Magicjack! Why is there a crackling sound when I call one specific number?

Question

My magicjack sounds fine on local calls and international calls. But for some reason, there is one specific number that I call, which ALWAYS crackles unbearably when I call it...its so bad that I have to end the call.
(That business number is completely fine when I call it from my cell...so it has nothing to do with the quality of THEIR phone line)

Why is it that this one business number always has crackling...but all other home/business numbers that I call sound fine?

Thanks

Answer 1

Magic Jack type VoIP services don't actually route all the calls themselves and this causes inconsistent call quality, I'll explain..



They work are by partnering with a bunch of cheap SIP termination providers. These are companies that offer call routing right to the final destination. In turn, each SIP Terminator will have partnerships with different "rate centers" around the world and may have better deals at some rate centers and not so good deals at others (or one SIP terminator may actually route some calls through another SIP terminator if they don't have a partnership with a particular rate center for example).



Basically what happens is Magic Jack has lets say partnerships with 20 SIP Termination providers and it will use some providers to route calls to specific areas of the U.S. and the world, and other providers to route calls to other areas (rate centers) of the U.S. and the world based on cost.



Magic Jack probably employs a LCR technique which stands for Least Cost Routing. Basically when you dial a number, Magic Jack will look up that number and figure out what SIP Terminator is going to give the absolute cheapest rate to route the phone call to that area, and then it sends the call out on that provider.



So the number you are calling could just be at a rate center where Magic Jack uses a cheaper / poorer quality SIP Terminator to route calls to. So basically Magic Jack acts just like a middle-man and just helps pass the call from your computer to the SIP termination service of their choice who then takes over the call.



My experience is the quality on different SIP termination providers can vary greatly. Some charge VoIP companies 4 cents a minute (which is a lot) and they sound crystal clear. Others offer call routing to the same destinations/rate centers at much lower costs (e.g. 0.9 cents a minute) but the quality is horrible. Many VoIP services like MJ tend to go with the cheaper SIP providers, but it's also their job to make sure the quality is at least bearable.

Answer 2

It would show up on your bill as an outgoing number, but a 1-800 number does not cost money.

Answer 3

what do you expect from a super cheap phone line. For that price just be glad you can you don't hear crakling every phone call.