Very few VoIP providers are direct numbering resources. Instead, they’ve contracted legacy telecom companies
Phone numbers are not a commodity resource. They’re bundled and regulated, hoarded and relinquished. Some area codes or vanity numbers are more desirable and harder to acquire than others, and if you’ve got those specifications in mind, you’ll be going hunting. Whether a certain provider can find a number you need depends on whether they already own one that fits or have access to a numbering resource that does.
Very few VoIP providers are direct numbering resources. That is, they don’t own phone numbers themselves. Instead, they’ve contracted legacy telecom companies to reserve blocks of numbers. While this may seem equivalent in the short term, these providers are confined by the terms of those contracts, and there is no guarantee their prices won’t change or they’ll retain their current number selection when contracts expire. Since they are not authorized to purchase numbers directly from the FCC’s North American Numbering Plan, most VoIP providers are forced to provide numbers on legacy telecom’s terms.
By contrast, a direct numbering resource can purchase blocks of numbers directly and is not beholden to any other company for access to numbering blocks. This category mostly includes legacy telecom companies like CLECs or companies who act as numbering intermediaries for VoIP or other communications-related companies. Very few next-generation communications providers have been able to break through the incumbent regulation to become direct numbering resources.
It’s not impossible though, and the FCC has opened up new avenues in recent years to become a direct numbering resource. What are the advantages of choosing a VoIP provider that has gone through this process?
The main advantages are flexibility and choice when selecting phone numbers and assurance that your provider will retain that selection long-term. A VoIP provider with a well built-out number database should be able to offer wide coverage across geographic areas, area codes and rate centers. The larger that database becomes, the more flexibility you have in selecting vanity numbers, particular number combinations or large blocks of consecutive numbers. And, if they don’t have the number you need, a direct number resource can purchase numbers directly from the NANP. Owning its own numbers also gives the provider more leeway when developing bulk deals or bundled contracts that are mutually beneficial.
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You may have guessed that Telnyx is one of the few VoIP providers that is also a direct numbering resource. We’re authorized by the FCC as an interconnected VoIP numbering resource, and we own millions of phone numbers across 20,000 North American rate centers and 60 countries (both local and national). We can also provide access to any available toll-free number.
We take it a step further with our advanced number search that lets users slice and dice our numbering database to find the perfect DID. For customers, that number search is fully embeddable, allowing you to extend the breadth of our number database to your own users and customers. Combine that with an automated porting process and a user portal where you can provision numbers and spin up new connections in under five minutes. We take the power of direct numbering, put it in your capable hands and make it as easy and quick as possible.
Take control of your communications with Telnyx.
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