In today’s world, does it still make sense for companies to provide a toll-free number for voice callers?

If consumers can text or email you, do you even need a phone number? You do. An Invoca survey found voice calls to be the most preferred communication channel (68%) when consumers are having a problem and need help. Have you ever tried to contact a business and failed to find a phone number on their website? It’s frustrating and a poor customer experience.

Voice calls are also useful for other reasons. Consumers still call retailers to find out if an item is in stock, call pharmacies to find out if prescriptions are ready, and call take-out restaurants to place orders, even though they might use digital channels too.

So you need a phone number, but do you need a toll-free one? Well, we know for sure that some businesses don’t. Toll calling is only a factor for geographically dispersed businesses, so it’s fair to say that local businesses never need toll-free numbers. In fact toll-free numbers can be detrimental if you want your customers to feel that you’re part of the same community, as they’re more likely to do if your company’s phone number shares your customers’ area code and maybe a local exchange.

But before we consign toll-free numbers to the same dustbin as printed phone number directories, let’s consider some of the arguments in favor of toll-free numbers.

Why you might want a toll-free number

We see three reasons why you might want a toll-free number, and the first two are hard to quantify.

One argument in favor of toll-free numbers is brand image. A toll-free number lets consumers recognize a brand nationwide, and fosters feelings of familiarity and trustworthiness. Having a toll-free number makes a business seem more established and authoritative. A vanity toll-free number in particular — such as 1-800-TMOBILE — enhances your brand identity. And if someone remembers your number, they’re more likely to call you than to look for an alternative.

Another argument has to do with perception as well. Most businesses, if they use toll-free numbers, do so for general business. By establishing a separate toll-free number for a specific use case, you can elevate that use in consumers’ minds. For instance, if you set up a toll-free number for customer service, your customers can judge that you’re serious about providing good support.

The final argument in favor of toll-free numbers is cost. Though you do pay more per call for inbound calls on toll-free numbers, at least on a cloud communications platform like Plivo, you actually pay less for outbound calls in countries where outbound calling on toll-free numbers is available. If you run the numbers for your expected use case, a toll-free number might be more cost-effective than one or more local numbers.

How to rent a toll-free number

Fortunately, it’s as easy to procure a toll-free number as it is a local one. A cloud communications platform like Plivo keeps a large number of unassigned ones in inventory.

Monthly number rental fees for toll-free numbers are much lower than you might think. In the US, Canada, and the UK, you can rent one for $1 a month. We have similar low rates in other countries — check our Voice API pricing page.

You also incur charges for outbound and inbound calls, but per-call charges are low and you pay for only as much time as you use — Plivo doesn’t require a monthly usage contract. (However, if you’re spending more than $1,000 a month on voice calling, you should talk to our sales team about the possibility of a volume discount for a committed level of usage.)

Using a cloud communications platform for voice calling offers more advantages than just price. Voice quality is a key metric for any calling platform, and Plivo’s Premium Communications Network provides the best possible voice quality. Reliability is also huge — you want to be reachable at all times. Plivo promises 99.95% uptime, and a 99.99% service level agreement is available.

You can get started exploring Plivo’s Voice API services by signing up for free. If you already have a toll-free number from another provider that you want to keep, you can easily port it in to Plivo at no charge. If not, visit our Phone Numbers > Buy Number on the Plivo console. Under Type, tick Toll-Free, and under Capability, tick voice, then click Search.

If you want a particular number — say one with an 800 prefix, or some numbers that match certain letters on a phone keypad as part of a vanity number — you can enter them in the number field, then pick one from among the returned numbers.

The bottom line

So to answer the question we started off with: If you already have a toll-free number, keep it, because surely you have customers who use it. If you’re deciding whether to procure a new one, first compare the monthly cost for your expected call volume, taking into account both outgoing and incoming calls. A large difference might make your decision for you. If the numbers are close, then factor in the intangible factors like brand image.

If you run a small business, you might be tempted to use your personal phone for work — but you may have privacy concerns, and justifiably so. Putting your personal number out in the world makes it easy for strangers to track you down. No one wants an unhappy customer unexpectedly ringing their doorbell after sunset.

