Bolivia: SIP providers and connecting a number to the PBX

We do not issue numbers: the venue buys a Bolivian number from a carrier or a virtual telephony service and brings it into its own PBX as a trunk. Everything that is the same in any country — trunk modes, form fields, network requirements and the connectivity test — is described in the overview «Connecting a provider's number to the PBX». This page covers the Bolivian part only: where to get the number, what to enter in the admin panel and what people trip over in this country.

The data was collected on 9–10 September 2026 from the providers' own documentation and from acts published by the regulator ATT and the Ministry of Public Works; the links are in the «Sources» section.

In brief#

• The market is closed as far as documentation goes. Not a single Bolivian carrier — neither AXS, nor Entel, nor Tigo, nor the Cotas, Comteco and COTEL cooperatives — publishes its server address, port or authentication mode: the parameters arrive with the service order once the contract is signed. Plan the connection as a conversation with an account manager, not as «copy from the manual and type it in».
• The main local trap is not the parameters, it is the link. In Bolivia a trunk is sold together with the carrier's own last mile: Entel describes it as «Seguridad de comunicación mediante una red privada VPN», Tigo as «cambiando a una tecnología de acceso de Fibra Óptica (VPN)», and AXS sells it only on top of its own corporate internet access. Such a trunk lands on a PBX physically sitting on the carrier's link in your office, while our dedicated PBX lives in the cloud. The first question for the manager is «¿el troncal SIP se entrega por internet público hacia una IP fija nuestra?».
• First choice — AXS Bolivia: the only carrier in the country that names the codec in writing — G.711a, exactly the one our PBX speaks — and whose installation fee includes «soporte para la configuración de la central IP PBX del usuario». The honest limitation: the trunk is sold only together with AXS corporate internet.
• Entel's «Troncal SIP» will not work as published. The tariff of carrier number one explicitly specifies the G.729 codec («con un ancho de banda de 40Kbps»), and our PBX does not have that codec. Without a written agreement on G.711 the conversation goes no further.
• Fast entry without a NIT — an international +591 5 number (DIDWW, Zadarma): this is the national «Voz sobre Internet» range, and the number and the trunk are issued in the customer portal within hours. The price of that speed is that emergency calls and porting do not work with such a number.
• A landline +591 2/3/4 number cannot be bought online — only from a Bolivian carrier under a contract with a local company holding a NIT.

Numbers in the country#

• The country code is +591. Under the Plan Técnico Fundamental de Numeración (RM 339/2021) the national number has a uniform length of 8 digits — for landlines, mobiles and internet telephony alike.
• Landline number: zone + 7 subscriber digits. Zone 2 — La Paz, Oruro, Potosí; 3 — Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando; 4 — Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, Tarija. In international form that is +591 2 XXXXXXX.
• Mobile numbers are non-geographic and start with 5 (ranges 53, 56, 57), 6 and 7, followed by 7 digits.
• «Voz sobre Internet» (VoI) has its own non-geographic range 50 + 6 digits, served nationwide. These are exactly the numbers (+591 5…) that international aggregators sell; landline numbers they do not have.
• Special ranges: 800 XXXXXX — free for the caller (cobro revertido), 900 and 901–909 — premium and shared-cost services, 101–199 — short service numbers, 911 — the single emergency number (plus 110–129 for civil emergencies and 160–169 for medical ones).
• Dialling is the main local peculiarity. Within your own zone only the 7 subscriber digits are dialled; between zones it is 0 + the two-digit carrier selection code + zone + number (Entel is 10, AXS is 11), and an international call is 00 + the same code + the number. Mobile numbers are dialled as eight digits from any zone. An outbound rule without the long-distance code will kill inter-zone and international calls — which code to hard-wire depends on the carrier of your trunk.
• In «Lines» the number is entered in international form: +591 plus 8 digits.

Who issues a number with a SIP trunk#

AXS Bolivia#

A private carrier with a 25-year history (formerly AES Communications Bolivia), its own national dual-ring fibre backbone and long-distance code 11. It is the only carrier in the country that publishes a SIP trunk price list with a technical detail in it — and that detail is in our favour: «El canal de voz y el ancho de banda necesario se dimensiona considerando el uso del codec G.711a». G.711 A-law is the standard codec of our PBX.

How to get it. Postpaid only and only together with AXS corporate internet (GPON Fibra Empresa, Fibra Negocio, Fibra Corporativa or On Line Prime Fiber). Per the tariff: 16 channels — Bs 550/month, installation — Bs 696 (which covers trunk configuration and «soporte para la configuración de la central IP PBX del usuario»), one number in the base package; channels 17–32 add Bs 200/month, 33–64 add Bs 500/month; extra numbers start at Bs 50/month for a group of 2–5. The monthly fee and installation are waived if the internet service costs more than Bs 1,750. Minutes: local landline Bs 0.40, mobile Bs 0.75, VoIP Bs 0.25.

