Pure IP explains that Microsoft’s latest Pay-As-You-Go PSTN calling plan could help remove blockages in user adoption.  

Microsoft Teams added the third calling plan option in August this year, providing an alternative to its Domestic Calling Plan and International Calling Plan.  

The new Pay-As-You-Go plan supports both domestic and international calling. Incoming calls are free, but outgoing calls are charged on a per-minute basis, payable with Communication Credits or Post Pay billing.  

Ian Guest, Marketing Director at Pure IP, shared his thoughts on what he believes to be behind the introduction of the new model for Teams PSTN calling: “I believe Microsoft’s motivation for releasing the pay-as-you-go model is ultimately to remove any potential blockers for the adoption of Teams Calling and is probably the result of market feedback.   

“The new plan is a very transparent option, which will give customers more choice and cost savings over the traditional Calling Plan options.” Microsoft is aiming to double down on their 12 million PSTN user base, so they want to drive adoption in its calling plans as well as enable as many partners as possible to offer Operator Connect.  

Microsoft Teams Pay-As-You-Go Calling  

As with domestic and international calling plans, the Pay-As-You-Go plan calculates the outbound minutes across an entire business. With the domestic and international plans, the 120-minute per-user allowance is multiplied by the number of users on the plan, allowing unused minutes of one user to offset excessive use by another. With reference to the Pay-As-You-Go plan, there is no set allowance, but the outbound calls are viewed in their totality.  

Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plans can be paid for using a pre-payment system, communication credits, which allows businesses to automatically top up when they run out.  

Microsoft has also introduced a new payment system for PSTN billing called ‘Post Pay’ billing, which gives customers the option to pay retrospectively.  

The new plan also includes per-user per month (PUPM) costs, which vary depending on the country a company is based in. These countries fall into one of two zones. Canada and the UK are in Zone-1, which incurs a cost of $2 PUPM. Zone-2 is all other countries, apart from the USA and Puerto Rico and costs $3 PUPM.  

Pay-As-You-Go is not an entirely new concept for Teams. Both domestic and international calling plans are charged on a per-minute basis when the total number of minutes in a plan is exceeded. On domestic calling plans, international calls can also be paid on a pay-as-you-go basis using communication credits.  

The bundling system has been a simple and effective option for many businesses, partly because typical users will not exceed the 1200-minute limit. For other companies, however, the convenience and peace of mind of having more minutes than you need is not as cost-conscious as they would like it to be. This is likely to have been a contributing factor behind Microsoft’s decision to implement a Pay-As-You-Go calling plan  

Limitations? 

Microsoft has not been particularly vocal or aggressive in its promotion of the new Pay-As-You-Go plan, opting instead for a more understated approach, probably in part to do with the plan not being available to US clients initially. 

Guest reflects on this limitation: “The US market is arguably the biggest globally in terms of the potential it represents, and ultimately Microsoft’s backyard. Not being able to offer the service to its US clients is likely to be behind the low-key roll-out. 

“However, we know from our own experiences that delivering voice services can be incredibly complex in the US, with each state having their own conditions, regulations and taxes on such services, but I am sure it will only be a matter of time before Microsoft are able to offer the new plan to US clients.” 

Up to 60% More Cost Effective 

As previously eluded to, the Domestic and International Plans have not always been seen as the most cost-effective option, appealing more to the convenience factor. So how far does the new Pay-As-You-Go plan change costs, and will it make a difference?  

Guest said: “Although we don’t sell on price, typically we would be up to 60% more cost-effective than the traditional Calling Plans using our ‘pay for what you use’ pricing. Microsoft’s new Pay-As-You-Go plan follows a similar model to our own, which I think will make a difference to those organisations wanting to use Microsoft’s services. We estimate that we will be between 20-30% more cost-effective against the new plan.” 

But as we all know, price is not everything when it comes to selecting the right option or provider, something which also applies in this case. 

Guest continued: “Price is obviously an important factor when considering your options, but we find that most customers put great store around the accompanying service wrap. They are looking for a complete service where they have access to people who know voice, have a portfolio that can address all their needs and provide an ongoing service quickly and without incident. 

“While I believe the new Calling Plan is a positive step for customers, in essence, it doesn’t provide anything more than that which we can already achieve with Operator Connect.  

If you are interested in finding out more about Pure IP’s Operator Connect solutions, you can visit its website. 

 

 



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