For improved privacy, you can set up a virtual phone number — a number that’s not associated with any of your accounts or your physical location but that forwards to your real number. You can give out this virtual number without compromising your privacy.

Though it’s not our primary business, Plivo lets customers set up a virtual number. You do have to be a customer, which means signing up with your work email address. If your company is already a Plivo customer, think of privacy-oriented virtual numbers as a fringe benefit.

Renting a virtual phone number isn’t free, but it’s cheap and easy. Go to the Phone Numbers page of the Plivo console and click Buy Number, then pick the country where you want to be from, virtually. Suppose you’re in the US and want to be seen as someone from eastern Massachusetts. Enter 508, representing the local area code, in the Number box, or change the drop-down selection to Location and enter “Massachusetts” (if you can spell it). Then click Search.

Plivo will present you with a list of numbers you can rent. You can see whether they support voice, SMS, and MMS, and see the monthly fee for each available number.

As you can see, the price for a local number that supports both voice and messaging is just half a dollar a month — less than the cost of a postage stamp. (Remember when we used to send postal mail?) Click Buy Number, and voilà — instant phone number.

How to forward a virtual number

Once you have a number it’s simple to put it to use by setting up forwarding from your instant virtual number to your real number. Your forwarding destination can be a fixed or mobile number or even a SIP endpoint. Follow our use case guide for Plivo’s no-code tool PHLO to set up the connection in less than five minutes. Then, every time the virtual number rings, the call will get forwarded to your real number.

If you’re more interested in using a virtual number for messaging, make sure you rent a number with SMS capabilities and follow our use case guide for forwarding SMS messages.

Note that in either case you don’t have to write any program code or create XML files to make forwarding work. At Plivo, we like to make things easy for our users.

A virtual number gives small business owners convenience and flexibility. You can change the forwarding number whenever you want to, so you can have someone else field inquiries late in the day, or when your primary contact goes on vacation.

Want to turn your virtual number into a temporary number? Go back to the Phone Numbers page of the console, put a tick next to the number, and from the Choose Action drop-down pick Unrent Numbers. If you later need a new virtual number you can run a new search and rent a new number.

Bear in mind that this approach lets you forward incoming calls and messages to a real number. Outgoing calls and messages? That’s a whole other battle to fight, but there are other ways to preserve your privacy when you need to call or send SMS messages.

For calls, you can temporarily block caller ID by pressing *67 before you key in the phone number you want to call, or block caller ID permanently through phone settings. Of course, that’ll make your call appear as “Private” or “Anonymous” to the call recipient, which means they might not pick up, but hey, that’s why Ma Bell created voicemail. If you want to send anonymous text messages, you can find apps in your favorite app store for that.

To minimize spam texting in India, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) mandates that all entities that want to send SMS messages must register certain information — their entity/organization, CTAs, and message templates — along with required consent information on distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms. Many people find the process confusing; this post walks you through it.

The online DLT registration process necessary for sending bulk SMS messages involves four steps: registering your business entity, registering your calls to action (CTAs), registering your sender IDs (called headers in DLT parlance), registering consent templates, and registering content templates and associating them with headers and consent templates.

What does DLT stand for?

DLT is an acronym for Distributed Ledger Technology. The most well-known application of DLT is the blockchain, but it is also relevant to telecommunications.

DLT replicates, shares, and synchronizes data across multiple locations. Imagine a digital ledger shared among multiple computers instead of stored in a single location. In telecoms, DLT registration is mandatory for all businesses sending SMS messages in India. The goal of registration is to protect customer privacy and deter spammers from sending unsolicited SMS messages.

What is DLT registration?

DLT registration is the process of adding your business details, including sender IDs, message templates, and other required information, on a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform. As part of DLT registration, companies need to submit their business name, address, contact information, and the purpose of their SMS campaigns. DLT registration provides each business with a unique identifier to use when sending SMS messages.

Why is DLT registration required?

The TRAI discovered that, in India, 85-90% of the total SMS senders are spammers. The high number of fraudulent messages sent throughout the country damages customer relationships, compromises data security, and weighs down the profit margins of businesses that use SMS campaigns.

DLT registration aims to enhance customer privacy by deterring spammers. DLT registration involves using pre-approved message content, allowing for easy tracking and identification of spammy or misleading messages. Consumers can report unwanted messages, helping authorities crack down on fraud and spam.