What to enter in the admin panel (Telephony → «Trunks and connections» → «Add provider» → the «SIP trunk (own provider)» card):

What to set up on the provider's side: order the SIP Trunk on top of your existing AXS corporate internet → put G.711a in writing (it is in the tariff anyway) → ask for authentication by our static IP and have it whitelisted → point the purchased numbers at the trunk → agree the media port range: the PBX receives media on UDP 10000–20000 → confirm the long-distance code for the outbound rule (0 + 11).

Pitfalls ⚠️ Without AXS internet the trunk is not sold at all — a venue with another ISP would have to change its link, and that is a tariff condition rather than a negotiating position. The phrase «se garantiza que las llamadas no puedan ser encriptadas» on the product page means the carrier has no encrypted trunk; that does not bother us. The AXS website serves an incomplete TLS certificate chain — if your browser complains about the certificate, that is their server misconfiguration, not a missing service.

Source: AXS Bolivia — Tarifas SIP Trunk (PDF) · Inicio Empresa — 09.09.2026.

Entel — «Troncal SIP»#

The state-owned carrier number one (about half of the mobile market), with fixed-line service in La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Oruro, Tarija, Potosí and Chuquisaca; long-distance code 10. The «Troncal SIP» product is sold to subscribers of its Transmisión de Datos VPN service; the TSIP BÁSICO plan is 16 channels for Bs 200/month, installation Bs 250, one DID at a 100 % discount; channels 17–70 cost Bs 20/month each, and a DID is a one-off Bs 24 (mobile), Bs 11 (Entel landline) or Bs 2 (VoZip).

There is deliberately no «what to enter» table here: as the product is described by the carrier, it will not work with our PBX. The tariff sets the codec outright — «El canal asignado está dimensionado para llamadas de voz utilizando codec G.729 con un ancho de banda de 40Kbps» — while our PBX speaks only G.711 A-law/µ-law and G.722. The second problem is delivery: «Comunicación segura mediante VPN privada», meaning the trunk is designed for a PBX in the customer's office on an Entel link, not for a cloud one.

What to ask if the venue already has an Entel link. The conversation only makes sense with two written «yes» answers: (1) the trunk is terminated over the public internet to our static IP, and (2) the codec negotiation lists G.711 A-law rather than G.729. Once you have them, request the usual set of credentials — the list is in «What to ask the provider». An answer of «solo sobre nuestra VPN» is a stop sign: this product is not for us.

Pitfalls ⚠️ One Entel trunk can be tied to only one type of telephony at a time (mobile, Entel landline or VoZip) — landline and mobile DIDs cannot be mixed on the same trunk. The trunk has no «consumo controlado» option: when the minimum charge is reached you only get an e-mail notification. Barring long-distance, premium ranges and international calls is done by written request and costs Bs 5–20 per line.

Source: Entel — Troncal SIP · Tarifas Servicio Troncal SIP (PDF) — 09.09.2026.

Tigo Bolivia#

The country's second carrier (Telefónica Celular de Bolivia — Telecel, part of Millicom): a mobile network plus corporate fibre, with Tigo Business as the corporate brand. The «SIP Troncal» product in the «Soluciones de voz» section is described as «Realiza llamadas a números fijos y móviles a través de nuestra red de Fibra Óptica»; compatibility with a wide range of PBX manufacturers is claimed, as is that the link «entre el cliente y el operador es directa y completamente segura». Ordering goes through an account manager only; prices and parameters are not published.

What to enter in the admin panel:

What to set up on the provider's side: make delivery the first question — public internet to our static address, or their fibre only → request the codec list and put G.711 a-law first → hand over our static IP for the whitelist → point the DIDs at the trunk and confirm the number of simultaneous channels → agree the long-distance prefix for the outbound rule.

Pitfalls ⚠️ The wording «cambiando a una tecnología de acceso de Fibra Óptica (VPN)» is a direct sign that the trunk is delivered to the customer's premises rather than to the cloud; that is question number one. The tigo.com.bo and tigobusiness.com.bo storefronts sit behind a filter and return an access error from some networks — facts have to be checked through the help centre or the account manager.

Source: Tigo Bolivia — Sip Troncal (Empresas) — 09.09.2026.

Yautalk#

A regional virtual telephony operator from Peru whose «Troncal SIP para Empresas» product is described for exactly our scenario: «vinculando tu central telefónica física (IP-PBX) o software de Call Center para hacer y recibir llamadas con nuestro SIP Trunk… sin los trámites que exigen los operadores tradicionales». The site footer lists a Bolivian contact number, (+591) 5 071 0029, and menu items «Número Virtual Bolivia» and «Telefonía IP Bolivia».

