Route Inbound Calls based on Caller ID

A caller-ID-based inbound route tells Cloud Voice to look at the caller ID (the phone number a call is coming from) and send that call to a destination you pick for the matching number pattern. It gets callers to the right party without making them work through a phone menu first. The example below sets up a single published phone number that fans out to different teams based on where each caller is calling from.

Note

Every inbound call involves two numbers, and it helps to keep them straight:

• Caller ID: the number the call is coming from. This route matches on the caller ID.
• DID (Direct Inward Dialing): the number the caller dialed to reach you, that is, one of your own published numbers.

Example scenario

Company ABC is a consulting firm that serves customers in several cities. It advertises a single countrywide toll-free number, 400-661-8815, and staffs separate teams to cover different regions. When a customer calls the toll-free number, the call should reach the team that owns their region.

The two teams and the caller area codes they cover are:

Team	Region	Area codes
Team-A	Fujian	0591, 0592, 0593, 0594, 0595, 0596, 0597, 0598, 0599
Team-B	Guangdong	0660, 0662, 0663, 0668

Because every Fujian area code begins with 059 and every listed Guangdong area code begins with 066, you can match each region with a single caller ID pattern.

Build the inbound routes

Create two inbound routes that share the same trunk but match different caller ID patterns and point to different destinations.

Caution

Routing here depends entirely on the caller ID that the carrier delivers. A call whose caller ID is blocked, withheld, or does not match either pattern will not reach Team-A or Team-B. To avoid losing those calls, add a fallback inbound route with the caller ID pattern left blank (so it matches anything) and send it to a default answering point such as a reception queue or an auto attendant. Keep the two team patterns from overlapping so each call is claimed by exactly one route.

Inbound route for Team-A

1. Under Name, type something that identifies the route to you later.

   Tip

   Put the team or region in the name (for example Inbound - Fujian (Team-A)). Clear names save time when you have many routes to scan later.

2. Leave DID Pattern empty so the route places no restriction on which of your numbers the caller dialed. With this blank, the route decides purely on caller ID.

3. For Caller ID Pattern, choose Caller ID Matching Settings, click Add, and enter a pattern or a complete caller ID.

   For this scenario, enter 059. to match every incoming caller ID that begins with 059. See DID Pattern and Caller ID Pattern for how the special characters work.

   Note

   The trailing dot is a wildcard. 059. matches any caller ID that starts with 059 and is followed by more digits, which covers every Fujian area code in the table (0591 through 0599) with one pattern.

   

4. Set Trunk to the trunk that carries the incoming calls.

5. Configure the Default Destination. Here the call should always go to the same place, so route it to the Team-A queue and skip time-based routing:

   • Default Destination: the queue for Team-A.
   • Time Condition: leave it unselected.

   Note

   The Default Destination is where every matching call is sent. If you turn on Time Condition, you can split matching calls by time of day (for example business hours versus after hours) and give each period its own destination. This example does not need that.

   

6. Leave Fax Detection at its default settings.

   Note

   Fax Detection listens for the incoming fax tone and can reroute a fax to a separate fax destination. Leave it at default unless this number also receives faxes.

Inbound route for Team-B

1. Under Name, type an identifying name for the route.

2. Leave DID Pattern empty.

3. For Caller ID Pattern, choose Caller ID Matching Settings, click Add, and enter the pattern.

   For this scenario, enter 066. to match every incoming caller ID that begins with 066. See DID Pattern and Caller ID Pattern for details.

   

4. Set Trunk to the trunk that carries the incoming calls. In this example, select the siptrunk trunk, which serves the number 400-661-8815.

5. Configure the Default Destination so calls always reach Team-B:

   • Default Destination: the queue for Team-B.
   • Time Condition: leave it unselected.

   

6. Leave Fax Detection at its default settings.

Result

Both teams share the toll-free number, but callers land with the right team based on their area code:

• A caller from Fujian who dials 400-661-8815 is answered by Team-A.
• A caller from Guangdong who dials 400-661-8815 is answered by Team-B.