Inbound & Outbound Numbers and Call Forwarding

[Note: While reading this, it may be helpful to reference the Ribbit REST Device API document at times]

A new Ribbit developer will soon realize that it's extremely helpful to have a device to receive calls on. At Ribbit we call that an outbound device. Typically this is a mobile or landline phone that you own. Here's an example of creating a new outbound device. While the code below is specific to ASP.NET, all the Ribbit-supported SDKs work in a similar fashion... just with different syntax.

RibbitDevice d = new RibbitDevice();
d.CreateOutboundDevice("tel:", "desk phone", true, true);

The 4 parameters that we have for the CreateOutboundDevice method are:

• id: The identifier of the device. For phones, this needs to be "tel:" followed by the full international number of your phone. In the US it should start with "tel:1...". In the UK it should start with "tel:44..."
• name: A name for this device, which can be anything you like.
• callbackreachme and ringstatus By setting these values to "true" we indicate that that we wish to receive calls on this device.

If you want to change any of the parameters after creating the device, use the

UpdateDevice()

method. Another helpful thing to a Ribbit developer is an inbound device or purpose number. This is a Ribbit number that developers can use to have their users call into their applications. Currently, Ribbit has inbound devices/purpose numbers available for the US and the UK. Creating an outbound number is very similar to creating an inbound one. We simply use a different method on the Device resource.

RibbitDevice d = new RibbitDevice();
String inboundNumber = d.CreateInboundNumber("GBR", "My inbound number");

The parameters are:

• locale: The region for the number, currently "USA" or "GBR". A local number for the chosen place will be created.
• name: As before a name for this device, which can be anything you like.

By default, an inbound number will have the flag "autoAnswer" set to false and "allowCCF" set to true. These settings indicate that when the inbound number is called, it will automatically call any of your applicable outbound devices. You may have several outbound devices registered, and these will all ring when someone phones your inbound number. If none of your outbound devices are answered, the person calling you may leave a voicemail message. This is helpful if you want someone in another country to be able to call you without making an international call.