Likewise, non-compliance with DLT regulations can lead to severe penalties, including suspension or termination of SMS services.

How does DLT work?

DLT registration deters spam and other bad actors in a few different ways: 

• Identification: Each message is linked to a registered entity and template.
• Tracking: Message content and sender information can be traced.
• Penalties: Non-compliance can lead to severe penalties, including blacklisting.
• Consumer Control: Consumers can report unwanted messages.

By implementing these measures, DLT registration helps create more reliable, trustworthy brand communication and protects consumers from fraud.

How to apply for DLT registration to send SMS in India

The major India telecom providers all host DLT registration platforms and share their information with each other. You can use any of them to register:

• Videocon
• Vodafone Idea Limited (VILPOWER)
• Airtel
• Jio

1. Get a unique Entity ID

The first step is to visit one of the DLT registration platforms and fill in the information required to register your business as an entity, including the organization type, KYC documentation, and the business’s postal and email addresses. There are two organization types: principal entity (a.k.a. enterprise) and telemarketer. You’ll get a temporary ID or reference number; please share your ID or reference number with the Plivo support team. After the DLT platform verifies your documents, the operator will email you a unique Entity ID for the company registering, which you should share with us too.

2. Register headers

Once you get your unique Entity ID, register your headers on the DLT platform’s portal. Only entities with registered headers can send SMS messages.

Add your headers under the Headers tab in the dashboard.

You can choose between two types of Headers — Promotional and Others. To send campaigns of the former type, such as offers, discounts, and promotions, choose a six-digit numeric sender ID. The DLT platform will automatically add a prefix that represents your industry; for instance, for the communication industry, the prefix is “6.” If you plan to send transactional campaigns, such as alerts and notifications, you can choose a six-character alphanumeric header name. Headers are case-sensitive, so PLIVO and Plivo, for example, are two different headers and can be registered separately.

Enter each header name in the text box and state the reason for choosing it in the description box below. Use one header per use case: one for OTP, one for promotional, and one for notification messages, for instance. We recommend using as few headers as you can and linking multiple templates to a single header.

Your header name should correlate with your entity name. If the header name is different, explain the discrepancy in the description box. Include your mobile number in the description so the DLT platform’s support team can contact you if they have questions.

3. Register your CTAs

Recently TRAI updated its rules to require brands to whitelist any CTAs included in their messages. Whitelisting takes place on the DLT platform and is a crucial process for ensuring your messages are successfully delivered. The following types of CTAs must be registered.

1. URLS

• Any link/URL used in an SMS.
• WhatsApp links
• APK links

2. Numbers used for calls or messages

• Mobile
• Landline
• Toll-free

3. Email addresses

For example:

• If you include a link for users to sign up for an account, that URL must be whitelisted.
• If your messages contain a callback number or an email address, those must also be whitelisted.

Whitelisting Requirements at a Glance

4. Register consent templates

After you’ve registered your business entity and headers, the next step in the DLT registration process is to add consent templates. A consent template contains a standard message that the business must send to users to get opt-in consent to receive promotional communications from enterprises.

When users receive a consent message, they can respond directly or use a link in the message to allow the business to send them future messages. Promotional messages, which we’ll talk about in a moment, must be linked to consent templates. You can create multiple consent templates to cover as many brands and use cases as you have.

Give each template a descriptive name; you’ll use the name to associate content templates with the consent template later. For brand name, use a relevant product or trade name. The scope of consent should describe the content you plan to send to users, and should be related to the brand name provided. For example:

• We would like to send communication regarding marketing offers and events to you as one of our registered customers
• ABC Solutions needs your consent to send you messages about your account information and activity and our best offers
• We want to send updates, transactions, and recommendations of our services and products to registered customers like you

Be descriptive; don’t say something short like “consent” or “SMS to customers.” Also, don’t use variables in the scope of consent; variables are applicable only to content templates.

You can include opt-out instructions in the consent template; for example: “To opt out, send STOP to <your number>.”

After you fill in the details in the three fields, click Submit to submit the template for approval. The registrar may take three to seven business days to return an approval or rejection. If your template is rejected — if, for instance, the template isn’t a match for the header — you can update the template and submit the revised version.

