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A communications platform as a service (CPaaS) provides APIs that you can call from your programs. On the back end, these APIs connect to the telecommunications network to exchange SMS messages and make and receive voice calls.
By using a CPaaS, developers are insulated from the complexities of the telecom infrastructure; they can concentrate on making their applications better. To use Plivo, you have to have an account and reserve a phone number from which to send messages, which you can do with a few clicks.