Regional Support Lines

Overview

Customers prefer calling local numbers for support. An international number feels distant and suggests the company doesn't have a local presence. But running separate phone systems per country is expensive and complex.

With Cliqtel, you get local support numbers in as many countries as you need, and route them all into your single existing PBX or call centre. Your agents see which DID rang, so they know the caller's country before picking up.

Architecture

Customer in DE calls +49 30 123456  ──┐
Customer in FR calls +33 1 2345678  ──┤
Customer in NL calls +31 20 123456  ──┼──> Cliqtel SIP Trunk ──> Your PBX
Customer in ES calls +34 91 123456  ──┤                          ├── Queue: Support
Customer in UK calls +44 20 123456  ──┘                          ├── Queue: Sales
                                                                  └── IVR: Language select

Your PBX sees which DID rang and routes accordingly:
  +49 number → German-speaking queue
  +33 number → French-speaking queue
  +31/+34/+44 → English queue (or language IVR)

Step 1 — Get Support Numbers

1. Go to Browse Numbers
2. Select each country and order a local number
3. For toll-free support, choose Toll-Free instead of Local

Total monthly cost: ~€7.00 for 5-country support coverage. No per-minute inbound charges.

Step 2 — Create a SIP Trunk

1. Go to My Numbers → SIP Trunks → Create Trunk
2. Copy the SIP credentials
3. Configure your PBX with these credentials (see PBX guides)

Step 3 — Assign Numbers to Trunk

In the portal, go to each number and assign it to your support trunk. All incoming calls to any of these numbers will arrive on your PBX via the single SIP trunk.

Step 4 — Configure PBX Routing

Your PBX receives the called number (DNIS) in the SIP INVITE. Use this to route to the right queue:

DID +4930123456   → Queue: German Support (ext 300)
DID +33123456789  → Queue: French Support (ext 310)
DID +31201234567  → Queue: General Support (ext 320)
DID +34911234567  → Queue: General Support (ext 320)
DID +442012345678 → Queue: General Support (ext 320)

[from-cliqtel]
; German support
exten => +4930123456,1,Queue(german-support)

; French support
exten => +33123456789,1,Queue(french-support)

; All others to general queue
exten => _+X.,1,Queue(general-support)

Toll-Free Option

For premium support or markets where customers expect free calling, use toll-free numbers instead of local numbers. The caller pays nothing — Cliqtel absorbs the per-minute cost in the monthly fee.

Toll-free numbers are available in 40+ countries. Monthly costs are higher (typically €2-5/month) but include inbound minutes.

Best Practices

• Use one SIP trunk for all support numbers — simpler to manage than multiple trunks
• Set business hours IVR that plays a local-language greeting based on the DID
• Add an SMS auto-reply on support numbers: "Can't take your call right now, we'll call back within 1 hour"
• Publish numbers on your local website, invoices, and support pages per country
• Monitor call volume per country to plan staffing and identify growing markets
• Add new countries as your customer base grows — takes under a minute per number

FAQ

Do I need one PBX per country?

No. That's the whole point — all numbers route to your single PBX via one SIP trunk. Your PBX routes internally based on which DID was called.

Can agents see which country is calling?

Yes. The called DID number is passed in the SIP headers. Most PBX systems display this to the agent, often as the "trunk" or "DID" field. You can also configure a CRM screen pop based on the DID.

What about after-hours calls?

Configure your PBX with time-based routing: during business hours, route to the queue; after hours, route to voicemail or a recorded message with your support email address.