5. Register content templates

After you’ve registered consent templates, the next step in the DLT registration process is to add content templates. A content template includes the actual text of an SMS message you want to send.

Choose the template type from among available choices: transactional, service implicit, service explicit, and promotional. We’ll explain what each means in the section below.

Give each content template a relevant and recognizable descriptive name; you’ll use the name to associate a consent template with your content templates later.

For the message type, choose “Text” for general messages and “Unicode” for regional messages.

For the template message, you can use letters, numbers, and special characters. Avoid using two or more spaces before, after, or between words.

Insert values such as dates, amounts, account numbers, names, and OTPs using variables. There’s no limit on the number of variables you can use per message; individual variable length may not exceed 30 characters. Transactional and service content should always have some variable content. Promotional content can have some variable or all fixed content. All messages should have some fixed content; no message should be only variables.

The variable format in text is {#var#}, which is case-sensitive.

Don’t use a single content template with multiple headers — tailor the content to a specific use case, and thus a single header. Also, make sure that you associate each content template with the relevant header; if you have a header for sending OTPs and another for promotional messages, pay attention to which header you map to each content template.

If your content template is for a promotional message, you must also associate the content template with an existing consent template, so users have a chance to opt in to receiving your promotional messages.

Click Save or Submit (depending on which portal you use) when you’ve filled out all the required fields. You should then see a screen that shows a list of your content templates.

One of the fields in the list shows the status for each template. New templates are marked Pending. The portal operator will review the template and return an approval or rejection in three to seven working days. Templates may be rejected if they’re irrelevant or not related to the business. The DLT platform will notify you if your template is rejected, and you can update it and reapply.

Types of content templates

Here’s more information about the four types of content templates.

Transactional

A message that contains a one-time password (OTP) required to complete a banking or credit or debit card transaction initiated by a bank customer is considered transactional. Here are some examples of this type of content, along with examples of the template formats that would create them.

Financial service enterprises should use the transactional category for OTP messages during fund transfers, online payments, and merchant transactions. Don’t select the transactional content type for nonbanking enterprises.

Service-implicit

Any message arising out of customers’ actions or their existing relationship with the enterprise, and that is not promotional, is considered a service-implicit message. These include:

• Confirmation messages of net banking and credit/debit card transactions
• Product purchase confirmation and delivery status from ecommerce websites
• Customer is making payments through a payment wallet for an ecommerce website or mobile app, and an OTP is sent to complete the transaction. These OTPs are not considered transactional because they’re not sent from a bank but from a third party.
• OTPs required for ecommerce websites, app logins, social media apps, authentication and verification links, securities trading, demat account operations, KYC, and ewallet registration
• Messages from telecom and internet service providers
• Periodic balance info, bill generation, bill dispatch, due date reminders, recharge confirmation (DTH, cable, prepaid electricity recharge, etc.)
• Delivery notifications, updates, and periodic upgrades
• Messages from retail stores related to invoices and warranties
• Messages from schools, such as attendance and transport alerts
• Messages from hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, radiologists, and pathologists about registration, appointments, discharge, and reports
• Confirmatory messages from app-based services
• Government/DOT/TRAI mandated messages
• Service updates from car workshops, repair shops, and gadgets service centers
• Directory services such as Justdial and Yellow Pages
• Day-end and month-end settlement alerts to securities and demat account holders

Service-explicit

Service-explicit messages require explicit consent from customers. Consent must be verified by the recipient in a robust and verifiable manner and recorded by the consent registrar. This category includes any service messages that don’t fall under the service-implicit category.

Service-explicit content templates must be linked to consent templates.

Examples include messages to the existing customers recommending or promoting products or services.

Promotional

Promotional messages promote or sell products, goods, or services. Service content mixed with promotional content is treated as promotional. Plivo will send these messages to customers after scrubbing them to ensure that messages are delivered only according to the consent criteria set by the customer in the national Do Not Disturb (DND) registry.

Promotional content templates must be linked to consent templates.

Promotional content must be sent only from numerical sender IDs.

