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SIP Trunking Services
Improve your business communication with SIP trunking services: scalable, flexible, and high-quality VoIP solutions for enhanced call quality.
What is SIP Trunking?
SIP Trunking (Session Initiation Protocol Trunking) is a method of delivering voice and multimedia communication services over the internet, replacing traditional telephone lines or Primary Rate Interface (PRI) connections.
By utilizing SIP Trunking, organizations can consolidate their voice and data services onto a single IP network, resulting in streamlined infrastructure and improved scalability.
We can help you adopt and manage SIP Trunking.
- Analyzing requirements: we’ll evaluate your organization’s communication needs, such as call volume, feature requirements, and potential cost savings, to determine the most appropriate SIP Trunking solution.
- Provider selection: drawing on our comprehensive knowledge of SIP Trunking, we’ll guide you in choosing the best provider based on factors like compatibility, service quality, and pricing.
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- SIP Trunking strategy development and implementation: we can collaborate with you to design a tailored SIP Trunking deployment plan and facilitate a seamless integration with your existing telephony system and network infrastructure.
- Training and support: we offer training and assistance for your IT staff and end-users, so they can effectively utilize and manage the SIP Trunking solution, promoting user adoption and efficient communication.
- Ongoing monitoring and optimization: we can monitor the performance and efficiency of your SIP Trunking solution, making necessary adjustments to ensure it remains aligned with your evolving business needs and maintains optimal communication quality.
How Does SIP Trunking Work?
SIP trunking allows businesses to leverage VoIP technology to manage their entire phone system over a single network. It replaces traditional phones with digital communication channels that transmit calls as data packets rather than a circuit-switched connection.
The basics of SIP trunking involve connecting the business’s on-premises internet protocol private branch exchange (IP PBX) phone system to a SIP service provider using an internet connection rather than conventional public switched telephone network (PSTN) lines.
Many modern desk phones in the office are already IP phones that connect over the local area network (LAN). The IP PBX controls and manages the internal extensions, call routing, voicemail, auto attendants, and other business communications features.
For outbound calls, when a user dials a number, the IP PBX converts the call into digital SIP signaling and real-time transport protocol (RTP) media packets. These packets are transmitted over the SIP trunk to the provider, who converts the call back to analog signals and connects it over the PSTN before handing it off to the destination number.
For inbound calls, the process happens in reverse. The provider receives the analog call, converts it to digital packets, and sends them over the SIP trunk to the IP PBX, which directs the call to the appropriate internal extension.
SIP trunking consolidates the entire phone system onto a single IP network. It eliminates the need for inefficient analog phone lines while providing a scalable platform that can support toll-free numbers, call recording, call centers, unified communications solutions, mobile integration via mobile apps, and other advanced features.
Benefits of SIP Trunking
SIP trunking provides a major boost to business telecom operations by enabling SIP users to realize a wide range of custom voice solutions over a single IP network. There are several advantages of SIP trunking for business operations:
- Cost savings
- Scalability
- Reliability
- Real-time analytics and insight
- Centrally managed communication
- Call quality
- Security
- Flexibility
If you want to reap the many benefits of SIP trunking, contact us. We’ll help you implement a tailored SIP trunking solution that optimizes your communication infrastructure, enhances cost-efficiency, and elevates your business’s connectivity to new heights.
Cost Savings
One of the major benefits of SIP trunking is the substantial savings on communication costs compared to maintaining separate traditional phone lines. SIP allows multiple voice channels to be efficiently transmitted over a shared IP network, eliminating the need for dedicated analog lines for each user or device. Businesses only have to pay for the SIP channels they actually need.
Scalability
A key advantage of SIP trunks is their easy scalability to support business growth and changing needs. Adding additional voice channels for new employees, call center expansions, or seasonal spikes in call volumes is a simple software provisioning change rather than complex hardware installations and configurations. SIP trunks can be flexibly scaled up or down.
Reliability
SIP trunking offers highly reliable voice communications through built-in redundancies and intelligent failover capabilities. If an outage occurs, SIP calls seamlessly and automatically route over alternate pre-configured paths to ensure no disruption to critical business telephone calls. Making all forms of communication reliable is a major additional benefit compared to analog phone lines.
Real-Time Analytics and Insight
The centralized nature of SIP trunking provides administrators with granular real-time insights into call data such as volumes, response times, agent performance, and detailed analytics to optimize their customer engagement strategies. Customer service agents and managers can access voice insights for training and improvement.
Centrally Managed Communications
With SIP trunking, the entire phone system is managed through a single centralized network and interface, rather than each location having its own infrastructure. This streamlines management and provides enhanced quality of service across the organization’s voice channels.
