> There are other low-cost SMS API providers but AFAIK none are actual carriers and they maintain the cost by only doing messaging and relying on enormous volume to make up for tiny margins - their profitability and therefore longevity are tenuous IMO.
Depending on what you're doing, chances are you're better off ignoring everything an aggregator tells you. Measure delivery through actual user measures and cost keep active accounts with multiple providers and shift traffic where the cost/success is best for a given group of users (country/carrier/etc).
All the aggregators will tell you they have global coverage and that they use 100% direct routes, and they're all lieing.