Choosing the right line type

Local, national, toll-free or your own SIP connection. Each says something different to the person dialling.

Local, national, toll-free or your own SIP connection. Each says something different to the person dialling.

Three line types

• Standard PSTN. A number on the public telephone network. The ordinary choice, and the one people mean when they ask for a phone number.
• Digital line. Calls that start in an app or on a website rather than on the telephone network. It also lets you cover a country without holding a number there, and there is no monthly charge for the line itself: you pay for what you use.
• SIP-IN. Your own telephony connected into Talk, so you keep your existing numbers and your carrier. It is also the route for third-party applications such as AI agents.

Then, for a PSTN line, the number type

This is the choice people usually have in mind, and it sits one level below the line type rather than beside it.

• Local. Tied to an area. Reads as a real business in that place, which matters for regional customers.
• Toll-free. Free for the caller. Reads as a larger organisation and removes a barrier for consumers.

What the caller infers

More than the number itself. A local number reads as approachable; a toll-free number reads as established; a foreign number reads as somebody else's problem. None of that is technical and all of it affects whether they ring.

The practical questions

• Where are your customers? A local number in the wrong region is worse than a national one.
• Do they mind paying? For consumers, often yes.
• Do you already have telephony? Then SIP-IN keeps your numbers and your carrier while calls land in Zendesk.

Availability differs by country

Not every type exists everywhere, and some require a local address or additional documents. Check before promising a particular kind of number.

See also

• Adding a SIP-IN line
• Adding a phone number
• Porting numbers to Zendesk