Bulgaria: SIP providers and connecting a number to the PBX

This page continues the general guide on connecting a provider's number to the PBX: that page covers everything that is the same for any operator — the two trunk modes, what to ask the provider, what to type into the form, network requirements and how to verify the link. Here is the Bulgarian specifics: who sells a number with a SIP trunk in the country, what such an operator hands over and what of it goes into Telephony → "Trunks and connections" → "Add provider".

The data was collected on 9 September 2026 from operator documentation, service terms and materials of the regulator CRC (Communications Regulation Commission); links are in the "Sources" section.

In short#

• You can buy a number with a SIP trunk in Bulgaria, and the venue needs no permits for it. There is no VoIP licence in the country: an undertaking that intends to provide public electronic networks or services files a notification with the CRC and is entered into the public register within 14 days, with no fees charged. You buy the number and the trunk from a Bulgarian operator as an ordinary subscriber.
• The country's main fork is "the big operator's trunk arrives over its own access". At A1 Bulgaria the official 3CX guide requires a VPN into the A1 network, a separate network card with a local address issued by the operator and static routes to the registrar; the same guide states plainly that the scheme does not work for a PBX hosted in someone else's cloud. At Vivacom the B-Fix SIP product promises a "guaranteed IP connection directly to the user", that is, delivery over the operator's own channel. Our PBX lives in the cloud — such a trunk cannot reach it.
• The first choice for a cloud PBX is BGTel. It is the only local operator that publicly describes both modes — IP authorisation for up to 3 addresses or subnets and a trunk with a username and password — and states explicitly that the service runs "over an internet connection", with no tie to its own access. G.711 is on the codec list and billing is per second.
• The second is PlanetPhone, a licensed fixed telephony operator: the only publicly named SIP host in the country, sip.planetphone.net, registration mode, prepaid with no monthly fee and no fixed-term contract. The third is IP Telecom Bulgaria, the Bulgarian legal entity of the Zadarma platform: DIDs in 13 cities from $3 a month and a trunk "in a few clicks".
• A local number is harder for a foreigner. Bulgarian operators sign the contract with a Bulgarian legal entity (by its UIC), and for a Bulgarian number Zadarma requires a document and a current address in Bulgaria. Without a Bulgarian address the standard route is an international provider.
• Count the prices in euro. Bulgaria joined the euro area on 1 January 2026 at the fixed rate of €1 = BGN 1.95583. Price lists and terms dated before 2026 are denominated in leva — convert them instead of comparing the figures directly.

Numbers in Bulgaria#

• The country code is 359, the international prefix is 00, the national prefix is 0. For geographic numbers the national significant number is no longer than 8 digits including the area code.
• Sofia — code 2: 02 + 7 subscriber digits, internationally +359 2 XXX XXXX.
• Regional centres — two-digit codes: 32 Plovdiv, 52 Varna, 56 Burgas, 42 Stara Zagora, 62 Veliko Tarnovo, 64 Pleven, 82 Ruse, 73 Blagoevgrad, 58 Dobrich, 34 Pazardzhik, 54 Shumen, 44 Sliven and others → 0XX + 6 digits.
• Some areas use three-digit codes (39, 431–436, 47, 63, 67, 75, 97, 701–707) → 0XXX + 5 digits.
• Mobile numbers are up to 9 digits: codes 87, 88, 89 (plus 984–989 and 99X) → 088 + 7 digits; 980X–983X are allocated to virtual operators.
• Non-geographic: 0700 is a "personal number", 0800 is free for the caller, 090 is premium rate. It is 0700 and 0800 that Bulgarian operators sell as "national numbers".
• Short and emergency numbers: the single European 112, and in parallel with it the national 150 (ambulance), 160 (fire) and 166 (police); 116XYZ are harmonised social services and 118XY are directory enquiries.
• Dialling. Inside the country 0 + the national number, abroad 00 + the country code. International providers accept and deliver numbers as +359…; local operators have no single rule, so confirm the format when you connect.

In the "Lines" tab the number may be entered in any format: the PBX matches the last seven digits. ⚠️ In Bulgaria this is an easy trap: the national number here is 8 digits long, so for a regional number the last digit of the area code ends up in the tail. 032 123456 (Plovdiv) and 052 123456 (Varna) both give the tail 2123456 and are indistinguishable to the PBX; the same applies to mobile numbers 0887… and 0897… whose last seven digits coincide. As long as the venue's numbers come from one city everything is fine; with "mirrored" numbers separate the lines manually — see "Add the number and routing".