The Bolivian leg has to be confirmed by phone before ordering. As of September 2026 the «Número Virtual Bolivia» and «Telefonía IP Bolivia» pages return 404, and the customer counter on the storefront reads «+699 empresas en 🇵🇪 🇪🇨», without Bolivia. That is why there is no «what to enter» table here: first ask whether the provider actually sells +591 numbers and which legal entity the contract is signed with, and only then request the trunk credentials — the list of questions is in «What to ask the provider». The provider issues the parameters (node, port, login, password) at connection time; the product description claims «Homologación con varias IP-PBX» and «múltiples registros de IPs», so both modes are available.

Source: Yautalk — Troncal SIP para Empresas — 09.09.2026.

Cooperatives and mobile carriers#

International providers with Bolivian numbers#

For a venue without a Bolivian NIT this is the fastest route: the number and the trunk are issued in the customer portal within hours rather than weeks. Cards for the popular international providers are already in the catalogue when adding a provider — the server address and the mode are filled in automatically.

• DIDWW sells national +591-5 numbers — that same internet-telephony range. According to its country page: registration is not required, inbound calls are supported and A-Z termination is supported, but local SIP trunking, emergency calling, number portability and inbound SMS/fax are not.
• Zadarma offers Bolivian numbers of two kinds: national 05 at $57/month with free activation, and toll-free 800 at $230 activation plus $48/month. The purchase asks for an address (city, street, number and postal code) — an address in any country will do. It has no +591 2/3/4 landline numbers.
• Twilio offers only toll-free +591 800 numbers in Bolivia. No documents are required from an individual or a company, but a signed Letter of Authorization is. There is no local landline number.
• Telnyx keeps a Bolivia phone numbers page, but the number types and documentation requirements are not spelled out on it — check them in the portal before paying.
• Others (AVOXI, Sonetel, FlyNumber, Global Call Forwarding, Hivoox) sell a «Bolivian virtual number», normally from the same +591-5 range. What has to be verified is not the availability of a number but two things: whether they give you a SIP trunk rather than just call forwarding, and whether they accept an address outside Bolivia.
• What an international number cannot do. 911 does not work through it, and it cannot be ported — change the supplier and the number is lost. For a restaurant that prints its number on the sign and in the menu that matters more than the price per minute.

Porting a number#

• Only mobile numbers can be ported. Portability was introduced by decree DS 3404 and has been in force since 1 October 2018; it does not extend to fixed-line service.
• Conditions: the number must have been in service for more than 60 days, the application is filed by the contract holder, and there must be no overdue invoices and no active equipment loan (comodato) agreement. The application is accepted by the receiving carrier, the port itself takes 24 hours, and activation happens on the next business day after 06:00. The same number can be ported again no sooner than a month later.
• A landline number is lost when you change carriers. The «we will move your landline number to the cloud» scenario does not work in Bolivia — what works is «forward the old number to the new trunk», which the previous carrier sets up.
• Register the number to the company. The contract is signed against the company's NIT; a number registered to an employee leaves with them.

Rules and paperwork#

If it does not work#

1. The carrier agreed, but no calls come through at all. Almost always this is the link: Entel describes its trunk as a «red privada VPN», Tigo as «Fibra Óptica (VPN)», and AXS as an add-on to its own internet. Confirm whether the trunk is delivered over the public internet to our static address; an answer of «solo sobre nuestra red» means the product is not for us.
2. The call connects, but there is silence one way or both. Codecs. Entel's tariff specifies G.729, which we do not have; the others do not publish their list at all. Our PBX speaks G.711 and G.722 — ask for G.711 a-law first and get it in writing.
3. «Not registered with the provider». Check which mode you were sold: carrier trunks in the region more often use address-based authentication — then the REGISTER checkbox has to be cleared and your static IP handed over for the whitelist. The path to the server is checked with the «Test connection» button.
4. Inbound calls work, but long-distance and international calls do not. The Bolivian dialling plan requires a prefix: 0 plus the carrier selection code for inter-zone calls and 00 plus the same code for international ones. Add the prefix to the outbound rule and ask your trunk carrier for the code.
5. An inbound call arrived but matched no line. Nobody in Bolivia publishes the number format used in inbound calls: look at what actually arrived in the diagnostics and bring the line number to the same shape. The other possibility is that two of your numbers from different zones share their last seven digits: 2 XXXXXXX in La Paz and 3 XXXXXXX in Santa Cruz differ only in the first digit, so a chain across two cities has to split lines by something other than the number.
6. The provider demands TLS or SRTP. Trunks over TLS are not supported: ask for a plain UDP/TCP account or choose another provider.
7. It worked and then stopped after the PBX was re-created. With address-based authentication the new public IP has to be given to the provider — before re-creating the PBX, not after.

