Record inbound decision and cost estimate in VoIP.ms planning doc

Inbound (DID) is now decided as wanted, not outbound-only. Adds a cost
estimate table for 100 min/month each direction, and clarifies that
NANP-only restriction bounds cost-per-minute but not burn speed, so the
concurrent-call cap and spend alert are required before funding a live
trunk, not optional hardening.
This commit is contained in:
Claude
2026-07-21 22:41:22 +00:00
parent 5f60cc1e14
commit 719f9117be
+46 -7
View File
@@ -18,6 +18,31 @@ addition on top of `asterisk-digital-ocean`.
VoIP.ms requires for US routing, and again independently in Asterisk's own
dialplan (see below), so a compromised extension can't reach anything
outside the US even if the trunk itself would technically allow more later.
- **Inbound: wanted.** A DID is in scope, not outbound-only. Decide pay-per-minute
vs. unlimited DID plan based on expected inbound volume (see cost estimate
below), and decide E911 deliberately rather than skipping it by default —
VoIP.ms doesn't require it, but without it 911 dialed from the line either
fails or doesn't carry accurate address/location info.
## Cost estimate (100 min/month each direction, US-only)
Verified against VoIP.ms's public wiki/rate pages, not a live account — confirm
at sign-up since rates can change.
| Item | Rate | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| DID (phone number), pay-per-minute plan | $0.85/mo flat | — | $10.20 |
| Inbound usage | $0.009/min | $0.90 | $10.80 |
| Outbound usage | $0.01/min | $1.00 | $12.00 |
| **Total** | | **~$2.75** | **~$33** |
- Skipping the DID (outbound-only) drops this to ~$12/year.
- Adding E911 adds a $1.50 one-time fee plus **$1.50/month** regulatory fee
(~$18/year) — pushes the total above to ~$51/year.
- **Funding minimum:** VoIP.ms requires a **$15 minimum deposit** to activate
calling — a one-time balance top-up, not a recurring charge. At ~$2.75/month
usage that balance lasts ~5 months before a refill is needed (longer at
lower volume). Leave auto-recharge **off** per the toll-fraud design above.
## Why this matters (toll fraud)
A compromised Asterisk box can dial premium-rate or international numbers
@@ -32,6 +57,19 @@ anyone notices. Two independent layers matter more than either alone:
This is the first line of defense and should exist independent of the
trunk's own capabilities.
**Important nuance: these two layers bound different things, and neither
alone bounds both.** NANP-only restriction bounds *cost-per-minute* (a
compromised box can only ever reach $0.01/min US numbers, never $25/min
international/premium destinations) — that risk is fully closed. It does
**not** bound *how fast* the prepaid balance gets burned: nothing stops a
compromised box from opening many concurrent US-destination calls in
parallel and draining the whole balance (e.g. $15 balance ÷ $0.01/min =
1,500 minutes total, which 20 concurrent legs could burn through in under
an hour). The prepaid-balance-off-auto-recharge layer bounds the *dollar*
ceiling; only a concurrent-call cap bounds the *speed* of a breach. Treat
the per-extension concurrent-call cap and spend/volume alert below as
required before funding a live trunk, not optional hardening.
## What it takes technically (asterisk-digital-ocean)
- A PJSIP trunk to VoIP.ms: `endpoint` / `aor` / `auth` / `identify`
sections in the pjsip config, using either IP authentication or SIP
@@ -45,10 +83,10 @@ anyone notices. Two independent layers matter more than either alone:
catch-all `_X.` pattern — an explicit NANP pattern is itself a hard block
on non-US destinations at the dialplan level.
- VoIP.ms-specific setup that isn't scriptable (user does this manually):
create the account, decide whether a DID is needed (this research was
outbound-only — inbound PSTN wasn't discussed/decided), pick a VoIP.ms
POP/server (affects the trunk hostname), fund the prepaid balance, turn
off auto-recharge.
create the account, order a DID (inbound is wanted — see above), decide
pay-per-minute vs. unlimited DID plan and whether to add E911, pick a
VoIP.ms POP/server (affects the trunk hostname), fund the prepaid balance
($15 minimum), turn off auto-recharge.
- Defense-in-depth to design alongside the trunk (not yet designed):
- Per-extension concurrent-call cap in the dialplan (`GROUP()` /
`GROUP_COUNT()`) so one compromised extension can't open dozens of
@@ -81,7 +119,8 @@ anyone notices. Two independent layers matter more than either alone:
2. IP auth vs. registration — confirm which VoIP.ms recommends for a single
fixed-IP droplet.
3. Exact NANP dial pattern(s) and any prefix-stripping VoIP.ms requires.
4. Whether inbound (a DID) is wanted at all, or outbound-only for now — not
discussed yet.
4. Inbound is decided (wanted) — still need to pick pay-per-minute vs.
unlimited DID plan based on real expected volume, and decide on E911.
5. Design the concurrent-call cap and any spend/volume alerting mentioned
above.
above — treat as required before funding a live trunk, not optional
(see toll-fraud nuance above: NANP-only bounds cost/min, not burn speed).