⚠️ Emergency numbers are shorter than four digits. The general outbound rule "everything else goes through this trunk" does not pick them up: create a separate rule with an explicit pattern in the "Outbound" tab for 112 (and for 150, 160, 166 if you need them).

Who sells a number with a SIP trunk#

Three providers below have their own cards: their trunk mode is known and it is clear what to enter. A1 and Vivacom are moved to a separate section — their trunk is designed to run on top of the operator's own access. The rest hand over parameters only after a contract — "under contract".

BGTel / BG-Tel#

A Bulgarian VoIP operator with both a retail and a wholesale arm; for business it offers a SIP Trunk "for IP PBXs", IVR, a contact centre and ready-made PBXs. The service description says explicitly that it is delivered "over the internet connection between the customer's office and the BGTel network", that is, without a tie to the operator's own access — exactly what a cloud PBX needs. The operator advertises guaranteed capacity of up to 2000 simultaneous calls, per-second billing from the first second and both Bulgarian and international DIDs.

This is the only local operator that publicly describes both authorisation modes: "IP authorisation for up to 3 IP addresses or 3 IP subnets", or a trunk with registration by username and password that is likewise pinned to up to three addresses or subnets. The listed codecs are "G711, G729, G729a, G726, G723.1, iLBC or GSM" with transcoding, so the set shared with our PBX is there.

What to enter in the admin panel

What to set up at the provider: open an account and choose a tariff → order the SIP trunk and the number of simultaneous calls → hand over the "Static IP" from the "Server" tab (it is needed in both modes: even the registered trunk is pinned to addresses) → buy a number or port an existing one and point it at the trunk → confirm that G.711 A-law and µ-law are left on the trunk.

Pitfalls ⚠️ The "up to 3 IP" limit is hard and applies in both modes: if the PBX machine is rebuilt with a new address, the trunk goes silent until the operator updates it — plan this as a separate request. Exact host and port values are not published, they are issued on connection. The format of the number in incoming calls and the caller ID rules are not published either — ask about them in the same e-mail as the credentials. The same service is sold under the bgtel.tel and bg-tel.com storefronts: clarify which legal entity the contract is with. Source: SIP Trunk, codecs and authorisation — 09.09.2026.

PlanetPhone ("Telecom 1")#

Prepaid fixed telephony: "PlanetPhone is a licensed fixed telephony operator and holds a permit to provide telephone numbers." There is no monthly fee and no minimum contract term; top-ups go through ePay.bg, EasyPay, FastPay, PayPal or a bank transfer, and the range includes porting an existing geographic number, fax to e-mail and voicemail. The number is registered on the website and the service is activated by an application signed with an electronic signature and sent by e-mail or post.

This is the only Bulgarian operator with a publicly named SIP host — it appears in its own SIP client setup instructions.

What to enter in the admin panel

What to set up at the provider: register the number and activate it with the application → top up the balance → ask support how many simultaneous calls the account allows and whether it may be registered from a PBX rather than from a phone → file a porting application if you are moving your existing geographic number.

Pitfalls ⚠️ The operator's instructions are written for one handset or softphone per account — confirm the number of simultaneous calls and the right to register from a PBX in writing before the pilot, otherwise the second parallel call will be a surprise. The port, the transport and the codec list are not published: the 5060/UDP in the table are the defaults, so ask the operator to confirm them and G.711 as well. The website and the instructions date back to 2018 and earlier and some PBX pages do not open — before you commit to this operator, call to make sure the service is alive. Source: SIP client setup (SIP domain), "Internet phone" — 09.09.2026.

IP Telecom Bulgaria (the Zadarma platform)#

IP Telecom Bulgaria OOD is the Bulgarian legal entity of the Zadarma platform: a cloud PBX with IVR, queues and recording, a built-in CRM, integrations and a SIP Trunk — "connect your preferred business phone system to Zadarma in just a few clicks". Registration and the portal live at my.zadarma.com; the number is ordered online in the virtual numbers section and is activated after a document check.

