What is Direct Dialing? How is it beneficial to me?

What is Direct Dialing? How is it beneficial to me?

| When & Why You’d Use Direct Dialing

Direct Dialing—also called Direct Inward Dialing (DID)—gives every employee, team, or campaign its own public phone number so callers reach the right person instantly (no reception desk, no “Press 1 for Sales”). Use it when you need to:

Scenario

Example

VIP access

Investors call your CEO’s DID and bypass the main IVR.

Campaign tracking

Assign unique DIDs to Google Ads vs. billboards and compare conversion rates.

Remote/local presence

A Paris-based rep rents a Montreal DID so Québec customers see a familiar 514 number.

2 | Prerequisites

  1. Licensed DID in the regions you serve (check Settings › Numbers).
  2. E911 / emergency address registered if required by local law.
  3. Opt-in & caller-ID rules reviewed for each country.
  4. User extension or ring group already created in your cloud-PBX.
  5. Admin access—or an API token—to assign numbers programmatically.

3 | Set Up a DID in 5 Minutes

#

Web Portal (UI)

REST API (cURL)

1

Log in → Numbers › Buy New → choose country & area code.

bash\nPOST /v1/dids/purchase -d '{\"country\":\"US\",\"prefix\":\"415\"}' -H \"Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN\"

2

Click Assign and select the target User Extension 203.

bash\nPATCH /v1/dids/14155550101 -d '{\"route_to\":\"ext_203\"}'

3

Toggle Show DID as outbound caller-ID if desired.

bash\nPATCH /v1/extensions/203 -d '{\"outbound_caller_id\":\"14155550101\"}'

4

Save → system auto-tests inbound call and returns ✓ Success.

––

5

Place a real call to verify reach & audio quality.

––

Screenshot: “Assign Number” wizard with extension drop-down and caller-ID toggle.
Diagram: PSTN → SBC → DID Routing → Extension 203 (rings desk 9-5, mobile after hours).

4 | Expected Outcome

  • Incoming calls to +1 415-555-0101 ring extension 203 within one second.
  • Outbound calls from ext 203 display +1 415-555-0101 unless overridden.
  • Analytics log shows Status: Delivered and call duration.

5 | Troubleshooting Cheat-Sheet

Symptom

Probable Cause

Quick Fix

“403 Forbidden” on purchase

Out of inventory in that area code

Choose nearby prefix or open a ticket for back-order.

DID rings but no audio

NAT/SIP ALG on firewall

Open UDP 5060 & RTP 10000-20000; disable ALG.

Caller-ID shows “Unknown”

Country blocks foreign CNAM

Enable local masking or register CNAM with carrier.

Q. Can one DID ring multiple devices?
Yes—set a ring group or use our mobile + desktop softphone apps.

Q. Do I need hardware?
Any SIP desk phone or our free softphone works; no on-prem PBX required.

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