Benefits of DLT registration for customers

DLT registration reduces spam that, at best, is irritating for customers — and at worst, compromises personal data security. By verifying the identity of message senders, DLT significantly reduces the number of spam and fraudulent messages customers receive. Cutting back on spam increases trust, enhances privacy, and gives customers more control over their communication preferences. With DLT registration, customers know the messages they receive come from verified businesses. DLT prevents unauthorized access to personal information through unsolicited messages.

Plus, many DLT platforms offer customers the ability to opt out of specific message categories or from particular businesses, giving them power over the messages they receive.

Benefits of DLT registration for businesses

The TRAI primarily designed DLT registration for customers, but it benefits businesses, too. Messages from registered senders are more likely to make it past spam filters and reach their intended recipients. In turn, reduced spam and higher message delivery rates contribute to better customer engagement and satisfaction. By adhering to regulatory standards, businesses build trust and credibility among customers.

There are also financial reasons to complete DLT registration. By complying with regulations, companies avoid TRAI penalties and legal issues. Businesses can optimize their SMS campaigns for better results, using pre-approved templates to boost conversion rates. And, DLT registration creates a more reliable communication channel.

After successful registration, leave it to Plivo

Once you’ve registered everything on the DLT platform, please create a ticket to share with us your

• Entity ID
• Header
• Header ID
• Whitelisted CTAs
• Template ID
• Message Template

Include screenshots for reference so Plivo can share the information with the carriers. Once the carriers have mapped the header and content, Plivo will map the sender ID to your account and let you know that you’re good to go.‍

When you receive a phone call on your smartphone, you get information about who’s contacting you in the form of a caller ID. Similarly, when you get a text message, it’s accompanied by a sender ID. Though they’re used in similar ways, caller ID and sender ID aren’t the same. Here’s a brief primer on the two most prominent telecom IDs.

What is caller ID?

Caller ID has been around since the late ‘80s as a numeric indicator of the phone number of the originating caller. Back in the days before cellphones, caller ID used technology called frequency shift keying (FSK) to encode data into discrete tones that could travel over analog phone switches and be decoded at the receiving end. At the time most phones didn’t have a display, but you could buy a little device to plug in between your phone and the wall to show the calling number.

Later, caller ID was enhanced to include caller names via Calling Name Presentation (CNAM). CNAM records associate a number with a 15-character alphabetic description — a company’s or a person’s name. CNAM information is not transmitted over phone lines, but entered in a line information database (LIDB) by the carrier that provides the business or individual’s service. When a call is made, the terminating carrier looks up the CNAM information and presents it to the call recipient along with the calling line identification (CLI — another name for caller ID).

Today, cell service providers offer caller ID for voice calls over their networks, but since everything that travels over cell networks is digital, caller ID on cell networks relies on protocols defined for voice over IP (VoIP) networks instead of FSK.

Different countries have differing regulations around caller ID. Lack of a global standard means that carriers may not be able to maintain CLI across international borders.

Caller IDs apply to long codes and toll-free numbers but not to short codes, because short codes are never used to make voice calls.

What is sender ID?

Sender ID is a different way of identifying an originating endpoint. Caller IDs were developed for plain old telephone service (POTS) to identify who made a voice call, but sender IDs originated with SMS to identify who sent a text message on cellular networks. The two are generated in different ways: Caller IDs originate with the telecom provider based on a phone number, while sender IDs are registered by businesses’ service providers.

Sender IDs are alphanumeric strings of six to 11 characters that appear on call recipients’ handsets. Consumers in the US, Canada, and 40 other countries could be forgiven for thinking that “caller ID” and “sender ID” mean the same thing, because sender ID doesn’t exist in their countries. When no sender ID is set, the initiating party’s phone number appears to the recipient instead, in a way that’s functionally identical to caller ID.

In countries where it’s available, however, sender ID can be a valuable way for businesses to identify themselves. You can read more about sender ID in our detailed guide on sender ID.

Different countries have different regulations around sender IDs. Some require that sender IDs be registered with a carrier or regulatory body as a way of cutting down on fraud; others are more relaxed and allow instant registration and use of sender IDs.

Sender IDs are available for long codes, toll-free numbers, and short codes.

