Practical guide
How to get a toll-free (01 8000) number in Colombia
What a Colombian toll-free number is, what to decide before you request one, how the process works with a carrier and how to make sure every call reaches the right person.
Hablame TeamPublished 5 min read
What a toll-free number is
A Colombian toll-free number is a reverse-charge line: the caller pays nothing and the company that owns the line covers the cost of the calls it receives. Locally it’s known as “01 8000”, the way people dial the country’s official 01-800 toll-free prefix.
It does three things for you: it removes the cost barrier for your customers, gives you one number for the whole country and signals that there’s a formal service channel behind your brand. People dial it the same way from a landline or a mobile, in any region.
Colombian toll-free numbering is national: it takes calls from within Colombia. If you serve customers abroad, you can add international numbers, subject to availability by country and number type and to each country’s regulatory requirements.
Before you request it: five questions to answer
Getting the number is the easy part of the conversation; deciding how calls will be handled is what takes time. Coming in with these answers makes the first proposal an accurate one.
- Who will answer? A customer service team, a sales department, an outsourced contact center or two people on their mobiles.
- During which hours? And what happens outside them: a recorded message, a forward to an on-call mobile or voicemail.
- How many calls do you expect? A rough figure per day and per peak hour is enough to start; if you already have a line, your current call records are the most useful reference.
- Where should the call go? Your PBX, your contact center platform, a group of mobiles or an auto attendant.
- Do you have customers outside Colombia? If so, plan from the start for international numbers that ring at the same destination.
How you get one: the steps with a carrier
Companies don’t apply for toll-free numbering on their own: a licensed telecom carrier assigns it, configures it on its network and stands behind it. Hablame has been a licensed carrier since 2009, with an interconnection offer approved by Colombia’s communications regulator (CRC), so your line doesn’t depend on resellers. With us the process takes four steps:
- You tell us about your operation: the answers to the five questions above.
- You get your proposal: with the recommended routing and the requirements that apply to your company.
- We assign and configure: we assign the number and set up where calls go.
- We test and go live: we verify calls from landlines and mobiles before you publish the number.
What information and documents we need
Requirements depend on your company and on current regulations, so we don’t ask you to guess at paperwork: at the start we tell you exactly what information and documents we need for your case, and we confirm them in writing in the proposal.
Where to route your calls
The toll-free number is the front door; routing decides where it rings. These are the most common setups, from the simplest to the most complete:
To mobiles
For small teams or out-of-office coverage. Calls can ring on one or several mobiles, and you can change the destination whenever you need to.
To a cloud PBX
If you don’t have a phone system yet, we connect the line to a cloud PBX with an auto attendant (“press 1 for sales, 2 for support”), call queues and extensions that ring on a computer or a mobile.
To your PBX or contact center
If you already run an IP PBX or a contact center platform, the line comes in over a SIP trunk together with your geographic numbers.
On top of any of these destinations you can set rules by time of day (business or after hours), by menu option or by site, and change them as your operation evolves.
How much a toll-free number costs
There’s no single price, because the company pays for the calls it receives. Cost depends mainly on the volume and length of those calls and on the destination and routing you choose. The better you estimate your traffic, the more accurate your proposal will be.
A practical tip: review the reports on calls received, call length and peak hours during the first months. They tell you whether you need more people at certain times or a menu that answers frequent questions before a call reaches an agent.
Common mistakes when launching the line
- Publishing the number before testing it. Check calls from landlines and mobiles, during and after business hours.
- Leaving after-hours undefined. A call that rings unanswered is worse than a clear message with your service hours.
- An auto attendant with too many options. Keep it short, ordered by what your customers ask most.
- Sizing for the average instead of the peak hour. If everyone calls at the same time, that’s the moment you need to be able to handle.
Checklist before you publish the number
- Destination set for business hours and after hours.
- Auto attendant recorded and tested, if you use one.
- Test calls from landlines and mobiles, from different regions if possible.
- Answering team briefed on hours and on how to handle each type of call.
- Number updated on your website, invoices and packaging.
If you also want local numbers with a city area code, see local numbers. And if you’re still choosing where the line will ring, the guide SIP trunking or cloud PBX will help you decide.