Virtual number
A virtual number is a real mobile line hosted in an operator pool rather than on a SIM card you own.
In detail
The line sits on a genuine operator range, so a service sees an ordinary mobile prefix, but the messages are routed to a dashboard or an API instead of to a handset. That is what makes it rentable by the minute: nothing physical changes hands, and the number goes back to the pool when you are done with it. It is also why it can be refused, since many services score whole ranges rather than individual numbers.
Also known as
- online number
- internet number
- cloud number
Related terms
- Temporary numberA temporary number is one you hold only long enough to finish a single task, after which it returns to the pool for someone else.
- Number rentalA rental is a number leased for a fixed window, from hours to months, that keeps receiving messages for the whole period.
- MSISDNAn MSISDN is the full international number of a mobile subscriber, written in E.164 form: a plus sign, country code and national number.