Call Quality
SIP leverages modern IP network capabilities to significantly improve call quality and reliability for phone calls compared to traditional telephone lines. Features like codec support, QoS prioritization, and built-in failover functionalities enable SIP to deliver superb voice call audio quality and clarity.
Security
SIP trunks support the latest advanced encryption protocols for securely transmitting calls and providing voice traffic privacy. Firewalls, access control rules, and other security mechanisms give protection against fraud, eavesdropping, data leaks, and unauthorized access.
Flexibility
Businesses gain tremendous flexibility to customize and scale communication solutions perfectly aligned with their needs. SIP enables conference calling, call recording, IVR menus, call queuing, integration with mobile apps, and more—all on a single unified network. This provides exceptional quality of service with additional capabilities.
Core Features and Components of a SIP Trunk
SIP trunks are more than just a technological upgrade; they are a gateway to efficient, cost-effective, and versatile communication. By merging traditional telephony features with cloud-exclusive features, SIP trunks provide businesses with the tools they need to succeed in the modern world of communication. The four core features of SIP trunking technology are:
Primary Rate Interface
One of the fundamental components of SIP trunks is the primary rate interface (PRI). Think of it as the bridge between legacy phone systems and modern digital communication. The PRI enables businesses to connect their traditional phone systems to the digital realm.
This integration allows for the transmission of voice data, making SIP trunks a versatile choice for businesses seeking to retain their existing infrastructure while tapping into the benefits of digital communication.
Outbound Calls
With SIP trunks, outbound calls take on a new dimension. Businesses can make outbound calls with ease, be they local or long-distance. This flexibility is particularly advantageous for companies with international customers or branches across various locations.
The ability to facilitate long-distance and international calls through SIP trunks simplifies communication and reduces costs, making it a valuable asset for businesses with a global reach.
Concurrent Calls & Simultaneous Calls
SIP trunks excel in managing concurrent calls, allowing businesses to optimize their communication processes. Concurrent calls refer to multiple calls happening simultaneously. This is a significant benefit for contact centers and businesses experiencing a high volume of customer calls.
Automatic call distribution further streamlines incoming call routing, ensuring efficient customer service and the benefit of predictability in handling peak call times.
International Calling
International customers and international locations demand robust communication solutions. SIP trunks make international calling seamless and cost-effective. By leveraging SIP trunks, businesses can establish a strong global presence without the complexities and high costs associated with analog phone systems. This capability opens doors for expansion and caters to a diverse clientele, ultimately boosting competitiveness.
Additional Features Available with SIP Trunks
In addition to the core features, SIP trunk solutions come with some noteworthy additional features, such as:
Video Conferencing and Video Calls
SIP trunks aren’t just about making calls; they come with a comprehensive feature list that enhances communication and productivity. One notable inclusion is video calling. Video chats and video meetings have become integral parts of modern business communication. SIP trunks enable businesses to conduct video conferencing effortlessly, fostering collaboration among remote teams and improving customer interactions through face-to-face virtual meetings.
Business Phone Lines & Phone Systems
SIP trunks provide businesses with the flexibility to choose the business phone service plan that suits their needs. Whether it’s business phones hosted in the cloud or on-premises, SIP trunks seamlessly integrate with a variety of business phone systems. This adaptability ensures that companies can scale their communication infrastructure as they grow, without the need for extensive hardware upgrades.
Contact Centers & Disaster Recovery
Contact centers rely heavily on the reliability of their communication systems. SIP trunks offer a robust solution, with built-in disaster recovery capabilities. In case of unforeseen disruptions, calls can be redirected swiftly, ensuring uninterrupted customer service. This peace of mind is invaluable in maintaining business continuity.
Types of Connectivity for SIP Trunking
SIP trunking allows enterprises to connect their on-premises private branch exchange (PBX) phone systems to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) over an IP network. This removes the need for legacy analog or digital phone lines. There are a few different ways that SIP trunks can connect a business’s phone system to their voice service provider. The main types of SIP trunking connectivity are:
Physical Connections
A physical SIP trunk uses a direct private connection between the customer’s PBX and the SIP service provider’s network. This is done either via a dedicated internet connection circuit or multiprotocol label switching (MPLS).
A dedicated circuit is a private, point-to-point connection using a technology like T1, E1, or fiber optic lines. This provides a highly secure and reliable connection. When it comes to multiprotocol label switching, the customer’s IP PBX connects to the provider’s MPLS-enabled network via a local access line. Traffic is segregated from public internet traffic for enhanced security and call quality.
Virtual Connections
Rather than a private physical link, virtual SIP trunks act as virtual phone lines and use the public internet for connectivity. Options include broadband SIP trunks and secure SIP trunks.
The broadband SIP trunk IP PBX uses an internet broadband connection like DSL, cable, or fiber to connect to the service provider’s network. This offers flexibility and lower costs compared to dedicated circuits.
