Numbers in the markets your customers dial from
Geographic, national, mobile and toll-free inventory across our A-Z footprint — Africa, Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Provision instantly through the portal or the API, point a number anywhere in seconds, and port your existing numbers in where the regulator allows it.
Zephyr DID numbers at a glance
- Four number types — geographic, national, mobile and toll-free, subject to what each regulator permits
- Instant provisioning from in-stock inventory via portal or REST API
- Voice and SMS capability listed per number, not claimed as a blanket feature
- Porting handled for you, including losing-carrier paperwork and cutover scheduling
- Regulatory requirements stated upfront — you know what documentation a country needs before you order
- Wholesale volume pricing for resellers and carriers buying inventory in bulk
The four number types, and when each one is right
Picking the wrong type is the most common and most expensive mistake in number procurement. A toll-free number for an outbound sales team is money burned; a geographic number for a national service line fragments your brand.
Geographic
Carries a city area code — +44 20 London, +1 212 New York, +27 11 Johannesburg. Use when local presence matters and customers prefer dialling someone nearby. Most likely to carry a regulatory address requirement.
National
One non-geographic prefix reaching a whole country — +27 87 in South Africa, +44 3 in the UK. Use for a national service line where you want a single number on all your marketing regardless of region.
Mobile
Drawn from mobile ranges — +44 7, +27 6–8. Usually the only type with reliable two-way SMS, which makes it the choice for messaging and verification workloads.
Toll-free
Free to the caller — +1 800, +44 800, +27 80 — with the cost billed to you per minute received. Use for inbound support and sales lines where removing the caller's cost barrier increases volume.
What a country breakdown looks like
Every market has its own numbering plan, its own capability quirks and its own regulator. South Africa below as an illustration — country code +27 — with the same detail available for any country in our footprint before you order.
| Range | Type | Area / use | SMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| +27 11 | Geographic | Johannesburg | Varies |
| +27 12 | Geographic | Pretoria / Tshwane | Varies |
| +27 21 | Geographic | Cape Town | Varies |
| +27 31 | Geographic | Durban | Varies |
| +27 41 | Geographic | Gqeberha / Port Elizabeth | Varies |
| +27 51 | Geographic | Bloemfontein | Varies |
| +27 87 | National | VoIP / non-geographic national | Varies |
| +27 80 | Toll-free | Free to caller, billed to you | Restricted |
| +27 60–84 | Mobile | Mobile ranges | Yes |
SMS capability on geographic and national ranges depends on the specific block and the hosting network, in every country. Every number in our inventory is listed with its actual capability — check before you build a workflow that depends on it. For coverage and pricing in any other market, see full coverage or sign in for live inventory.
Order a number, point it, change your mind — in seconds
In-stock numbers activate immediately. Routing is a field you edit, not a support ticket you file. Everything available in the portal is available over the API, so you can provision numbers programmatically as your own customers sign up.
- Search by country, type and pattern — find numbers ending in a specific sequence
- Route anywhere — extension, queue, IVR, SIP URI, external number or failover chain
- Bulk operations for provisioning or re-pointing hundreds of numbers at once
- Assign to tenants directly if you're a reseller managing your own customers
- Usage visible per number — call volume, last call and cost against every DID
# Search available numbers curl https://api.zephyrtelecomms.com/v1/numbers/available \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $ZEPHYR_API_KEY" \ -G -d "country=ZA" -d "type=geographic" -d "prefix=2711" # Order and route it curl -X POST https://api.zephyrtelecomms.com/v1/numbers \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $ZEPHYR_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "number": "+27115680412", "route_to": "queue:support", "failover": "+27821234567" }' # Response { "number": "+27115680412", "status": "active", "type": "geographic", "capabilities": ["voice", "sms"], "monthly": "49.00", "currency": "ZAR" }
Bring your existing numbers with you
Your number is your identity — it's on your vehicles, your signage and every invoice you've ever sent. Changing provider shouldn't mean changing it.
We check portability
Confirm the number is portable in its market and identify what the losing carrier will require.
We prepare the paperwork
Letter of authorisation, proof of ownership and regulatory forms drafted for your signature.
We schedule the cutover
A porting window agreed with you, typically outside business hours, with routing pre-configured.
We verify it live
Test calls confirmed working before we close the port. No declaring success on a status page.
Buying inventory, not just a number
If you're reselling numbers to your own customers, you need block allocation, volume pricing and an API that provisions without a human in the loop. That's a different product to buying one number for an office.
- Block allocation with contiguous ranges where the numbering plan allows
- Volume tiers on both setup and monthly recurring charges
- Sub-assign to your tenants with your own markup layered automatically
- Consolidated billing across your whole inventory in your chosen currency
DID number questions
What is a DID number?
A DID, or Direct Inward Dialling number, is a telephone number that routes to a VoIP system rather than a physical line. It behaves like an ordinary number to whoever calls it, but you control where it terminates — an extension, a queue, an IVR, a mobile or another SIP endpoint — and you can change that instantly.
What types of phone numbers can I buy?
Geographic numbers carry a city area code and give presence in a specific place. National numbers reach the whole country from one non-geographic prefix. Mobile numbers use mobile ranges and generally support SMS. Toll-free numbers are free for the caller and billed to you. Availability of each type varies by country and is set by that country's regulator.
Do I need a local address to buy a number?
It depends on the country. Many regulators require proof of a local address, a registered in-country entity, or a declared service address before assigning a geographic number. Some countries have no requirement. We tell you what a specific country needs before you order, not after you've paid.
Can I port my existing numbers to Zephyr?
In most markets, yes. Number portability is a regulatory right in South Africa and many other jurisdictions. We handle the porting request, the losing-carrier paperwork and the cutover scheduling. Timelines vary by country and by how quickly the losing carrier responds.
Can DID numbers receive SMS?
Some can. Mobile-range numbers usually support two-way SMS. Geographic and national numbers vary by country and by block, and toll-free SMS is restricted in many markets. Every number in our inventory is listed with its actual capability rather than a blanket claim.
How quickly can I get a number?
Numbers already in inventory provision instantly through the portal or API. Numbers requiring regulatory documentation take as long as verification does, usually a few working days. Bulk allocations for wholesale customers are arranged directly with our team.
What happens to my numbers if I leave?
You port them out. We won't hold your numbers hostage — we'll process the port request from your new provider the same way we'd want ours processed. Numbers you owned before joining remain yours throughout.
Check what's available in your market
Create an account to search live inventory, see real pricing in your currency and check the regulatory requirements for any country before you commit.