DID number (direct inward dialing)
A DID (direct inward dialing) number is a phone number provided by a carrier that delivers incoming calls to a phone system over the internet, where they can be routed to a person, team or call flow.
How a DID number works
A carrier assigns the number and connects it to the public phone network. When someone dials it, the carrier sends the call to the business's phone system, usually over SIP. The phone system then decides where the call goes. Because the number is not tied to a physical line, a company can have numbers in cities or countries where it has no office.
Common number types
- Local — a number with a city or area code.
- National — a number valid across a country without a local area code.
- Mobile — a number from a country's mobile range.
- Toll-free — free for the caller; the business pays for the call. See toll-free number.
- Shared cost — the cost of the call is split between caller and business.
- UIFN — a universal international freephone number that works in several countries.
DID numbers in phone.systems™
phone.systems™ uses numbers from DIDWW, the carrier behind it. You order numbers in your DIDWW account in 93 countries, in any of the types above, and assign them to the phone.systems™ trunk. They then appear automatically in the Numbers area, ready to be used as the Phone Number object at the start of a call flow. Numbers are billed separately at DIDWW rates, listed on DIDWW coverage and prices.
You can also port existing numbers to DIDWW or add numbers from another carrier through BYOC. See managing multi-location call routing.