Twilio project - modify caller ID name and number

Question

I am trying to figure out a way to send a call to Twilio either using an API or something else (maybe even PSTN call in format: xxx-xxx-xxxx,, yyy-yyy-yyyy where xxx-xxx-xxxx is Twilio number and yyy-yyy-yyyy the “destination number”).

Then have the twilio “relay” that call, sending out pre-programmed business name and number as caller ID to the destination number.

Business case: Company A is spinning off a different division. When calls are made on behalf of this division, the caller ID cannot say “Company A”. It must say “company B” with the designated #.

Ok to register a diff acc w Twilio for company B if needed.

Answer 1

I don't think that you can pass info like a templated phone number placeholder to Twilio, itself. However, I think that this case might be a good use of the Gateway pattern. Basically, with the Gateway pattern, you create an API that wraps around and adapts to Twilio, itself. Thus, your consumers call your API and they pass dynamic company names and phone numbers as parameters to your API, and your code in the gateway then marshalls that into the body a Twilio request as per Twilio's quick start docs.

Answer 2

Twilio developer evangelist here.

You can set a caller ID when making a phone call. But caller IDs are phone numbers, not text strings, so this is not possible to do. The name that shows up when you receive a call is the name that you set for the contact in your own phone's address book.

I would recommend that if company A starts splitting off and doing different business to company B to just get company A a new phone number.