Global Voice for RingCentral: Everything You Need to Know

RingCentral has earned its spot as a leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS). The platform has grown from a startup disruptor to an enterprise-grade solution trusted by companies worldwide.

But here's the challenge: as businesses expand globally, they need voice connectivity that works everywhere their teams and customers are located. Getting voice connectivity right isn't just important—it's critical for successful global rollouts.

This guide covers everything you need to know about RingCentral's voice options, implementation strategies, and best practices for global deployments.

Understanding RingCentral's Platform

RingCentral's Evolution Beyond Basic UCaaS

RingCentral started as a cloud phone system but has evolved into much more. Today, it's a complete communications platform that includes:

RingCentral MVP (Message, Video, Phone): This is their flagship unified communications solution that brings together team messaging, HD video meetings, and a cloud-based phone system in one platform. It enables seamless switching between communication modes - start with a message, escalate to a call, then add video, all without leaving the platform. The MVP solution supports up to 200 participants in video meetings and includes features like screen sharing, meeting recording, and virtual backgrounds.

RingCentral Contact Center: This is a fully integrated omnichannel solution that goes beyond traditional call centers. It handles voice, email, SMS, social media, and live chat interactions from a single interface. The platform includes workforce optimization tools, real-time analytics, and AI-powered features like sentiment analysis and automated quality management. It scales from small teams to enterprise operations with thousands of agents.

In addition, RingCentral offers RingCentral Video as a standalone webinar and event solution.

The Global Enterprise Reality

When companies operate across multiple locations, they face several challenges:

• Compliance and purchasing requirements that vary by country
• Different regulations for telecommunications
• Need for consistent user experience regardless of location
• Local carrier relationships and requirements

These challenges become even more complex when you factor in remote work, international expansion, and the need for the highest levels of service availability.

Challenges of Managing Voice Infrastructure Across Different Regions

Importance of High-Quality Voice for Global Organizations

Voice remains the backbone of enterprise and contact center communications. Poor call quality doesn't just annoy people—it has real business impact:

Lower employee productivity: When calls drop, experience delays, or suffer from poor audio quality, employees waste time repeating information, scheduling follow-up calls, or switching to alternative communication methods. 

Reduced customer satisfaction: First impressions matter, and for many customers, a phone call is their primary interaction with your business. Static, echoes, or dropped calls create frustration that directly impacts Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and customer retention. 

Business continuity issues: Voice system failures can halt critical business operations. When sales teams can't reach prospects, support teams can't help customers, or executives can't join important calls, revenue and relationships suffer. For contact centers, even an hour of downtime can mean thousands of missed customer interactions and potential lost sales worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Higher operational costs: Poor voice quality creates a cascade of additional costs - from increased support tickets and troubleshooting time to lost sales opportunities and customer churn. IT teams spend valuable hours diagnosing issues across multiple vendors and regions. Customer service teams handle complaints and callbacks. The total cost of poor voice quality often exceeds the investment needed for a proper global voice solution.

Regional Deployment Challenges

Each region brings its own complications:

Varying telecommunications regulations: Every country has its own telecom laws, and they change frequently. In Germany, you need proof of local address for geographic numbers. In India, regulations require local entities for certain number types. France mandates specific emergency service routing. These aren't just bureaucratic hurdles - non-compliance can result in hefty fines or service shutdowns.

Local carrier relationships: Many countries require or strongly prefer working with local carriers. In Brazil, for example, the regulatory environment makes it nearly impossible to provide quality service without local carrier partnerships. In Japan, business cultural norms mean that local carrier relationships are essential for enterprise credibility. These relationships take years to build and maintain properly.

Data privacy laws: GDPR in Europe, LGPD in Brazil, PIPEDA in Canada - each region has strict rules about how voice data (including call recordings and metadata) must be handled, stored, and protected. Calls may need to be routed through specific geographic locations to maintain compliance. Some countries prohibit voice data from leaving their borders entirely, requiring local infrastructure.

Emergency services compliance: E911 in the US is just the tip of the iceberg. Every country has different requirements for emergency calling - from the numbers used (112, 999, 911, etc.) to location accuracy requirements to liability regulations. In Australia, for example, you must provide precise location information for VoIP calls. The EU requires specific disclosures about VoIP limitations for emergency calls.

Number portability issues: Porting numbers between providers ranges from straightforward to difficult depending on the country. In the UK, porting can happen in days with proper documentation. In Italy, it might take months and require extensive paperwork. Some countries don't support porting at all for certain number types, forcing companies to change numbers and risk losing customer connections.

RingCentral Voice Connectivity Options

RingCentral Native Calling

RingCentral provides direct phone service in many countries, which offers several benefits:

Benefits of Native Calling:

• Single vendor relationship for easier management
• Integrated features that work together 
• Simplified administration through one portal

Available Number Types:

Local phone numbers (DIDs): These are standard geographic numbers with local area codes that give your business a local presence. They're essential for building trust with local customers who prefer calling numbers in their own area code. DIDs can typically receive inbound calls and, depending on the service level, make outbound calls with local caller ID.

Toll-free numbers: These allow customers to call your business free of charge, with you absorbing the cost. Different countries use different prefixes (800, 888, 877 in the US; 0800 in the UK; 1800 in Australia). They're ideal for customer service lines and demonstrate that you value customer communication. International toll-free service (ITFS) allows a single number to work across multiple countries.

