Numbers are inventory, not a plan tier
Phone numbers, and what each one can do.
A number belongs to your account rather than to a person. Point it at a line, a group or a call flow, and move it whenever you like. Getting one is a two-minute job; deciding what should happen when it rings is the interesting part.
Three ways to get one
Local, toll-free, or the one on your van already
Local numbers
A number in the area code your customers recognise. Availability depends on inventory in that rate centre, which is a real constraint everywhere, not just in small markets — ask and we will tell you what is free.
Toll-free numbers
Free for the caller, billed by the inbound minute to you. Worth it when customers are calling from outside your area and would otherwise hesitate.
The number you already have
Most numbers can move to us. We check yours against the current carrier before anyone commits to a date, and the old line keeps working until the switch.
How numbers behave
Four rules that hold wherever the number came from
- A number belongs to the account
- Not to a person. Point it at a line, a ring group or a call flow, and repoint it whenever you like without anyone re-learning an extension.
- A line does not need one
- Lines make and take internal calls, and dial out through whatever number you nominate, before they are given one of their own. Numbers are optional inventory.
- One number, one call flow
- Each number has exactly one diagram behind it, so the answer to "what happens when someone dials this" is a picture rather than an investigation.
- Outbound caller ID is a choice
- Set it per site or per line. A dispatcher calling a customer back can present the main number rather than their own extension.
One market worth spelling out
Local numbers in the Virgin Islands
Most area codes behave the same way. The +1-340 and +1-284 plans do not behave quite like each other, so each gets its own page rather than a footnote.
U.S. Virgin Islands
+1‑340St Thomas · St Croix · St John · Water Island
- AvailableNew local numbers
- AvailableInbound calling
- AvailableOutbound calling
- AvailableEnhanced 911
British Virgin Islands
+1‑284Tortola · Virgin Gorda · Anegada · Jost Van Dyke
- AvailableInbound voice numbers
- AvailableOutbound calling
- AvailableEnhanced 911
- Not availableNumber porting
Next
Tell us the area code and we will tell you what is free
If you already have a number, start with the porting page instead — it changes the order things happen in.