Bring Your Own Carrier (BYOC)

Acquire phone numbers for your Thoughtly agents through Bring Your Own Carrier (BYOC). Purchase numbers directly through Thoughtly or import existing numbers from your Twilio or Telnyx carrier accounts.

​

Purchasing Numbers

​

Step 1: Access Number Marketplace

1. Navigate to Phone Numbers in the sidebar
2. Click Buy a Number in the top right corner
3. You’ll see the number marketplace table with available inventory

​

Step 2: Select Region

1. Click the Country button in the top left corner
2. Choose your target country (e.g., United States)
3. Select the desired Area Code (e.g., 228 for Mississippi)

The system loads available numbers for your selected region. If you don’t see suitable options, click the Refresh button to load additional inventory from the database.

​

Step 3: Evaluate Number Features

Before purchasing, review each number’s capabilities in the table:

Column	Description
Phone Number	The actual number you’ll acquire
Region	Closest region as specified by carrier
Type	National, Local, Mobile, or Toll-free
Features	Voice, SMS, and MMS capabilities
Monthly Cost	Recurring cost in credits

​

Step 4: Complete Purchase

1. Click Buy in the Actions column for your chosen number
2. Review the confirmation modal carefully
3. Important: Credits are deducted immediately upon confirmation
4. No proration applies—you’re billed for the full month even if cancelled within minutes

Expected Result: The purchased number appears in your main phone numbers table and is ready for agent assignment.

​

Importing Existing Numbers

​

Supported Carriers

Thoughtly currently supports importing numbers from:

• Twilio
• Telnyx

​

Prerequisites for Import

Before starting the import process:

1. Purchase numbers in your carrier dashboard (Twilio or Telnyx)
2. Ensure numbers are active and configured in your carrier account
3. Have your API credentials ready for authentication

​

Step 1: Access Import Feature

1. Go to Phone Numbers → Buy a Number
2. Click Import Your Number in the top right corner
3. Select your carrier (Twilio or Telnyx) from the modal

​

Step 2: Configure Integration

1. Name your integration for easy identification
2. Enter credentials for your third-party carrier account
3. Validate connection to ensure successful authentication
4. Select numbers from the dropdown list of available numbers

​

Step 3: Configure Webhook Settings

Critical Decision: Choose your webhook configuration carefully: Outbound Only Toggle (Default)

• Prevents changes to existing webhook and messaging settings
• Preserves current carrier configurations
• Use this if the number serves other purposes outside Thoughtly

Allow Webhook and Messaging Updates (Advanced)

• Thoughtly takes full control of the number
• Existing carrier settings are reconfigured for Thoughtly use only
• Any previous inbound/SMS integrations will be disabled

​

Step 4: Complete Import

1. Select multiple numbers if needed—all appear in the phone numbers field
2. Choose appropriate profile settings
3. Confirm the import

Expected Result: Imported numbers appear in your Thoughtly phone numbers table with “Imported” carrier designation.

​

Regional Configuration

​

Twilio Numbers Only

For both purchased and imported Twilio numbers, you can configure regions to optimize call quality:

1. Edit the phone number after acquisition
2. Set Region to the location closest to your calling destinations
3. This minimizes latency between Thoughtly servers and call recipients

Best Practice: Always select the region geographically closest to where your agents will be making the majority of their calls.

​

Billing and Credits

​

Purchase Pricing

• Numbers are billed in credits (specific amounts vary by number type and region)
• No proration: Full monthly charge applies regardless of cancellation timing
• Credits deduct from your monthly allowance immediately upon purchase

​

Import Pricing

• No additional Thoughtly charges for imported numbers
• You continue paying your carrier (Twilio/Telnyx) directly
• Thoughtly only facilitates the connection and management

​

Troubleshooting

No numbers appear after region selection

• Try different area codes within your target region
• Use the Refresh button to load new inventory
• Consider adjacent regions if specific area codes are unavailable
• Contact support if area code is consistently unavailable

Purchase fails or credits not deducted

• Verify sufficient credits in Billing dashboard
• Check that number is still available (may have been purchased by another user)
• Try a different number from the same area code
• Clear browser cache and retry

Import connection fails

• Verify API credentials in your carrier dashboard
• Ensure account has active API access enabled
• Check that numbers are purchased and active in carrier account
• Test API credentials in carrier’s dashboard first

Webhook configuration concerns

• Use “Outbound Only” if preserving existing integrations
• Test thoroughly after import to confirm expected behavior
• Contact support with Team ID and affected numbers if issues arise
• Document existing webhook URLs before importing

Imported number not working

• Verify number is assigned to agent in Configuration
• Check that webhook settings updated correctly (if not using Outbound Only)
• Test with a simple call to confirm connectivity
• Review carrier dashboard for any error messages

​

Call Forwarding (Alternative Method)

​

What is Call Forwarding?

Call forwarding is a telephony feature that redirects incoming calls from your existing phone number to another destination number. Instead of importing or purchasing a new number through Thoughtly, you keep your current phone number with your existing carrier and configure it to automatically route all incoming calls to a Thoughtly number connected to your Voice Agent. How it works:

1. A caller dials your existing business phone number (e.g., your advertised number)
2. Your carrier immediately forwards the call to your Thoughtly phone number
3. Your Thoughtly Voice Agent answers and handles the conversation
4. The caller never knows they were forwarded—it’s transparent to them

​

When to Use Call Forwarding

Call forwarding is ideal when:

• You want to keep your existing, well-known phone number
• You don’t want to update marketing materials, business cards, or online listings
• You need a quick way to test Thoughtly without changing your phone infrastructure
• Your carrier doesn’t support number porting or BYOC import

​

How to Set Up Call Forwarding

Call forwarding setup varies by carrier and phone system. Each provider has different methods, codes, and admin interfaces. To configure call forwarding:

1. Get your Thoughtly destination number - Purchase or import a number through Thoughtly and assign it to your Voice Agent
2. Contact your carrier - Reach out to your phone service provider (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, RingCentral, etc.)
3. Request call forwarding setup - Ask them to forward all calls from your existing number to your Thoughtly number
4. Test the forwarding - Call your original number to verify calls route to your Voice Agent

​

Important Considerations

• Billing: You may incur call forwarding charges from your carrier in addition to Thoughtly usage fees
• Latency: Call forwarding can add slight delays as the call routes through multiple systems
• Features: Some advanced features (like caller ID) may not transfer perfectly through forwarding
• No porting: Your number remains with your original carrier—you’re not transferring ownership

​

See also

• Phone Number Configuration - assigning numbers to agents
• Phone Number Management - overview and capabilities
• Billing & Credits - understanding costs
• Agent Settings - connecting numbers to agents
• Platform Settings - BYOC carrier configuration
• Glossary: Carrier - understanding phone providers