Bulgarian DIDs are available in 13 cities — Sofia 02, Plovdiv 032, Varna 052, Burgas 056, Ruse 082, Stara Zagora 042, Pleven 064, Veliko Tarnovo 064, Blagoevgrad 073, Dobrich 058, Pazardzhik 034, Shumen 054, Sliven 044 — at $3 setup and $3 per month (Shumen — $0 and $2); an 0800 number costs $40 and $25–30 per month. Incoming calls to a DID are free (except 0800), and once activated the number becomes the caller ID for outbound calls of that SIP account.

What to enter in the admin panel

What to set up at the provider: sign up and top up the balance → buy a Bulgarian DID and attach the documents → enable the SIP trunk and bind the number to it → buy extra lines if two simultaneous calls are not enough.

Pitfalls ⚠️⚠️ The document check requires an address in Bulgaria: an extract from the commercial register or a copy of a passport or ID card (both sides), plus your current address — city, street, house number and postcode — in the country of the number. For an owner without a Bulgarian address this blocks a local DID. The second catch is that a number comes with only 2 lines, extra ones are paid: a venue with two parallel calls hits the ceiling unnoticed and the third guest hears a busy tone. Source: IP Telecom Bulgaria services, virtual numbers +359 — 09.09.2026.

A1 and Vivacom — a trunk on top of their own access#

There are deliberately no "what to enter" tables here: neither operator publishes parameters, and the very way the trunk is delivered is a problem for a cloud PBX. This is the first question in negotiations, not an implementation detail.

A1 Bulgaria is the country's second large player and the only Bulgarian operator with an official template in the 3CX catalogue. Its guide (updated 30 June 2023) describes the scheme plainly: the trunk requires a direct connection between your PBX and A1 Bulgaria over a VPN, the server needs a separate network card with a local address issued by A1, without a default gateway, and static routes to the registrar through the A1 gateway; the address of that card is inserted into the headers and the media description. The same guide states that the scheme is not supported for a PBX hosted in someone else's cloud — which is exactly our case. One useful detail: the main trunk number is entered in the international format (for example 359875559473), and A1 allows only numbers associated with your account to be presented as the outbound caller ID.

Vivacom is the largest fixed-line operator. Its B-Fix SIP product provides lines "through the telephone exchange", that is, to the customer's PBX, but it is delivered as a "guaranteed IP connection directly to the user": over the operator's own channel (SDSL, a leased line or a metro network) with a VoIP gateway at the customer's site; the only published Asterisk configuration for this trunk (a 2010 write-up) uses a private address inside the operator's network. Such an address is unreachable from the cloud. Prices: 5 lines — €102.26/month, 10 lines — €153.39/month, 20 lines — €306.78/month (plus bundled national minutes); under the current plan terms there is a 12-month minimum contract and a one-off service opening fee. Vivacom converts an existing analogue line into B-Fix SIP while keeping the number.

What to ask before signing: whether the trunk can be delivered over ordinary internet to an external PBX with a public static address, without a VPN and without their equipment on the premises; whether the server address will be publicly routable; which authorisation mode is used — registration or by IP; and which codecs run on the trunk. If the answer is not "a public address", take the number from an operator in the cards above. Sources: Vivacom B-Fix SIP, the 3CX guide for A1 Bulgaria — 09.09.2026.

Providers "under contract"#

These operators do advertise a trunk for a third-party PBX, but the server address, the mode and the credentials are only issued after a contract — so there can be no "what to enter" table here. Ask for the parameters using the list in "What to ask the provider". And state the main thing separately: the PBX lives in the cloud, not on the venue's premises — it is worth having that confirmed in writing before you pay.