What caller ID and sender ID have in common

Both caller ID and sender ID help build trust between the originating and receiving parties. When caller recipients see a familiar local number, they’re more likely to answer the phone, and when they receive a message from a familiar party, they’re more likely to trust it.

Unfortunately, it’s fairly easy for bad actors to spoof a caller ID — that is, provide a fake number to mask the real source of a call. This has been a common practice among telemarketers, who use the number of a trustworthy brand or a local area code and exchange to make their targets more likely to take a call.

The US Federal Communications Commission is cracking down on caller ID spoofing. Last year it began requiring carriers to implement call authentication via standards called STIR/SHAKEN as a way to attest the validity of the originating number.

Whether you need to customize the CNAM information for your caller ID or set up an alphanumeric sender ID, Plivo’s voice API can help you out.

SMS — short message service — is one of the best tools for building relationships with your customers. 81% of Americans use SMS every day, and more than three-quarters of Americans wish they could text with a business.

We could go on and on about the benefits of using SMS, but let’s say you’re convinced that SMS can be a valuable tool for your business and you’re raring to get started. Before you implement any text messaging campaigns, one of the first things you need to do is figure out what kind of phone number to use to send out messages and receive responses.

Your first thought might be to use normal 10-digit phone numbers, known as long codes. In the US, long codes should be used only for person-to-person (P2P) conversational texting.

In the United States you have a choice of three types of phone numbers for business texting.

• 10DLC (10-digit long code) is a service offered by major US carriers to explicitly allow commercial application-to-person (A2P) SMS traffic over long code phone numbers. How do you turn long codes into 10DLC numbers? You have to register them with your carrier. 10DLC is exclusively a US service; you can use long codes for sending and receiving SMS and MMS messages in Canada and other countries.
• Toll-free numbers are used by businesses that want their customers to reach them at no cost. Incoming calls are billed to the called party and are free of charge for the calling party. Most countries reserve a set of dialing prefixes to denote toll-free services. In North America, 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, and 833 denote toll-free numbers. You can use toll-free numbers for two-way messaging as well as voice.
• Short codes are five- or six-digit numbers (for example, 123456) used to send and receive SMS messages. Unlike 10DLC and long code numbers, short codes are not tied to an area code, so they can be used across a country to provide a nationwide brand identity under one easy-to-remember number. Unlike long codes and toll-free numbers, you can’t use short codes for voice calls. You can order a regular short code or a vanity one, which allows you to choose the number you want instead of getting assigned a random number. Vanity short codes cost more to lease, but they can be worth the money if you can get a memorable number as your short code. 7-Eleven, for instance, has the vanity short code 711711.

We’ve created an infographic to help you decide what number types might work for your messaging use cases. Download it for reference or share it with colleagues.

Whichever number type you use, you must obtain consent from the people you want to send messages to before you begin a texting campaign.

As you can see, if you need the highest possible throughput, a short code is the way to go. 10DLC and toll-free numbers don’t offer as high a rate of messages per second, but they can be more economical — which brings us to the question of costs.

Cost comparison

A lot of factors affect the cost of a text messaging campaign. This chart shows costs for the four different number types in the US. Plivo offers SMS services in 190+ countries — check our pricing page for up-to-date costs in the countries you’re interested in.

Each number may have three general types of costs: initial setup, monthly number rental, and per-message fees, some of which are charged by your carrier and some of which are imposed as surcharges by the carrier whose customers receive your messages. Note that carrier surcharges vary by carrier — Verizon may impose a different per-message charge than T-Mobile. We chose AT&T surcharge rates to illustrate this chart.

Making the best choice

That’s a lot of numbers to juggle. How do you know which phone number type to use?

If you’re already using SMS, go over a past bill and see how many SMS and MMS messages you sent and received. Multiply those numbers by the per-message rates for each number type, add in the monthly costs, and see what the total is for each number type.

If this is a new initiative you can do the same exercise but you’ll have to estimate your messaging volume.

When we talk about porting a phone number, we mean the process of transferring the number from one service provider to another, which allows a business to keep a number but switch providers and services. Businesses build relationships using their phone numbers, so keeping those numbers is important for customer relationships. For a business, porting is like a consumer taking their phone number when they switch cell service providers. You want to keep your old number when switching so you don’t have to reach out to all your contacts and update all your personal information everywhere. Porting prevents a similar hassle for businesses.

