Voice
Build next-generation calling applications with integrated AI, plug-and-play compatibility with other providers, and infinite scalability
Whether building a UCaaS solution, modernizing a legacy IVR, augmenting CX with AI, or migrating from another provider’s APIs, our comprehensive technical references and guides have you covered.
Get started
SignalWire phone numbers in the Dashboard
Deploy a serverless voice AI Agent and call it over the PSTN in under 5 minutes with SWML
The fundamentals of your first calling app
Get started with our Compatibility API
Create a drag-and-drop calling application
Choose an API
SignalWire’s advanced APIs and elastic cloud infrastructure make it a breeze to build modern and powerful voice applications using both PSTN and SIP endpoints.
- SignalWire REST API: A robust, modern and flexible API for building integrated, advanced communications applications.
- Compatibility API: Ideal for porting code from other providers. It can run serverless, but it also supports Python, PHP, Node.js, and other languages.
- Realtime API: This API is ideal if you are an advanced developer and you want flexible, modern and realtime SDKs for Node.js.
High-quality, scalable, and secure voice API
Easily migrate from Twilio and other providers
Next-gen server telephony applications powered by our RELAY WebSocket API
Bring telephone capabilities to the browser with our Node.js SDK
Low-code and no-code solutions
Drag-and-drop, no-code call application builder
Write realtime, AI-integrated calling applications using simple JSON or YAML scripts
Popular guides
Route SIP traffic through the SignalWire platform to your PBX system.
Guide that focuses on how to make and receive phone calls via a SWML script.
Frequently asked questions
How many calls per second can I send?
You can send up to 1 CPS (Call Per Second) across your SignalWire Space.
Consult our Guide to Rate Limits for more information. Customers can also request additional increases to their Space limits.
Are calls queued as they go out?
Every Space has a default call backlog of 10k. SignalWire will send calls out at 1 call per second per phone number. If your backlog fills up past 10k, you will not be able to queue any more calls until it decreases. You can request an increase to this backlog here.
How do I enable higher throughput calling?
We do have offerings available for high throughput toll-free calling and high throughput SIP calling. Please reach out to Support@signalwire.com to get this process started.
Can you build an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) with SignalWire?
Yes, SignalWire has all the components to build a very powerful IVR! You could use SWML, the RELAY SDK, or even build a video/voice solution using our Javascript SDKs.
Does SignalWire offer phone numbers to purchase?
Yes! You can purchase local long code, toll-free, and shortcode numbers from our carrier partners through the SignalWire platform. You can read about how to purchase numbers here.
What do I do if I can't find the specific area code or phone number that I need?
SignalWire is a communications platform, not a carrier. To make our customers’ lives easier, we integrate with our carrier peers so that you can buy numbers directly through us from them. That being said, the availability of numbers is totally reliant on our carrier. If you cannot find the area code you need, please create a Support ticket via the help link in your SignalWire Space and our team will do their best to get you the numbers you need. You can also port any number into SignalWire from another provider!
What is PSTN?
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is the network that carries your voice call when you call from a landline, cell phone, or DID (such as those SignalWire owns). This uses regular telephone infrastructure rather than SIP or other protocols.
What is SIP?
SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) refers to the process through which phone calls can take place over the internet (i.e. VOIP) instead of physical regular phone lines. This allows for greater worldwide reach, less physical requirements, and is more affordable/scalable for businesses.
How is SIP on SignalWire different from traditional SIP trunking?
A SIP trunk is just a container that holds multiple SIP lines. In a sense, it’s just an abstract version of traditional trunks—bundles of wire connecting switches.
What is BYOC (Bring Your Own Carrier)?
BYOC allows you to use SignalWire’s APIs, services, and programmability all while keeping your current SIP providers for outbound/inbound calling. If you are interested in BYOC, see our full guide to get started.
How many SIP channels can you have for each phone number?
You have unlimited inbound and 1CPS per phone number outbound. If you would like to send more than 1 SIP call per second per phone number, you can reach out to Support@signalwire.com to talk about raising your max throughput.
How many legs are in a SIP call?
The number of call legs is dependent on the call flow. A call is made up of multiple call legs where a call leg represents a relationship between two user agents. If you directly forward a call to a SIP endpoint, that is only two legs (inbound and outbound). If a call comes into SignalWire and is then forwarded to 4 SIP endpoints, that would be 5 legs.
Do you have Answering Machine Detection?
Yes, SignalWire will allow you to easily implement Answering Machine Detection (AMD) on your calls! AMD listens to the call to determine if the party that picked up is a real person or a voicemail machine. You can use this information to determine whether to leave a voicemail message or begin interacting with a real person. You can use AMD through detect_machine in SWML or detect_answering_machine using the Realtime SDK.
Do you have call recording capabilities?
Yes, call recording is possible through the Realtime SDK or SWML. Check out our guide on Recording Calls.
Do you have transcription capabilities?
Yes - transcription is possible using the Realtime SDK or through SWML’s AI agent capabilities. You can also set a callback in order to do something with your transcriptions when they’re received.
Do you have text-to-speech capabilities?
Yes - text to speech is simple with either the RELAY Realtime SDK or SWML’s play method.
What about speech-to-text capabilities?
Speech to text is available through SWML’s prompt method or you can collect speech and transcribe with Node.js using the RELAY Realtime SDK.
Do you have call whisper?
Call Whisper involves playing a short message before the callee accepts the call and connects to the caller. At this time, the caller will still hear ringing. This allows for the callee to screen the call and choose to accept/reject or gather additional information before connecting with the caller. Check out our Call Whisper guide for a SWML example.
How do I set Caller ID/CNAM?
The Caller Name (CNAM) is a feature that displays your Name or Company Name on the Caller ID display of the party you are calling. When it is set up, your Caller ID Name will display as text along with your Caller ID Number. The Caller ID is the actual phone number calling in, whereas the accompanying text that provides the identifying name for that number is called CNAM (a.k.a. “Caller Name”). Follow the steps here to get CNAM or caller ID set up.
Do you support ringless voicemail?
While it is possible to create ringless voicemail using SignalWire APIs, we do not provide support in creating this feature. Ringless voicemail is most commonly associated with spam to the carriers and therefore may not be able to be corrected if you run into problems.
Where are your nearest data hubs/centers?
We have an elastic swarm of servers all across the world and across different providers to ensure minimum latency and maximum uptime. If you are looking for more details or would like to request a node in a specific location, please reach out to sales@signalwire.com.
Is SignalWire PCI compliant?
Yes, SignalWire is PCI compliant. All applications built using SignalWire will also have to be built to maintain this compliance, for example: pausing/terminating any recording or transcription before accepting sensitive information.
Are there prohibited Voice use cases?
Yes, phishing and scam calls or calls to numbers that have been listed on a “Do Not Call” registry will be flagged as fraudulent. See the SignalWire Cloud Agreement for more details.