Amazon Connect - Telecoms Coverage Guide [dated: 30-Aug-2024] - What it means for Indian users?

Amazon seems to be working consistently towards making the Amazon Connect services available to maximum countries, and this time it is India.

Amazon Connect added India for Inbound services with its Telecom partner(BETA) in its latest list published on 30th August 2024..!!!

Amazon Connect - Telecoms Coverage Guide

Until 30th August 2024, users in India could avail International outbound services ONLY but NOT the Incoming DID / TFN / ITFS**.

But now there is a change..!! Now Indian users can get local PSTN connectivity (DID / TFN / ITFS) to the "Amazon Connect" services directly within minutes and without any setup fees or minimum contracts with the help of their beta partner(s) - Avoxi.

Though you will not be able to Claim numbers directly from your AC* Instance via GUI or API-request, however you can proceed claiming through their Partner's portal. The gap-fill looks like this..

However, you are going to incur International charges additionally as Amazon Connect services are not available in India-Region yet (as on 9th Sept 2024). We got to avail "Amazon Connect" service from Frankfurt or Singapore region at this point of time.

Cost breakup is as below:

Here’s how the costs break down:

1. Local Number: The DID number itself is local, and anyone dialing that number from within India would incur only local call charges, if any, on their side. Avoxi would charge you a fee for renting that number and potentially a per-minute charge for inbound calls.
2. Call Routing to Amazon Connect: Since Amazon Connect is not available in India, your calls will be routed from India (via the local DID number) to your Amazon Connect instance in another region like Singapore or Frankfurt. This is where international charges come in. Although the caller is dialing a local number, the call needs to be forwarded from India to your Connect instance in a different country.
3. Forwarding Costs: Avoxi will charge you for the cost of forwarding the call from India to the region where your Amazon Connect instance is hosted. This typically involves international call rates because the call is effectively being transferred from India to a different country (Singapore or Frankfurt).
4. Amazon Connect Charges: Once the call reaches Amazon Connect in Singapore or Frankfurt, Amazon will charge you according to its pricing model, which is based on the region where the service is hosted. This includes per-minute charges for the time the call is handled within the Connect environment.

Is there an alternative to increased cost?

Yes, Fortunately, we can mitigate some cost as the telecom partner supports forwarding to VoIP, SIP-URI and BYOC-Teams directly.

How forwarding to VoIP and SIP-URI can help minimize some cost?

Forwarding calls to either a VoIP endpoint or a SIP-URI can potentially reduce costs. Here's how:

• VoIP Forwarding: Forwarding calls directly to a VoIP endpoint usually incurs fewer costs compared to forwarding them to a traditional phone number. This is because VoIP calls utilize the internet rather than traditional telephony infrastructure, which can be cheaper, especially for international forwarding. This method can significantly reduce costs, particularly if your Amazon Connect instance or other VoIP systems are configured to receive the calls directly via VoIP.
• SIP-URI Forwarding: This is another method where calls are routed through a uniform resource identifier in a telephony or VoIP system. SIP-URI typically allows for more flexible routing and could also reduce costs depending on how the underlying system handles the calls. It is more commonly used in complex call routing environments, where calls are distributed based on certain criteria.

PS: compliance is required as per Telecom regulations

Why Forwarding is recommended?

Though this invites additional cost but forwarding is often recommended (a) to keep an isolation of your application from Service Provider. It might be helpful, when you want to switch from one to another Service Provider. (b) It is also useful in concentrating/summarizing calls. (c) when you do not want to expose the actual number in service due to security constraints like DDoS attacks. (d) if your business line is already set up to handle customer interactions.

PS: I have taken inputs from Amazon Connect and ChatGPT. If you find any discrepancy, please feel free to send your comments to [email protected]

some abbreviations used for readability:

AC* - Amazon Connect

TFN - Toll Free Number(Nation wide Toll free service

ITFS** - International Toll Free number Service