Unlimited* Calling… The Biggest Lie in Our Industry
Last I checked, the word “unlimited” meant without limits, infinite or boundless. Suddenly the spelling of the word “unlimited” changed to “unlimited*” such as Unlimited* Data Plan, Unlimited* Refills and now Unlimited* Voice Plans. Not only did the spelling change but so did the meaning. In the computer coding world when you put an “!” in front of something it means “not”. As in “!good” for not good, or “!15” for not the number 15. Apparently in the VoIP marketing business when you put an “*” at the end of something it has the same affect – “Unlimited*” therefore, is not unlimited. Who knew …? (Me*).
What “Unlimited*” really means is usually defined in their Terms and Conditions which can easily be found in a link with an 8 point regular light grey font at the very bottom of their third page of hosted VoIP services that looks something like this [Terms & Conditions]. When you click on the link you will be directed to another 2 to 6 page legal document spelling out in as vague and intangible terms as humanly possible what the “*” kinda/sorta means. The answer is … unlimited = “normal use”. Okaaay, so what is “normal use”. Short version – it’s whatever they define it to be. On the surface they will spell out telemarketing, campaigning, illegal or inappropriate use and then slip in the catch phrase “in our discretion” which, as we all know, is a moving, undefined target. Here’s a helpful tip, when you are in the Terms and Condition section, do not search for the word “unlimited”, instead look for “fair use” or “usage”.
You might say “Oh come on! There has to be some formula they use to come up with that!”. Well, in fact, there is and it is darker than the Dark Web and deeper than the Deep State. The major hosted voip providers of the world take the average minute use of all their accounts and if you are above 90% average usage you are outside of normal use and will therefore be billed for that excessive use accordingly. For example, if 90% of a hosted VoIP carrier’s accounts average 5,000 minutes per month and has around 5 to 10 phones (which would be a typical flower shop that is an FTD member with 2 delivery vehicles) and you fall within that minute usage, then you’re okay.
If, however, you are a medium size Orthopedic medical office with 4 or 5 doctors and supporting staff to handle scheduling, surgery, insurance etc you are likely to have 25 to 50 phones and the minutes will likely be upwards of 40,000. There will be a line item in your next bill called something to the effect of “Overage” or “Excessive Usage” often to the tune of $0.045 to $0.06 per minute. You pay the difference between the lower 90% and what your minutes ended up being. Believe me, that adds up.
I am a very direct person and I spell “unlimited” without the “*” after it. I also don’t offer real “unlimited” plans because that would be really stupid. Instead we have minute plans because they are real numbers. Period. Every month you will see in your invoice the exact usage for both inbound and outbound calling and where you were relative to your minute plan. Yes, if you go over the minute plan, you will get charged for it - $0.01 for inbound and $0.03 for outbound per minute. If you need more minutes you can get more minutes. If you need fewer minutes you can get fewer minutes – we bundle them in 2500-minute packages and the minimum is one package. I can’t be more direct than that.