Mobile numbers: In many countries, especially in Europe and Asia, mobile numbers carry more credibility than landlines. They can often send and receive SMS messages, making them valuable for two-factor authentication or customer notifications. Some regions have specific mobile number ranges designated for business use.

National numbers: These non-geographic numbers aren't tied to any specific locality within a country. In the UK, these might be 0333 or 0345 numbers. They're useful when you want a single national presence rather than appearing to be based in a specific city, and they often have special charging rates that are attractive to callers.

Limitations:

Not available in all countries: RingCentral's native calling covers major markets well but has gaps in emerging markets, parts of Africa, Eastern Europe, and some Asian countries. Coverage maps that show "available" don't always mean all services or number types are accessible.

Regulatory restrictions: Some countries limit foreign companies from obtaining certain number types. Others require local business registration, physical addresses, or even local directors. These requirements can make it impossible to get numbers directly from RingCentral in certain jurisdictions.

Limited customization options: Native RingCentral calling follows standardized global processes which may not accommodate special routing needs, custom caller ID requirements, or specific compliance needs that some enterprises require.

May not meet specific local requirements: Certain industries or government contracts may require specific carrier certifications, redundancy levels, or service guarantees that RingCentral's standard offering doesn't provide. Local businesses may also expect features common in their market but not available globally.

Limited two-way global calling capabilities: While RingCentral can provide inbound numbers in many countries, outbound calling with a proper local caller ID is often restricted or unavailable. When your agents make outbound calls from RingCentral, recipients typically see either a generic number, your main office number, or even "Unknown Caller" - regardless of where they're located. This creates a major problem for sales teams, customer service, and collections operations, where answer rates are critical. Customers are increasingly hesitant to answer calls from unfamiliar or international numbers, leading to dramatically lower connection rates. Without true local two-way calling that presents an appropriate local caller ID for each market, businesses struggle to maintain effective outbound communication with their global customer base. This limitation becomes particularly problematic for contact centers that need to make follow-up calls, appointment confirmations, or proactive customer outreach across multiple countries.

RingCentral Partner Program

When RingCentral can't provide direct service, they work with certified carrier partners. This ecosystem includes:

• Regional specialists who know local markets
• Integration capabilities that connect to RingCentral
• Flexible billing arrangements
• Compliance expertise for local regulations

BYOC (Bring Your Own Carrier) Solutions

Sometimes it makes sense to keep your existing carrier and connect it to RingCentral:

When BYOC Makes Sense:

• You have good existing carrier relationships
• Specific regulatory requirements need to be met
• Cost optimization is a priority
• You're doing a hybrid deployment

Technical Requirements:

• SIP trunking capabilities
• Proper network architecture
• Quality of service setup
• Security and encryption standards

Number Types and Regional Availability

1. Global PSTN Replacement (Global RingEX)

RingCentral provides native PSTN (full local service) in 45 countries and territories (RingCentral).

Here’s the list of those countries and territories:

North America

• Canada*

• Puerto Rico*

• USA*

EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa)

• Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

APAC (Asia Pacific)

• Australia, Hong Kong, India (Global RingEX Select), Japan*, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan* (Select)

LATAM (Latin America)

• Argentina**, Brazil**, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru**

* indicates exceptions: Japan and Taiwan (Global RingEX Select), Argentina/Brazil/Peru (no calling minutes, and emergency services not available in some) (RingCentral).

2. International Virtual Numbers (IVN) / Local DIDs

RingCentral supports local inbound (IVN) numbers in 99+ countries and territories (RingCentral).

Here’s the partial list of countries as published:

North America
Barbados, Canada*, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic*, Grenada, Jamaica, Puerto Rico*, Trinidad & Tobago, USA*, US Virgin Islands**

EMEA
Angola, Austria*, Bahrain**, Belgium*, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana**, Bulgaria**, Burkina Faso, Croatia*, Cyprus*, Czech Republic*, Denmark*, Estonia*, Egypt**, Finland*, France*, Germany*, Ghana, Greece*, Guadeloupe, Hungary*, Iceland**, Ireland*, Israel*, Italy*, Jordan**, Kazakhstan, Kenya*, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia*, Luxembourg*, Lithuania*, Malta*, Monaco**, Netherlands*, Norway*, Poland*, Portugal*, Qatar**, Romania*, Russia**, Serbia**, Saudi Arabia**, Slovakia*, Slovenia*, South Africa*, Spain*, Sweden*, Switzerland*, Tunisia, Türkiye, Uganda**, Ukraine**, UAE**, UK*

APAC
Australia*, Brunei Darussalam**, Cambodia*, China*, Hong Kong*, India*, Indonesia*, Japan*, Macau, Malaysia*, New Zealand*, Pakistan**, Philippines*, Singapore*, Reunion**, South Korea*, Sri Lanka, Taiwan*, Thailand, Vietnam*

LATAM
Argentina*, Brazil*, Chile*, Colombia*, Costa Rica*, Ecuador**, El Salvador, French Guiana**, Guatemala, Mexico*, Panama*, Paraguay**, Peru*, Uruguay**, Venezuela* (RingCentral).

3. International Toll-Free / ITFS

RingCentral indicates support for toll-free and international numbers in over 100 countries (RingCentral). However, no per-country list is publicly available; the full list lives in gated support documentation requiring sign-in (RingCentral Support).