NZ Twilio numbers cannot send SMS — any workaround for send_sms function?

Feature Requests
1

We’re based in New Zealand and running into an issue with the send_sms function.

All NZ Twilio numbers are voice-only. They cannot send SMS. This is a Twilio country restriction, not a Retell issue, but it means the send_sms function does nothing when triggered by our agent.

Our use case: after the AI takes a caller’s details (name, number, service needed), we want to send an SMS notification to the business owner with the call summary. This is critical for our client going live this Saturday.

Current workaround we’re looking at is routing through n8n to a local NZ SMS provider (SMSAPI.NZ). But before we build that, wanted to ask:

  1. Does Retell have any built-in way to send SMS through a different provider or number than the one assigned to the agent?

  2. Is there a way to use the send_sms function with a separate Twilio number from another country (e.g. US number) while keeping the NZ number for voice?

  3. Has anyone else in NZ or Australia solved this?

Any help appreciated. Going live with our first client Saturday 23 May.

2

I integrated Ringcentral that way we can use our existing phone infrastructure.