Use Case

Redirect Calls with Call Forwarding

Missed calls represent a lost opportunity for both the caller and the business. Plivo’s Voice API gives you programmatic control over call destinations.

A woman talking on a cell phone while holding a cup of coffee.

Enhance customer service by promptly handling inquiries and complaints.

Improve workflow by setting up rules on what extensions should ring under what circumstances.

Automate coverage by setting up rules for routing calls after hours.

A woman talking on a cell phone while holding a cup of coffee.

You’re in good company

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A group of people on a cell phone.

What is call forwarding?

Call forwarding allows you to redirect incoming phone calls from the intended recipient's number to another number. Also known as call diversion, call forwarding can be useful in situations such as when the intended recipient is unavailable or when a supervisor wants to redirect calls to a different device or location.

Because a voice API lets you take action based on any aspect of your call, it’s more flexible than the limited options offered by call forwarding services. You can set up simple actions, such as forwarding calls when a line is busy or not answered within a certain number of seconds, or create more complex scenarios, such as forwarding calls from a given area code to a particular representative.

Reliable notifications across the globe

Eliminating missed calls, giving callers a better customer experience

Providing appropriate coverage for callers during non-business hours

Giving employees the flexibility to work from anywhere and still be available for voice conversations

Add voice call forwarding
based on any factor

Ring time

If someone doesn’t pick up after 15 seconds, automatically move the call to another representative.

Busy or unreachable lines

No caller should miss a chance to reach you because of a busy line

Agent availability

You can place calls in a holding queue and route them to an available agent as soon as one is available.

Time of day

Forward calls to agents from different time zones to ensure round-the-clock availability, or route calls to an office number during business hours and to a mobile phone or voicemail during non-business hours.

Round-robin calling

Distribute calls evenly within a number pool — a great option for call center applications.

Specific numbers

Recognized numbers can go to representatives with whom the caller already has a history.

Plivo is
enterprise grade

Voice-Enabled by Default

Message Queueing

Long SMS Concatenation

Unicode Characters

Real-Time SMS Alerts and Logs

Handset Delivery Reports

Handset Delivery Reports

Secure cloud
communications

How to forward calls

You can use a call forwarding API to dynamically route incoming calls to available agents or extensions or automate forwarding based on factors such as business hours.

To get started, rent a Plivo phone number, then visit one of our use case guides on call forwarding, where we provide annotated code samples in seven widely used web coding languages that show you just how to set up call forwarding service. You can complete the whole call forwarding solution, from number rental to testing your new code, in less than an hour.

FAQs

Common questions and answers about call forwarding

What’s the difference between call divert and call forwarding?

No difference — they mean the same thing.

How can I set up call forwarding?

The easiest way to implement call forwarding in your applications is by using Plivo’s Voice APIs. We have SDKs for seven popular web development languages, and we’ve written a call forwarding use case guide in each language to help you get started quickly.

What are some popular uses for call forwarding?

You can use call forwarding to dynamically route incoming calls based on any of several factors.

  • Agent availability: You can place calls in a holding queue and route them to an available agent as soon as one is available.
  • Business hours: You can route calls to an office number during business hours and to a mobile phone or voicemail during non-business hours.
  • Time zones: You can forward calls to agents from different time zones to ensure round-the-clock availability.

Ready to get started
with call forwarding?

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