Causes that do not depend on the country are covered in «If calls do not go through».

Frequently asked questions#

Which provider should we start with if we have no number yet?#

With AXS Bolivia, if the venue is willing to buy its internet from them too: it is the only carrier in the country that names the G.711a codec in writing and includes support for configuring the customer's PBX in the installation fee. If you need to be live within a day, or the company has no NIT, take an international +591 5 number from DIDWW or Zadarma. Entel and Tigo are worth considering when the venue is already on their link.

Why does no Bolivian carrier publish the parameters on its website?#

That is how the local market works: the trunk is sold through an account manager, and the server address, port and mode arrive with the service order after the contract and a technical feasibility check. As of September 2026 no carrier in Bolivia has a public guide to connecting a third-party PBX — which is why the list of questions in «What to ask the provider» is especially useful here.

Can a Bolivian landline number be bought online?#

No. International providers sell only numbers from the non-geographic +591 5 range (and toll-free 800 ones). A landline number in La Paz, Santa Cruz or Cochabamba is issued by a local carrier under a contract with a NIT.

Can we keep our landline number when switching?#

No. Only mobile numbers are ported in Bolivia, fixed-line ones are not. There is one working workaround: leave the old number with the previous carrier and ask them to forward calls to the new number connected to the PBX.

Will emergency calls work?#

Through a cloud PBX trunk there is no guarantee, and through an international number 911 definitely does not work — DIDWW states this outright. For the floor staff that is an argument for keeping an ordinary phone with a SIM card at the front desk.

Can we set up a Bolivian trunk without a dedicated PBX?#

No. Provider trunks only work on a dedicated server: it has a static address that can be given to the provider — and carrier trunks in this region almost always check exactly that address.

Sources#

All links checked on 09.09.2026.

Providers

• AXS Bolivia — Tarifas SIP Trunk (PDF): https://www.axsbolivia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/AXS_SIP-TRUNK-1.pdf · Inicio Empresa: https://www.axsbolivia.com/inicio-empresa/
• Entel — Troncal SIP: https://www.entel.bo/EmpresaSip · Tarifas Servicio Troncal SIP (PDF): https://institucional.entel.bo/inicio3.0/files/Tarifas_Servicio_Troncal_SIP.pdf · Servicio Troncal SIP (institucional): https://institucional.entel.bo/inicio3.0/index.php/transmision-de-datos/otros-servicios/troncal-sip
• Tigo Bolivia — Sip Troncal (Empresas): https://ayuda.tigo.com.bo/hc/es/articles/11440895264147-Sip-Troncal-Empresas
• Yautalk — Troncal SIP para Empresas: https://www.yautalk.com/troncal-sip-empresas/
• Cotas — Empresas: https://cotas.com/empresas/ · Háblame (VoIP): https://cotas.com/hogar/hablame-servicio-voip/
• Comteco — Telefonía: https://www.comteco.com.bo/telefonia_cmt.php?tab=basica · COTEL R.L.: https://www.cotel.bo/ · VIVA — Empresas: https://www.viva.com.bo/empresas

Regulator, numbering and law

• ATT — Autoridad de Regulación y Fiscalización de Telecomunicaciones y Transportes: https://www.att.gob.bo/
• Plan Técnico Fundamental de Numeración, RM 339/2021 (PDF): https://www.oopp.gob.bo/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2021-RM339-Plan-Tecnico-Fundamental-de-Numeracion.pdf
• Reglamento General a la Ley 164 — DS 1391: https://www.lexivox.org/norms/BO-RE-DSN1391.html · Ley 164 (Ley General de Telecomunicaciones, TIC): https://www.lexivox.org/norms/BO-L-N164.html
• ATT — Portabilidad Numérica, preguntas frecuentes: https://portabilidad.att.gob.bo/index.php/preguntas-frecuentes

International providers

• DIDWW — Bolivia National +591-5: https://www.didww.com/phone-numbers/all-phone-numbers/Bolivia/National/591-5
• Zadarma — Bolivian numbers: https://zadarma.com/en/tariffs/numbers/bolivia/ · national +591 5: https://zadarma.com/en/tariffs/numbers/bolivia/national/
• Twilio — Bolivia Regulatory Guidelines: https://www.twilio.com/en-us/guidelines/bo/regulatory · Telnyx — Bolivia phone numbers: https://telnyx.com/phone-numbers/bolivia

Related pages#

• Connecting a provider's number to the PBX — the common steps, trunk modes, network and the connectivity test.
• Setting up SIP phones — how to connect desk phones and DECT handsets to extensions.