TABLE OF CONTENTS

Synopsis

Originally, Teams voice clients had to purchase "Communication Credits" to use toll-free numbers or to add additional minutes to their calling plans.

“Communication Credits” had to be purchased directly through Microsoft with a credit card.

 

Microsoft is now offering a new option for calling plans and for the usage of toll-free numbers which consist of getting billed with an Azure subscription "postpaid." This means that a credit card with Microsoft is no longer necessary.

The usage of toll-free numbers can now be billed postpaid instead of prepaid and pay-as-you-go calling plans are also available.

Those pay-as-you-go calling plans are less expensive than regular domestic and international calling plans, but do not include a pool of minutes for outgoing calls. Incoming calls are free if a regular phone number is assigned to the user(s), “not to toll-free numbers,” and all outgoing calls are charged on a per-minute basis.


Important

For pricing or to be able to use either a toll-free number or a pay-as-you-go calling plan, please contact our team as there is a need to enable the features in the back end.


Transitioning from “communication credits” to Telco pay-as-you-go

When transitioning from communication credits to the new Telco pay-as-you-go postpaid model, you can disable the credits auto-recharge option that you may have set with a credit card. Once the remaining credits are all consumed, the system will switch automatically to Telco pay-as-you-go if it is already enabled. Enabling pay-as-you-go before disabling auto-recharge is then recommenced so that there are no downtimes.


To enable Telco pay-as-you-go, please contact us since there is a need to enable the feature in the backend.


However, the communication credits “auto-recharge” option cannot be disabled on your behalf. It must be done by a global administrator user in the M365 Admin Portal / Billing / Your Products section. Select the “Communication Credits” subscription and click on "Edit auto recharge settings". 



Country zones available for the Teams voice subscriptions

  1. Domestic Calling Plan Zone-1 USA: For users in the United States and Puerto Rico.
    (If the country is not specified in our billing system on a "Zone-1" subscription, it means it is for USA)

  2. Domestic Calling Plan Zone-1 Canada/UK: For users in Canada and the United Kingdom.

  3. Domestic Calling Plan Zone-2:For users in 
    • Austria
    • Belgium
    • Croatia
    • Czech Republic
    • Denmark
    • Estonia
    • Finland
    • France
    • Germany
    • Hungary
    • Ireland
    • Italy
    • Latvia
    • Lithuania
    • Luxembourg
    • Netherlands
    • New Zealand
    • Norway
    • Poland
    • Portugal
    • Romania
    • Singapore
    • Slovakia
    • Slovenia
    • South Africa
    • Spain
    • Sweden,
    • Switzerland


 

Pay-per-minute rates

You may access the following webpage on Teams calling rates. At the bottom of the page, select "pay-per-minutes" to get a breakdown of how much the rates are for calling everywhere in the world with pay-as-you-go-plans. 




Requirements to use a toll-free number

  • At least one license that includes Teams (for example: Business Basic/Standard/Premium, E3, E5. Teams essential)
  • At least one license that includes “Phone System” (available as an add-on or also included in E5)
    More info: Teams Phone features
  • The toll-free number can be assigned to either an auto-attendant or a call queue.
    More info: Service phone numbers
  • The auto-attendants or a call queues must have a resource account assigned that has a Teams phone resource account license. Those licenses are free but must be added to the tenant through Cumulus.
    More info: Teams Phone Resource Account Licenses
  • A calling plan is not a requirement to receive calls from an auto-attendant or call queue when overage is enabled. Only a license with "Phone System" is required to be assigned to the end recipient of the call.



Monitoring usage

If you are already a user of a pay-as-you-go plan or own a toll-free number, you can monitor your calls and associated fees in your Teams admin center usage report section. The “PSTN and SMS usage report” is recommended. 

Note: It can take up to 48 hours for the calls to be listed. 



For more information about this feature, see Microsoft's documentation about the Microsoft Teams PSTN usage report.