• Yettel Bulgaria. The third national operator; its fixed business catalogue contains a separate SIP Trunk product, alongside its own virtual PBX, national 0700/0800 numbers and IVR. There are no technical parameters at all: no host, no port, no mode, no codecs, and the operator is absent from the 3CX catalogue for Bulgaria. ⚠️ The risk is the same as with A1 and Vivacom: a telecom operator traditionally sells the trunk together with its own access — phrase your request as "a SIP trunk over the public internet to our static IP, without a VPN and without equipment on the premises".
• SoftNET (SoftNET EU EOOD). The Bulgarian arm of a regional operator (office in Sofia): the voice range includes "SIP trunking", IP Centrex and an on-site IP PBX. There are no public tariffs or parameters, and the product pages are identical for every country of the group, so the Bulgarian specifics — which numbers and who issues them — have to be clarified by e-mail. ⚠️ The mention of "multiple PRIs" hints at a corporate segment with its own connectivity: the question about delivery over the public internet is mandatory here.
• TelefonBG.com. A provider of virtual numbers and a cloud PBX from Burgas, in business since 2010: numbers in 100+ countries and 5500+ cities, IVR, queues, recording (30 days free, 12 months on a paid plan), SMS to Bulgarian mobiles, hotel solutions and Bulgarian-language support. ⚠️ There is no separate "SIP trunk to your own PBX" in the service list — the order form offers a number, 0800, a cloud PBX, "SIP software", hotel solutions or SMS. On top of that the description stresses "SIP TLS encryption, SRTP for media": before paying, ask two questions — can a number be pointed at an external PBX, and is UDP or TCP without TLS available, since the PBX does not support encrypted trunks.
• Who is not on this list. VMobile sells not a trunk but a built VoIP core (two servers and a softswitch) — a venue does not need it, it duplicates our PBX. Neterra, Evolink and Novatel sell no voice services at all: their catalogues hold internet access, links, data centres and cloud, but not telephony.

International providers with Bulgarian numbers#

Bulgarian numbers are sold by Zadarma, Twilio, DIDWW, Telnyx, Sonetel, AVOXI and FlyNumber. For a foreign company this is often the only route: local operators sign the contract with a Bulgarian legal entity by its UIC.

• Zadarma is present in the country legally — through IP Telecom Bulgaria OOD, see the card above. Numbers in 13 cities and 0800, two lines included, but the document check requires an address in Bulgaria.
• Twilio Elastic SIP Trunking — together with A1, the only provider in the 3CX list for Bulgaria. The modes are by IP or by credential list, so IP authorisation will need the "Static IP" from the "Server" tab.
• DIDWW — for Bulgaria local, toll free and universal international (UIFN) numbers are available; mobile, national and shared-cost numbers are not sold for Bulgaria. The trunk for inbound and outbound calls comes with the number.
• Telnyx — Bulgarian numbers are available; under the provider's general rule an EU customer may use a passport or ID of any member state and the document counts as local. Confirm the exact document set for a Bulgarian number with support when ordering.
• Sonetel, AVOXI, FlyNumber — Bulgarian virtual numbers are in their catalogues and their address requirements are softer. For an owner without a Bulgarian address this is usually the most realistic way to get a local number.

The parameters and modes of these providers are already described in the catalogue when adding a provider — the server address and the mode are filled in automatically, so there is no need to copy them from a country page.

⚠️ The Bulgarian caveat about outbound calls. The CRC, together with the three largest operators, warned about caller ID spoofing and said that operators apply technical measures against such calls, the problem being mostly with calls coming in from abroad. If a Bulgarian number is bought from an international provider and outbound calls leave through its foreign gateways, some calls into Bulgaria may be cut off — test this on trial calls before you move all traffic to the trunk.

Number porting#

• The application is filed with the recipient operator — the one the number moves to; in Bulgaria this is the "one-stop shop" principle. The standard term is 7 working days from the date of the application, and the porting window, when the number is already disconnected in the old network and not yet active in the new one, does not exceed 7 hours. Confirm the exact terms for your type of number with the recipient operator: the CRC maintains the functional specifications for geographic and non-geographic numbers separately from mobile ones.
• Porting is offered by PlanetPhone (porting a geographic number to itself) and Vivacom (converting an active telephone line into B-Fix SIP while keeping the number).
• A change of address within the same area code is covered by the porting specifications — for a venue moving to the premises next door this matters more than moving to another operator.
• The number is registered to whoever signs the contract. Bulgarian operators work mostly with legal entities (by UIC); at PlanetPhone the prepaid scheme is also available to a private person with a signed application. Register the number to the company straight away, otherwise it will leave together with the person when the business changes hands.
• The venue address for every number. The provider routes 112 calls by it — update the address with the operator when you port a number and when the venue moves.

