CallerID Lookup Source in FreePBX

How to display a name instead of CallerID for a call coming from PSTN

CID Lookup Source is a feature that allows us to display names instead of CallerID numbers for incoming calls from PSTN. For example, you might want to add your colleagues’ names and cell phone numbers to the list, so when they call you their names are displayed on your deskphone.  First, we have to specify a source for CallerID to Name mapping and then assign that source to an Incoming Route.

There are several options for name resolution(CID Lookup Source):

• Internal: use astdb as lookup source, use phonebook module to populate it
• ENUM: Use DNS to lookup caller names, it uses ENUM lookup zones as configured in enum.conf
• HTTP: It executes an HTTP GET passing the caller number as argument to retrieve the correct name
• HTTPS: It executes an HTTPS GET passing the caller number as argument to retrieve the correct name
• MySQL:It queries a MySQL database to retrieve caller name

We will use Internal which is the simplest in configuration, but you may configure any source you like.

These are the steps:

1. Go to Admin-> CallerID Lookup Sources and click Add CIDLookup Source
2. Leave Source Type set to Internal. Enter Source Description
3. Click Submit and then Apply Config

Now that we have configured the CallerID Lookup Source we have to populate the database which is done via Phonebook module:

1. Go to Admin->Asterisk Phonebook
2. Click Add Phonebook Entry. Specify Name and Number and click Submit Changes. The Number string must exactly match what you get from your service provider, otherwise resolution will not work.

The only thing left to do is assign our CallerID Lookup Source to an inbound route:

1. Go to Connectivity->Inbound Routes and select the Inbound Route you are going to use for incoming calls
2. Go to Other tab and set CID Lookup Source  to the CID source you have previously created
3. Click Submit and then Apply Config

Now place a call and you will see a name instead of the CID number.

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Please, be aware that using CID Lookup Source  feature may consume a lot of resources and slow down your PBX, especially when using large Phonebook database.

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