u/1chandailrc1

We are a startup and have built our AI Voice Agent stack. It runs decently and after painstaking efforts with our mule partner we were able to narrow down the architecture and design to curb failure points as much as we could. However, the biggest pain point we have stumbled across is the telephony carrier!

There is no reliable one! Here is what we have tried and encountered so far:

1. Vobiz: Our current provider. Easy enough to authenticate using personal Adhaar and PAN. They have one of the easiest integrations, setup, and starting curve. the plan pricing is optimum to get started and they don't setup minimum deposit walls. Their API is fantastic to the point that it supports almost all the features that you would need. That being said, there have been issues that we have been facing: The call quality and call handling has been giving us some issues intermittently, where the end result is silent calls. There are other issues including mid call disconnect/call-silence, which I hope to resolve with Vobiz support. Will update if we are or aren't able to resolve this with Vobiz.
2. VoiceLink: Again easy starting with adhaar and pan verification. Decent setup and API support but has a steep starting paywall. They need a minimum of 5000 Rs to get you started without even allowing you to test if their service is compatible and a good fit for your stack. API is good but not great. For example, during our tests Call Transfers would fail there was no way to trace/figure out what happened?
3. Exotel: Hardest to start so far. Requires proper company documentation. Good free tier. Inconsistent pricing information. Hidden credit consumption, cost, and plan information. High paywall with a minimum of 10000 Rs to get started. Support has been great so far where you are actually able to connect with a human who can answer your questions in contrast to the above 2. Credits are timebound for 7 days. After that the free tier ends. API has been good so far, but we are still evaluation Exotel.
4. Plivo: The most scummy of them so far. We couldn't even get an account. They force/tried to sell us their $1000 USD per month plan to get started.
5. Twilio: The most easiest to get started with it ticking green in all the check boxes. Unfortunately, they are not functional in India.

Anyone has any other carrier that they have been working with and can recommend?