This section will provide definitions to many of the telecommunication terms used through the API and documenation.
- Alias / Did Alias / Number Alias
An Alias is a friendly name that can be assigned to your long code or toll-free phone numbers. This can help with organization and billing. The Number Alias is returned in the CDR Reports and can be used as a filter to generate a CDR Report.
For more information about assigning an Alias to one of your Flowroute numbers, see the Update Alias for a Phone Number section in the API Guide.
- CCRF - Carrier Cost Recover Fee
Flowroute may assess a Carrier Cost Recovery Fee (CCRF) used to defray the costs of taxes and surcharges incurred in conjunction iwth its SALE AND purchase of telecommunicaitons from carriers used to support Flowroute's non-interconnected VoIP service.
- Custom Tag / X-Tag
Custom X-Tags are contained within the SIP call signaling data responsible for setting up your phone calls. It’s a special field transmitted by some SIP trunking service providers to aid carriers and partners in their billing process, and it just so happens to be a cost management tool for you.
For more information about using Custom Tags, see the Flowroute Blog Trace your VoIP costs down the the user.
- First Increment / Second Increment / Interval / Sub-Interval
An Inbound call bases its charge on whole minute increments or intervals. For calls that are less than one minute, the charge is rounded up to a full minute.
Outbound call billing intervals can vary based on destination. Most destinations have a 6-second 1st interval and 6-second following increments - i.e., a call's billing intervals are in 6-second increments past the 1st interval. A 10-second call is 2/10s the cost of a full minute.
Please note that some outbound destinations may have different increment intervals.
Please see the section on Outbound Rates in the main Flowroute Web page.
- Line Information / Originating Line Information
Line Information contains information about the originator of a call.
- USF
Flowroute has previously assessed a Federal Universal Service Fund (FUSF) charge on non-exempt accounts for interstate and international telecommunications services. These charges, as applicable, would appear as separate line items on your bills in accordance with Federal Communications Commission guidelines.
For more information about FUSF contribution requirements, please see the link below.