Rules and paperwork#

If it does not work#

1. The operator named an address like 10.x or "the address of our gateway". That is the A1 scheme and, judging by the service description, the Vivacom one: the trunk is meant to be delivered over the operator's own channel. Such an address is unreachable from the cloud — insist on a publicly routable server address, or take a number from an operator in the cards above.
2. The trunk used to work and went silent after the PBX server was rebuilt. At BGTel authorisation is pinned to three addresses or subnets in both modes, including the registered one: the new PBX address has to be reported to the operator. The current value is the "Static IP" on the "Server" tab.
3. PlanetPhone: "not registered with the provider". The login is the subscriber number and the password is the password for that number, not the website password. If the credentials are right, ask support whether registration from a PBX is allowed on the account: the operator's instructions are written for a single handset.
4. The third guest hears a busy tone. The trunk has run out of lines: with a Bulgarian number Zadarma gives two by default, at Vivacom the number of lines is set by the tariff, and at BGTel by the capacity you ordered. Buy extra channels from the provider.
5. The call connects but there is silence. A codec the PBX does not have has been negotiated on the trunk: local operators list G.729, G.726, G.723.1, iLBC and GSM next to G.711. Ask them to keep G.711 A-law — every Bulgarian provider we checked has it.
6. The operator offers an encrypted trunk only. TLS and SRTP are stressed in the service description of TelefonBG. Ask for UDP/5060 without encryption: the PBX does not support encrypted trunks.
7. Two numbers land on the same line. A Bulgarian national number is 8 digits while the line is matched by the last seven: numbers from different cities that share the same six digits give the same tail. Separate such lines manually.
8. Some outbound calls into Bulgaria do not go through. If the Bulgarian number is bought from an international provider, calls carrying it from abroad may be cut off by the operators' anti-spoofing measures. Test this on trial calls and, if the traffic matters, take a number from a local operator.

Causes that do not depend on the country are in "If calls do not go through"; the SIP trace in the trunk menu is described there too. Transport and codec requirements are in "Network and compatibility".

Frequently asked questions#

Where should I get a number if nothing is connected yet?#

From BGTel: it is the only Bulgarian operator that publicly promises both registration and IP authorisation, delivers the trunk over ordinary internet, keeps G.711 and bills per second from the first second. The alternative without any correspondence is PlanetPhone with its known server address sip.planetphone.net and prepaid service without a contract; and if you have a Bulgarian address, IP Telecom Bulgaria (Zadarma) with a number for $3 a month.

I already have a number at A1 or Vivacom. Will it work with a cloud PBX?#

The number itself will, if the operator agrees to deliver the trunk over ordinary internet to the PBX's public static address. The standard scheme at both is different: A1's official guide requires a VPN, a separate network card with a local address and static routes, and states plainly that a PBX in someone else's cloud cannot be connected that way; at Vivacom the service runs over the operator's own channel. Ask about this before signing, and if the answer is not "a public address", port the number to an operator from the cards above — that takes 7 working days.

Do I need a Bulgarian company to get a number?#

For a local operator — as a rule yes: the contract is signed with a Bulgarian entity by its UIC. At PlanetPhone the prepaid scheme is also open to a private person with a signed application, while Zadarma requires a document and a current address in Bulgaria for a Bulgarian number. An owner without a Bulgarian address will find it easier to take a +359 number from an international provider — Sonetel, AVOXI or FlyNumber have softer address requirements.

How many channels should I order?#

A channel is one simultaneous call; a venue usually needs 2–4. Market benchmarks: Zadarma includes two lines with a number and charges for the rest, Vivacom's tariffs start at 5 lines and go on to 10 and 20, and at BGTel capacity is ordered separately and is advertised up to 2000 simultaneous calls. For PlanetPhone ask about simultaneous calls separately: its instructions assume a single handset.

Will calls to 112 work through the trunk?#

At a local operator — yes, it is their duty, but the venue address for every number has to be up to date with them: the emergency call is routed by it. Remember the setting on our side too: the general outbound rule does not pick up numbers shorter than four digits, so 112 (and 150, 160, 166) needs a separate rule. At international providers the emergency call is a separate service and is not always available.

Why are operator prices sometimes in leva and sometimes in euro?#

Bulgaria switched to the euro on 1 January 2026 at the fixed rate of €1 = BGN 1.95583, and prices are shown in both currencies. Terms and price lists signed earlier remained in leva — convert them when you compare offers instead of comparing the figures directly.

