A virtual toll-free number is a special phone number that is free to the calling party and forwards calls to one of the preset phone numbers chosen by the owner of the toll-free number.

Product Application

Virtual toll-free numbers are used by businesses to have a national presence and allow customers to reach the organization at no cost. They are very popular among businesses and call centers that may be located in a foreign country. Virtual toll-free numbers are popular with people currently residing in a foreign country, because they give their friends and famiies a number where they can be reached at a local-call price.

How can a virtual toll-free number be used with an office PBX system?

Virtual toll-free numbers can be used with a company’s private branch exchange (PBX) system. A toll-free number provider can allocate one or more trunk lines to a company’s PBX and allocates a range of telephone numbers to this line to be forwarded from the trunk. When calls arrive to the PBX system, the dialed destination extension number is transmitted to the PBX to be routed to the desired extension. This call forwarding feature allows a company to offer individual phone numbers for each employee or workstation without requiring a physical telephone line for each number.

What sort of equipment is required to obtain a virtual toll-free number?

Virtual toll-free phone numbers require no hardware, and have a low cost because they are hosted in the cloud. Cloud telephone companies like Twilio and CallFire allow an organization to purchase a local virtual number to forward calls to a physical line, or to have calls directed to a PBX or IVR.