Number lookup
Check phone numbers and their carrier before you reach out
With a single API lookup you learn whether a number is valid, mobile or landline, which carrier serves it today, whether it moved to another carrier and whether its owner opted out of marketing. So you pick the right channel and don’t spend on numbers that don’t exist.
Benefits
Before you send
Drop numbers that don’t exist and choose between SMS or a call based on the line type.
Today’s carrier
In Colombia, the lookup accounts for mobile numbers that moved to another carrier and kept their number.
Pay for what works
You pay per number looked up; if the number isn’t valid or the lookup fails, there’s no charge.
What’s included
What each lookup returns
For each number you learn whether it is valid, which country it belongs to, what type of line it is and which carrier serves it, with the number written in international and national format.
Valid number
Whether the number exists in the numbering plan.
Formats
International (E.164, with the country code) and national.
Line type
Mobile, landline, M2M or other.
Landline location
Municipality and department, in Colombia.
Time zone
For numbers in other countries.
In Colombia the lookup tells mobiles, landlines and machine-to-machine lines (M2M, such as card terminals or trackers) apart. For landlines it gives you the municipality and department; for numbers in other countries, their time zone, so you don’t message anyone in the middle of the night.
For numbers outside Colombia, the lookup returns the country and line type; the carrier is approximate: it is the one originally assigned that number range and does not reflect whether the number moved to another carrier.
Current carrier and porting
In Colombia it tells you which carrier serves a mobile number today and, if it moved to another carrier and kept its number, which one it left and when.
The lookup cross-checks the porting database against the national numbering plan. You get the current carrier, the number’s original carrier and, if it was ported, the carrier it left, with the porting dates.
In Colombia, number porting applies to mobile numbers: landline numbers do not move between carriers.
Current carrier
Who serves the number today.
Ported or not
Whether the mobile number changed carrier.
Number history
Original and previous carrier, with dates.
Do-not-contact registry check
It tells you whether a Colombian number is on the Registro de Números Excluidos, the official list where people ask not to receive marketing.
The list is run by Colombia’s communications regulator (CRC). Knowing whether a number is on it before a marketing campaign helps you respect that person’s choice.
Opted out of marketing
Whether the number is on the list.
Before your campaign
One more input to decide who to contact.
Available for Colombian numbers only. You decide how to use it based on the message type and the law.
Lookup API
Your system looks up a number whenever it needs to: when a customer signs up, before sending a code or before a campaign.
API
One request per number, with an immediate answer.
No charge if it fails
Invalid number or failed lookup: no charge.
Documentation
At developers.hablame.co.
Coming soon: bulk
Whole lists, over the API and from the portal.
Each lookup covers one number and the answer comes back right away. The documentation is at developers.hablame.co.
Coming soon: validate whole lists of numbers in a single request, over the API and from the customer portal.
Step by step
How it works
Tell us your use case
Why you’ll look up numbers and how many you expect, and we send you a proposal.
We enable your access
We give you API access and you review the documentation at developers.hablame.co.
Connect your system
Your system looks up each number over the API whenever it needs to.
Act on the result
Drop invalid numbers, pick the channel and respect people who opted out of marketing.
By profile
Who it’s for
Mid-sized company
Check the mobile number when a customer signs up and avoid storing numbers that don’t exist.
Enterprise
Before each campaign, your system checks line type, carrier and the do-not-contact list.
Integrator
Add number lookup to the platforms you build for your clients.
Developer
One request per number and an immediate answer, documented at developers.hablame.co.
In practice
Use cases
Customer sign-up
Check that the mobile number a customer enters is valid, and what type it is, before you store it.
Before sending a code
Look up the number before sending a verification code, so you don’t send it to numbers that don’t exist.
Marketing campaigns
Tell mobiles from landlines to choose SMS or a call, and respect people on the do-not-contact list.
Contact centers
Before dialing, you know whether the number is a landline or mobile and which carrier serves it.
Industries
Pricing
Number Lookup pricing
You pay for each number you look up. If the number isn’t valid or the lookup fails, there’s no charge.
Frequently asked questions
Does it tell me if the phone is switched on?
No. It tells you whether the number is valid, its line type, which carrier serves it and whether it was ported, but not whether the phone is switched on or reachable at that moment.
Does it work with numbers from other countries?
Yes: it gives you the country, line type and time zone. The carrier is approximate, because it is the one originally assigned that number range and does not reflect whether the number moved to another carrier.
What is the Registro de Números Excluidos?
It is the official list run by Colombia’s communications regulator (CRC), where people register their number to stop receiving marketing. The lookup tells you whether a Colombian number is on it.
Am I charged if the number doesn’t exist?
No. You pay per number looked up, and if the number isn’t valid or the lookup fails, there’s no charge.
Can I use it from the portal?
Coming soon. Today lookups are made over the API, one number at a time, from your systems, documented at developers.hablame.co. You will soon be able to validate whole lists of numbers from the customer portal and over the API too.
Can a landline show up as ported?
No. In Colombia number porting applies to mobile numbers; landline numbers do not move between carriers.
Technical details
For your technical team.
- How to look up
- API, one number per lookup; bulk lookups and portal access coming soon
- What it returns
- Validity, international and national formats, country, line type, current carrier, porting with carriers and dates
- Colombia only
- Landline municipality and department, and the do-not-contact list
- Other countries
- Country, line type and time zone; approximate carrier
- Documentation
- developers.hablame.co
Can’t find your question?
An advisor reviews your case and gets back to you.
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Tell us what you need
An advisor reviews your case and gets back to you with a proposal built around your operation.