Our customers have been able to port numbers in to Plivo for some time by working with Plivo’s support team. Now Plivo has streamlined the process to make it easy for customers to bring their current US or Canada numbers over via the console. (While you can port international numbers in to Plivo, they can’t be ported using the console.)

To port in a number, navigate to Phone Numbers > Port-In and click New Port-In Order.

The next screens walk you through the process, asking for your business information, phone numbers, and desired port-in date and letting you upload a Letter of Authorization (LOA).

After you submit your port-in request, Plivo will reach out by email in approximately 24 hours to let you know your request was accepted.

Plivo then submits your request to your current number provider. Within a week you should get a response stating whether your request was approved or rejected. If it’s approved, Plivo will reach out to you with a Firm Order Commitment (FOC) date when your number will be ported to Plivo. Once that date has passed, you can use your number with Plivo and close out your previous account.

If your request is rejected, you’ll need to reach out to your old provider and find out what needs to be done to move forward with the port-in process. A request may be rejected for reasons such as mismatched data, unsatisfactory business relationship, inactive number, invalid PIN, or the number does not qualify for porting, as is the case with international numbers.

Additional port-in details

The port-in process takes time — up to four weeks — so please plan accordingly. Don’t cancel or close out your old accounts until the port-in process is complete.

Bulk requests? Not a problem. You can submit up to 20 numbers on the console.

Port with confidence

Plivo continues to keep the customer experience at the forefront of everything we do. Whether it’s simplifying processes or making processes more intuitive for the customer, we strive to alleviate pain points in the voice and messaging space. The addition of the port-in process to the console is a great example of simplifying a process while adding convenience for our customers.

Consumers like to know who’s calling them before they decide whether to answer a ringing phone. Calls from unfamiliar sources could be time-wasters — the verbal equivalent of spam email. Carriers help customers identify callers by providing caller ID, a published standard for identifying call origins.

Originating carriers include caller ID information when calls are initiated. It’s up to receiving carriers to associate a caller ID with a caller ID name, or CNAM. In the US, carriers can do this by querying a line information database (LIDB) — a public repository that associates phone numbers with names.

Plivo makes CNAM mapping easy

Plivo lets you specify a CNAM record for any and all of your phone numbers and publishes it for you to the LIDB, so all carriers can report your company name along with caller ID number information.

To map a CNAM for your organization to one or all of your Plivo phone numbers, go to the Phone Numbers page of the Plivo console. Tick the phone numbers you’re interested in providing a name for, then click on the Choose Action dropdown and choose Add CNAM. Enter a name (up to 15 characters) and click Submit CNAM. The numbers’ CNAM status on the console will change to “In Progress” while we submit the information to an LIDB. Within a short time the numbers’ status will change to show whether your submission was a success, partial success, or a failure.

Plivo makes the CNAM mapping process as quick and easy as possible; the less time you spend mapping, the more time you can spend bringing value to your customers.

Credibility through CNAM

Call recipients are more likely to answer a name they recognize. The CNAM you provide should fairly represent your organization and give credibility to the call. You can use your business or brand name, but CNAM can be no more than 15 characters long, including spaces, and special characters are not supported.

CNAM builds trust with the carriers as well. When you register your name you make sure it’s accurate, and carriers will be less likely to filter your calls as spam.

CNAM isn’t the only tool available for making sure people know who’s calling them. Within the last year the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has directed US carriers to implement STIR/SHAKEN, a framework that represents how confident a service provider is in that the number’s owner is truly the one placing the call. That means call recipients should receive caller IDs along with the word “verified” directly below it when calls from the numbers they purport to be. Unverified calls might have their caller IDs spoofed, meaning the caller is pretending to be someone they aren’t, usually for no good purpose.

Between CNAM registration and STIR/SHAKEN attestation, your call recipients can be confident that calls from your organization are really from you, and should be more willing to engage with your business.

Don’t wait

Head over to the console and start mapping your CNAM to your numbers now.

Plivo’s new Lookup API can programmatically determine number format, type, country, and carrier for any phone number worldwide. With this detailed information about a phone number, you can assess risk, prevent fraud, block fake accounts, and increase acquisition — all without relying on customer input.

