Telnyx

Telnyx started in Chicago in 2009, initially selling VoIP traffic and SIP trunks to other businesses. What sets it apart from most of the industry is that it registered as a licensed carrier in several countries and runs its own private IP backbone between its points of presence. A call doesn't have to bounce through three subcontractors before reaching anyone.

On top of that network sits the familiar Twilio-style menu — voice, SMS, phone numbers, eSIM for IoT — pitched on the idea that fewer middlemen mean lower prices and fewer mysterious failures. It's an old telecom playbook in cloud packaging: whoever owns the network sets the margin.