Glossary
Key terms used throughout the Orbit documentation and CPaaS industry.A
A2P (Application-to-Person) Messages sent from a software application to a human recipient. Includes notifications, alerts, OTPs, and marketing messages. Contrasts with P2P (person-to-person) messaging. Agent An AI-powered assistant in Orbit that handles conversations or executes tasks autonomously. Agents use LLMs, custom tools, and guardrails to interact with end users via messaging or voice channels. API Key A secret token used to authenticate requests to the Orbit API. Prefixed withdv_live_sk_ (live secret), dv_test_sk_ (test secret), or dv_live_pk_ (public).
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BullMQ A Redis-based job queue used by Orbit for background processing, including webhook delivery and campaign execution. Burst Limit The maximum number of API requests allowed per second, separate from per-minute rate limits.C
Campaign A bulk message send to a defined audience. Campaigns can be scheduled, targeted by contact lists or segments, and tracked for delivery metrics. Channel A communication medium: SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, Viber, Email, or Voice. Orbit provides a unified API across all channels. Contact A person in your Orbit contact database, identified by phone number, email, or both. Contacts can have tags, custom attributes, and communication preferences. CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service) A cloud-based platform that enables developers to add real-time communication features (messaging, voice, video) to applications via APIs. Cursor-Based Pagination A pagination method where each response includes an opaque cursor token pointing to the next page of results. More stable and performant than offset-based pagination.D
DTMF (Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency) The signal generated when a phone key is pressed. Used in IVR menus for caller input (e.g., “Press 1 for sales”).E
E.164 The international phone number format:+[country code][subscriber number]. Example: +14155552671. Required for all Orbit API phone number fields.
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Flow A visual automation workflow built with Orbit’s drag-and-drop flow builder. Flows connect triggers, conditions, and actions to automate communication sequences. Fallback Channel A backup channel used when the primary channel fails to deliver. For example, falling back from WhatsApp to SMS if the WhatsApp message is undelivered after 5 minutes.G
Guardrails Rules applied to AI agent outputs to ensure compliance, safety, and brand consistency. Powered by Portkey in production. Examples: no PII exposure, no profanity, brand voice adherence. GSM-7 The default character encoding for SMS, supporting 128 characters (Latin letters, digits, common punctuation). Messages using only GSM-7 characters fit 160 chars per segment.H
HMAC-SHA256 A cryptographic signature algorithm used by Orbit to sign webhook payloads. The signature is sent in theX-Devotel-Signature header.
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IVR (Interactive Voice Response) An automated phone menu system that routes callers using voice prompts and DTMF key presses. Orbit’s IVR API supports AI-powered alternatives via agents.K
Knowledge Base A collection of documents stored in Qdrant (vector database) that an AI agent can search during conversations for RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation).L
LLM (Large Language Model) The AI model powering agent conversations. Orbit supports models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google via the Portkey gateway. Long Code A standard 10-digit phone number (e.g.,+14155552671), as opposed to short codes. Used for both voice and SMS in the US under 10DLC regulations.
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MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) An extension of SMS that supports media attachments (images, video, audio). Available on numbers with themms capability.
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Number Porting The process of transferring a phone number from one carrier to another. Orbit supports inbound porting from any carrier, typically completed in 7–14 business days.O
OTP (One-Time Password) A short-lived code sent via SMS, WhatsApp, or voice for identity verification. Managed through Orbit’s Verify API. Opt-In / Opt-Out The process by which a recipient consents to (opt-in) or withdraws from (opt-out) receiving messages. US regulations require explicit opt-in for marketing messages.P
P2P (Person-to-Person) Messages exchanged between two humans, typically from personal phone numbers. Subject to different carrier rules than A2P messaging.R
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) A pattern where an AI agent retrieves relevant documents from a knowledge base before generating a response, improving accuracy and reducing hallucination. RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) Orbit’s permission system with five roles:owner, admin, developer, viewer, billing. Each role has different API and dashboard permissions.
RCS (Rich Communication Services)
A next-generation messaging protocol that enables rich media, read receipts, typing indicators, and interactive elements over the default messaging app.
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Segment A single SMS message unit. Standard SMS (GSM-7) supports 160 characters; longer messages are split into segments of 153 characters each. Each segment is billed separately. Short Code A 5–6 digit phone number used for high-volume SMS campaigns. Requires carrier approval and offers higher throughput than long codes. SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) A signaling protocol for establishing, modifying, and terminating voice/video sessions. Orbit supports SIP trunking for carrier connectivity. SSE (Server-Sent Events) A protocol for streaming data from server to client over HTTP. Used by Orbit’s agent chat API whenstream: true is set.
STT (Speech-to-Text)
Converting spoken audio to written text. Orbit uses Deepgram Nova-3 for real-time transcription in voice agents.
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10DLC (10-Digit Long Code) A US carrier registration system for A2P messaging over standard 10-digit phone numbers. Registration requires a brand and campaign. See the 10DLC guide. TTS (Text-to-Speech) Converting written text to spoken audio. Orbit uses Cartesia Sonic Turbo (primary) and ElevenLabs Flash v2.5 (fallback) for voice agents. Template A pre-approved message format for business-initiated conversations on WhatsApp and RCS. Templates can include dynamic variables. Tenant An organization or account in Orbit. Each tenant has isolated data, API keys, and billing. Internally, data is stored in schematenant_{uuid}.
Tool
A function that an AI agent can invoke during a conversation. Examples: looking up an order, checking inventory, scheduling an appointment.