Buying DIDs from your carrier for inbound

To take inbound calls in VICIdial you first need phone numbers, and those come from your carrier as DID (direct inward dialing) numbers. You buy or port them in the carrier portal, assign them to your trunk, then add a matching DID entry in VICIdial that points at an in-group.

Buy or port the number

In your Carrier account, look for a DIDs, numbers, or phone-number section. You have two paths: buy a fresh number in the area code you want, or port an existing number you already own. Buying is instant; porting takes days because it moves the number from your old provider.

• Buy new — pick an area code, the carrier assigns a number, usually available within minutes.
• Port existing — submit a request with your current carrier's account details; expect a multi-day window.

Local versus toll-free at a glance

Carriers sell two broad number types. A local DID carries a geographic area code and usually costs less per month; callers in that region see a familiar number. A Toll-free number number (800, 888, 833 and similar) is free for the caller and signals a business line, but typically costs more and may bill per inbound minute.

• Local — cheaper, geographic, good for regional campaigns and local presence.
• Toll-free — free to the caller, national reach, higher cost and often per-minute inbound charges.

flowchart LR
  A[Buy DID from carrier] --> B[Assign DID to trunk]
  B --> C[Add DID entry in VICIdial]
  C --> D[Point DID at ingroup]
  D --> E[Agent answers]

Point the new DID at your trunk and in-group

Once the number is in your account, attach it to the same Trunk you use with VICIdial so inbound calls arrive on a peer your server already trusts. In most portals this means setting the DID's destination or route to your SIP trunk. Then your server takes over:

1. Confirm the carrier account entry in VICIdial uses context=trunkinbound so inbound lands in DID handling.
2. Go to Admin then Inbound then DIDs and add an entry with the exact number the carrier delivers.
3. Set the route to an Ingroup (or a call menu), set Active to Y, and save.

What to watch when ordering

Number type and area code are only part of the decision. Check the digit format the carrier will present to your server, because that is what your VICIdial DID entry must match. Some carriers deliver 10 digits, some prepend a 1, and some send full E164 with a plus sign. Also confirm your monthly DID cost, any per-minute inbound charge, and the channel limit on the number — a single DID with a low channel cap will reject simultaneous callers once it fills.

• Delivered digit format — must match what you type into the VICIdial DID entry.
• Channel limit — how many simultaneous inbound calls the number allows.
• Caller ID / CNAM handling — whether the carrier passes the caller's name through.

Test by calling the number from an outside line with an agent logged into the in-group. For the routing detail once the number is live, see the carrier account entry guide, and the carrier integration guide covers the whole inbound chain.

Got your DIDs and need a dialer to answer them? See VICIfast pricing — a dedicated VICIdial server with a fixed public IP in under 40 seconds, bring your own carrier and numbers.