: A system implementing LCR maintains a comprehensive database of call rates from various telecommunication carriers for different destinations (countries, regions, or even specific phone number prefixes). This rate data is usually obtained through agreements and contracts with these carriers.
Route Identification: For each possible destination number, the LCR system identifies all available routes through different carriers and their associated costs. This involves analyzing the dialed number and matching it against the prefixes and routing rules configured in the system.
2. Real-time Cost Assessment:
Dynamic Evaluation: When an outbound call is initiated, the LCR system analyzes the destination number in real time.
Cost Comparison: It then consults its rate table to afghanistan mobile phone number list compare the costs of routing the call through each available carrier for that specific destination at that particular time. Factors like time of day, day of the week, and any special tariffs can be taken into account.
3. Route Selection:
Lowest Cost Determination: The LCR algorithm selects the carrier or route that offers the lowest cost for completing the call to the dialed number.
Prioritization (Optional): Some advanced LCR systems may also consider factors beyond just cost, such as call quality (e.g., based on historical performance or service level agreements) and network capacity, to ensure a balance between cost savings and a satisfactory user experience. Users may be able to prioritize routes based on a weighted average of cost and quality.
4. Call Routing and Connection:
Automatic Routing: Once the cheapest (or most optimal based on configured rules) route is identified, the LCR system automatically directs the call through that specific carrier's network to reach the destination.
Seamless User Experience: This entire process happens in the background, often within milliseconds, and is transparent to the end-user, who simply experiences a normal call connection.
5. Ongoing Monitoring and Updates:
Rate Changes: LCR systems require regular updates to their rate tables as carriers frequently change their pricing. This can be done manually or, more commonly, through automated feeds from the carriers.
Performance Analysis: The system may also monitor the performance (e.g., call completion rates, quality metrics) of different routes and adjust routing rules accordingly.
Benefits of Least Cost Routing:
Significant Cost Savings: The primary benefit is a reduction in telecommunication expenses, especially for businesses with high call volumes or frequent long-distance and international calls.
Improved Profitability: By lowering operational costs, LCR can contribute to increased profitability for businesses.
Competitive Pricing: For telecommunication service providers, LCR enables them to offer more competitive calling rates to their customers.
Efficient Network Utilization: By intelligently distributing call traffic across different carriers, LCR can help optimize network resource utilization.
Flexibility and Scalability: LCR systems can often be configured with complex routing rules to adapt to specific business needs and can scale as communication requirements grow.
In the context of Dhaka, Bangladesh, businesses and potentially even individual users could benefit from LCR, especially for international calls, where rates can vary significantly between different carriers. Implementing LCR would require a telecommunications setup (such as a VoIP system or a sophisticated PBX) capable of supporting this functionality and having access to the rate information from various local and international carriers serving Bangladesh.