We use a custom twilio number, some rerouting logic (which is easily configured in twilio), and an api endpoint to determine the next relative that will answer. There is also a minimal frontend to configure things like who is on the roster, their break times, a place to upload a recording, and see call logs.
These are the steps we took:
1. Get a twilio number
2. All incoming phone calls to the home phone are redirected to that twilio number [1]
3. If incoming number == grandma, request from an api endpoint the next relative to dial. Redirect her call to them.
4. If no one is available, play the voice mail
5. If incoming number != grandma, redirect the call to dad's mobile number [2]
[1] A child comment by macNchz noted correctly about "Selective Call Forwarding". This would have simplified the process and we could have skipped step 5, but our telephone provider did not offer it.
[2] Note that this is a bit of a compromise in the setup. The home phone never rings anymore and all non-grandma calls go to dad's cell. But they were happy to accept this.
These are the steps we took:
1. Get a twilio number
2. All incoming phone calls to the home phone are redirected to that twilio number [1]
3. If incoming number == grandma, request from an api endpoint the next relative to dial. Redirect her call to them.
4. If no one is available, play the voice mail
5. If incoming number != grandma, redirect the call to dad's mobile number [2]
[1] A child comment by macNchz noted correctly about "Selective Call Forwarding". This would have simplified the process and we could have skipped step 5, but our telephone provider did not offer it.
[2] Note that this is a bit of a compromise in the setup. The home phone never rings anymore and all non-grandma calls go to dad's cell. But they were happy to accept this.