..and how do the GW operators get
paid?
Oh that, I think, is the easy bit. If I want to send calls to a gateway,
and they want to do anything other than bill & keep, I will expect to have
a settlement relationship with them (oh, and I will expect them to
authenticate the signaling). Else they won't want me to use them.
I can see reasons why VoIP operators might, however, be happy to terminate
VoIP calls made to their own subscribers for free, especially if they get
to specify the IP address to terminate it on as a high resolution function
of the called number.
Naaah ... my opinion is that if they don't have a SIP URI from FWD,
IPTEL, or something else like skype else I probably dont want to talk to
them anyway.
I presume that was tongue in cheek - for those delivering a VoIP service
with E.164 number, I would have thought the percentage of calls made to
other networks with similar characteristics is pretty small currently, and
that's exactly the % its worth our while increasing. This is assuming the
VoIP phone is being used as if it were a normal phone, not as a toy or
extended (voice) VPN.