Sources#

All links checked on 09.09.2026.

Operators

• BGTel — SIP Trunk, connecting your infrastructure to the BGTel network: https://bgtel.tel/siptrunk.html
• BG-Tel — SIP Trunk: codecs, authorisation, capacity: https://bg-tel.com/tel-razgovori-ot-sip-trunk.html
• PlanetPhone — SIP client setup (SIP domain): http://telecom1.bg/%d0%b8%d0%bd%d1%82%d0%b5%d1%80%d0%bd%d0%b5%d1%82-%d1%82%d0%b5%d0%bb%d0%b5%d1%84%d0%be%d0%bd/zoiper/
• PlanetPhone — "Internet phone": licence and terms of getting a number: http://telecom1.bg/%d0%b8%d0%bd%d1%82%d0%b5%d1%80%d0%bd%d0%b5%d1%82-%d1%82%d0%b5%d0%bb%d0%b5%d1%84%d0%be%d0%bd/
• IP Telecom Bulgaria — VoIP and PBX services, SIP Trunk: https://iptelecom.bg/bg/services/
• Zadarma — Bulgarian virtual numbers +359: cities, prices, documents: https://zadarma.com/bg/tariffs/numbers/bulgaria/
• Vivacom — B-Fix SIP: tariffs and features: https://www.vivacom.bg/business/bfix-sip
• Vivacom — terms of the B-Fix SIP subscription plan: https://www.vivacom.bg/bg/files/11640-uslovija-za-polzvane-na-abonamenten-plan-b-fix-sip-za-biznes-klienti-na-fiksirana-usluga.pdf
• Yettel — SIP Trunk (fixed services for business): https://www.yettel.bg/bg/business/service/sip-trunk
• A1 Bulgaria — A1 Cloud PBX: https://www.a1.bg/cloud-pbx
• SoftNET — voice services (SIP trunking, IP Centrex): https://www.softnet.bg/Glasovi_uslugi
• TelefonBG.com — virtual numbers and a cloud PBX: https://telefonbg.com/
• VMobile — SIP core: https://vmobile.eu/bg/business-customers/sip-core
• Neterra — all services: https://neterra.net/services
• 3CX — A1 Bulgaria trunk configuration guide (VPN, network card, routes): https://www.3cx.com/docs/sip-trunk/a1-bulgaria/
• 3CX — SIP trunk providers for Bulgaria: https://www.3cx.com/partners/sip-trunks/bulgaria/
• DIDWW — regulatory requirements for phone numbers in Bulgaria: https://www.didww.com/resources/regulatory-requirements/Bulgaria
• Telnyx — international DID requirements: https://support.telnyx.com/en/collections/1511606-international-did-requirements

Regulator and numbering

• CRC — National Numbering Plan (PDF): https://crc.bg/files/_bg/NNP-2014.pdf
• CRC — entry into the public register of notified undertakings (PDF): https://crc.bg/files/_bg/01_vpisvane_publ_register_predpr.pdf
• CRC — allocated numbering resources (register): https://crc.bg/ords/f?p=723%3A33
• CRC — number portability, consumer information (PDF): https://crc.bg/files/_bg/Portabl_FAQ_mobile.pdf
• CRC — decisions No 553, 555 and 557 of 12.11.2015 amending the functional specifications for portability: https://crc.bg/bg/statii/1015/sys-svoi-reshenija-553-555-i-557-ot-12-11-2015-g-komisijata-za-regulirane-na-syobshtenijata-prie-izmenenija-na-funkcionalni-specifikacii-za-prenosimost-na-mobilni-geografski-i-negeografski-nomera
• Act on the national emergency call system with the single European number 112 (PDF): https://www.mtc.government.bg/sites/default/files/zakon-nacsist-spesni-povikvaniq-nomer-112-23072019.pdf
• European Commission — Bulgaria adopts the euro on 1 January 2026: https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/bg/news/blgariya-priema-evroto-ot-1-yanuari-2026-g

Related pages#

• Connecting a provider's number to the PBX — the general steps, trunk modes, network, link check.
• Setting up SIP phones — how to connect desk phones and DECT to extensions.