What is DID - Direct Inward Dialing?

DID - Direct Inward Dialing (also called DDI in Europe) is a feature offered by telephone companies for use with their customers' PABX system, whereby the telephone company (telco) allocates a range of numbers associated with one or more phone lines.

Its purpose is to allow a company to assign a personal number to each employee, without requiring a separate phone line for each. That way, telephony traffic can be split up and managed more easily.

DID requires that you purchase an ISDN or Digital line and ask the telephone company to assign a range of numbers. You then need DID capable equipment at your premises which consists of BRI, E1 or T1 cards or gateways.