SMS-enabled numbers have Service Profile Identifiers (SPIDs) assigned through a Registrar of SMS networking. The SPID attached to the number determines who routes the SMS traffic on that number. To change an SPID, first, you need to instruct your current SPID carrier to approach the Registrar and make a request to remove their SPID. Once the current SPID is removed, our vendor can attach the PastorsLine SPID, so we can pick up all the text messages to this number.

All in all, downtime is going to be determined by: 1. when the carrier drops their SPID and 2. how long it takes you to pass the ownership and LOA steps.

To minimize downtime, we suggest that you forward the correspondence from the current carrier holding the SPID on the number. I can then bypass the requirement to remove the SPID, allowing us to overwrite with our SPID after you have passed the ownership and LOA verification steps. This will make downtime almost nonexistent.

No, absolutely not. You will continue to make and receive calls as before and be billed by your local provider. Nothing will change with regard to any network you have set up.

Having said that, if someone sends a text to the landline number you have provisioned with with, our platform will intercept that text and work with it so you can see the message.

Hosted SMS supports USA & Canada in Beta. Mobile numbers are not supported, VoIP numbers from some providers will be supported in the future.

You can initiate hosting of your number via the PastorsLine Console. You can try this for free during our 30-day trial. PastorsLine will require you to complete ownership verification and LOA signature.

PastorsLine currently provides two ways to verify ownership of a number. A phone verification call where the end-user answers the phone and passes back a security token to PastorsLine, or providing a copy of your phone bill (only if method one fails multiple times).

By submitting a phone number, the phone number will be evaluated for eligibility. Eligibility is determined by what country the number originates from and if there is SMS currently enabled for the number.

If you would like to check the eligibility before submitting the phone number, PastorsLine offers Lookup, a tool to see information about the number. If a number is not of type VoIP or mobile, then the number is eligible to be Hosted for SMS.

Information required to host a number with PastorsLine is as follows:

• The authorized user's first and last name and Organization Name, if applicable. An Authorized user is an individual who is a decision maker for the phone number.
• The corresponding service address associated with the phone number. This must be an actual physical address (PO Boxes are not considered valid service addresses).
  • Note: All phone numbers have an address associated with them.  
• An email address will receive the Letter of Authorization document to be signed electronically.
• A Letter of Authorization (LOA) signed by the authorized user of the number(s). The LOA will need to be completed and signed electronically and will be generated during the submission process.
  • Note: 15,000 numbers can be included on one Authorization Document (LOA).
  • Note: The information and signature on your LOA must match the authorized end user's name and service address provided by their current voice provider, and it must be signed in order for your submission to process.

PastorsLine is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation and only collects Personally Identifiable Information that is mandated by the NANP SMS Registrars. PastorsLine keeps PII information for 90 days, depending on the requirement timeframe set for by sections of GDPR.

After you submit your Hosted SMS request, the number goes through a 3-stage onboarding process:

1. Preliminary eligibility check: Our system verifies that the number is in a valid format and from an allowed country and type.
2. If the number passes this check, we create a Hosted Number entry for it in your PastorsLine Console in the `PastorsLine-processing` status.
3. SMS eligibility check: We verify that the number is not already SMS-enabled. A number that is already marked as SMS-enabled with its current provider cannot be used for Hosted SMS on PastorsLine. If the number is not currently SMS enabled, the Hosted Number Order will move to the `received` status.
4. Verify Ownership: Once a number passes both eligibility checks, you will be able to browse to the number in your Hosted Numbers list in Console and place a verification call to the number.
5. Sign an electronic LOA: After the number has been verified, you will need to create an electronic LOA that will be sent to the email address specified for signature.
6. Enable Hosted SMS: When the eLOA is signed, the number will be moved to `carrier-processing` where the SMS registration will take place and then tested for inbound connectivity. Once the test passes, the number will be provisioned to your account.

If using the phone verification call, from start to finish a North American Numbering Plan landline number can take up to 1 business day to message enable, test inbound connectivity, and provision to your account,

Toll-Free numbers can take up to 3 business days to update. If you are the RespOrg of the Toll-Free number, you are able to speed the request along by accepting PastorsLine’s request to SMS enable the toll-free number. If you are not the RespOrg, please inform your service provider to prevent any denial of PastorsLine’s text provisioning request.

We provide this utility.

You can verify numbers behind IVRs using both the above methods by including ‘w’ characters in the Extension parameter. Each ‘w’ character tells PastorsLine to wait 0.5 seconds instead of playing a digit. This lets you adjust the timing of when the digits begin playing to suit the phone system you are dialing.

For example, the extension “wwww2wwwwww5wwwwww9′′ waits two seconds before sending the digit 2, followed by a three-second wait before sending the 5, and finally another three-second wait before sending a 9.  

Yes, a Hosted Number is capable of making outbound calls over PastorsLine's network, as well as two-way SMS messages.

Note: if an account already has an active Verified Caller-ID and then the account requests to host the same number for SMS, the Verified Caller-ID will be deleted and the number will bypass the proof of ownership since the Verified Caller-ID already validated ownership with a two-factor authorization call.

If you have completed the Hosted Number Order process and would no longer want to host a number on PastorsLine, you can disassociate the number from PastorsLine by removing the number from your account on the Hosted Number instance page in the Manage Active Numbers Console. The number will be in the released status for 3-days until the number is no longer registered to PastorsLine's network.

Please contact support.

USA and Canada local numbers can be hosted for SMS+MMS. USA and Canada toll-freenumbers only support SMS.