Lookup can provide several tiers of information depending on the level of detail you require: phone number country and format, phone number type, carrier, and network.

Pricing for Lookup starts at $0.004 per request. We also offer bundle packages, where customers can pay a monthly fee for a set number of API requests for a lower total cost than standalone requests:

Once a customer has completed the allocated number of API requests per plan, they pay $0.004 for each additional request.

With Lookup, you can minimize delivery errors by determining whether a phone number is valid before including the consumer in your contact list, ensuring clean data and reduced errors. Lookup can also help increase conversion rates, as it helps businesses segregate landline from mobile numbers, so they can pick the right channel for their messages and calls to ensure the best conversion rates.

Here’s a breakdown of the information that Lookup can retrieve about a phone number:

Phone number country and format

Phone numbers can be written in many formats, depending on the country. Determining the country a number belongs to and its local format helps improve your overall experience with customers. With Lookup, Plivo properly formats phone numbers for a given region automatically, with proper prefixes, ensuring that the numbers you select look familiar to locals.

Phone number type

With Lookup, you can better identify which kinds of communications users can accept, based on their number type. Not all number types accept all kinds of communications. For example, most landline numbers and many VoIP numbers don’t accept SMS messages. Lookup recognizes when an alternative delivery method may be needed to successfully send voice or messaging communications.

Carrier and network

Lookup helps businesses identify the carrier behind the phone number to learn which users are likely to be legitimate. For fraud detection and risk management purposes, you may want to know whether a number is valid, is reachable, and whether the carrier location matches other location information you have for the user so you can use the answers within your risk scoring process during registration.

To get started with the Lookup API, check out our documentation. If you’re interested in any of our monthly bundle packages, reach out to your account representative.

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We’ve made number provisioning easier, so that customers in regulated countries can provide compliance requirements directly in the Plivo console. Users can also track their compliance status within the console, and stay informed on the progress of the compliance application in real time, without needing to check in via email.

When anyone provisions regulated phone numbers, they must following local requirements that differ by country or territory and may vary for citizens, foreign individuals, and businesses. To prevent spam and fraud, and to generally protect phone numbers as resources, telecom regulators want to know who’s answering voice calls or receiving messages.

You must provide the necessary regulatory information and supporting documentation for your numbers in regulated geographies. If you rent numbers in multiple countries, you’ll likely need separate documentation for each country. For some countries, requirements also differ by phone number type — national, local, mobile, or toll-free. And some countries also have proof of address requirements. Making sure you meet all the requirements can get complicated.

We aim to make the process easier by handling compliance through the Plivo console, so that your phone numbers are not at risk of getting revoked.

How do I get started?

The compliance process is now part of provisioning a phone number.

1) In the Plivo console, navigate to Phone Numbers and click Buy Number, or search for a phone number you’re already renting. When you click on a number you already have, or one of a list of available numbers, look for a Regulatory Information popup that displays the compliance requirements for the phone number. If there is no Regulatory Information section, then the phone number has no regulatory requirements.

2) Review the regulatory information required, then create a Compliance Application. Existing Compliance Applications are available in the drop-down menu, or you can create a new Compliance Application by clicking on Add New.

3) After you create a Compliance Application, add the relevant documents to it (such as a utility bill for proof of address) and save it for possible reuse, for when you create a Compliance Application for a new region or country. You’ll then return to the phone number rental flow, where you can map the newly created Compliance Application to the phone number.

At this stage the phone number status on the Compliance Application console page appears as In Review. Plivo will review the application, which can take up to two business days. Our team will check to make sure the information and documents you provided satisfy local regulators’ compliance guidelines.

You can view the approval status of any phone number on the console under Phone Numbers > Pending.

We offer more information in our documentation.

Phone number provisioning made easier

Countries are taking important steps to protect their citizens from fraud, spam, and general communications annoyance, but in doing so they’re complicating the process of adding business phone numbers. Plivo can help you navigate regulatory requirements for all of the countries where you rent phone numbers and get your numbers into compliance. With phone numbers available in 65 countries, Plivo offers a broad global reach. Please contact our stellar support team for any issues with the process.

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