Secure SIP trunks contain encryption protocols like SRTP and TLS that are used to secure voice traffic going over the public internet. This helps prevent eavesdropping and maintain call quality.
Single SIP Connections
With a single SIP trunk, all voice traffic uses a single IP connection between the customer and service provider. This offers simplicity but provides limited capacity and redundancy. Additional phone lines and trunks can be added as needed.
Multi-trunk SIP Connections
Multi-trunk SIP configurations distribute traffic across multiple IP connections for greater capacity, redundancy, and resilience. Rather than relying on a single SIP trunk for all traffic, the customer has two or more active SIP trunks established over diverse connectivity methods like broadband, MPLS, etc.
The IP PBX can then distribute outbound and inbound voice calls over the multiple available trunks. This provides redundancy and allows for much higher call capacity compared to a single SIP trunk implementation.
Hosted SIP Trunking
With hosted SIP trunking, the PBX system is located in the cloud and managed by the service provider rather than on the customer’s on premises phone. The customer connects their IP phones over the public internet to the hosted PBX, which handles call routing, voicemail, auto attendants, and other features. This eliminates the need for the customer to maintain PBX hardware on site and have dedicated SIP connectivity.
SIP Trunking with SD-WAN
Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) provides enhanced performance, reliability, and security for SIP trunks over broadband internet. The customer installs an SD-WAN edge device, which establishes encrypted tunnels to the SIP provider over multiple broadband links. Voice traffic is segmented on the overlays and optimized for latency, jitter, and packet loss. SD-WAN gives better call quality compared to basic broadband SIP trunks.
Hybrid SIP Trunking
A hybrid SIP solution combines physical location MPLS or dedicated circuit SIP trunks for high-priority traffic with lower-cost virtual SIP trunks over broadband internet for overflow and seasonal spikes. The customer’s PBX automatically routes calls to the right trunk based on configured rules. This balances performance, security, reliability, and cost savings.
SIP Trunking with PSTN Backup
For business-critical calls, SIP trunking can be configured to roll over to the PSTN if the primary SIP trunk fails. This could provide backup connectivity in case of internet outages to ensure important calls connect. The PSTN can act as a redundant link for SIP connectivity.
The best connectivity solution depends on your business needs—call capacity, reliability, voice quality, customer engagement strategy, and cost. The various options available provide flexibility for different environments and requirements.
If you need help deciding, contact us. We’ll look over all available options with you and help you decide on the best option for your needs.
How Much Does SIP Trunking Cost?
SIP trunking often provides significant cost savings compared to conventional phone lines. Exact costs depend on business size, call volumes, and current setups. However, SIP trunking pricing is generally very competitive and affordable.
SIP providers offer flexible plans at competitive rates with no contracts. Many providers’ crowd rates start at $4.99/month per channel. This is far more affordable than POTS lines, which average $30-$50/month per line.
With SIP trunking, businesses only pay for the capacity channels they need without wasting money on unused lines. Metered plans charge per minute of usage if volumes fluctuate.
There are no costs for expensive proprietary hardware or equipment maintenance. SIP software works with most modern desk phones and PBX systems. Minimal setup fees get new trunks online quickly.
For larger deployments, unlimited plans offer a bundled set of minutes and channels per month for predictable costs. This is simpler than managing a large bundle of phone lines.
SIP allows consolidating multiple analog lines into a single trunk. Ten PRI channels can replace over 200 copper lines, which can save you a significant amount on your monthly bills.
SIP trunking removes the need for physical phone lines and antiquated equipment, which eliminates these costs. Competitive SIP channel rates, bundled plans, and metered usage provide affordable options adapted to current business needs.
Plus, according to GoTrunk, SIP trunking services can lead to 25%-50% savings compared to your current equipment, making the small monthly fees and setup costs very worthwhile long-term investments for most organizations looking to modernize their business with trunk-based phone systems.
Choosing an SIP Provider for Your Business’s Needs
The SIP trunking provider market has expanded in recent years as businesses move away from legacy phone lines. There are now many reputable SIP trunk providers to evaluate that offer reliable, high quality services.
Look for an established, enterprise-class provider that specializes in SIP trunking services. Avoid residential VoIP providers. Choose a provider with a robust communications platform optimized for SIP call handling.
If you need help deciding on an internet telephony service provider, we can help. Contact us and we’ll take a look at first class providers in the SIP trunking field and help you decide on the best option for your business needs.
What Is the Difference Between SIP and VoIP?
SIP trunking is a specific application and implementation of VoIP for connecting business phone systems to the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Voice over Internet Protocol is a method for making phone calls over an internet connection rather than traditional analog phone lines. With VoIP, analog voice signals are converted into digital packets that are transmitted over the internet and converted back at the endpoint. This allows VoIP calls, special adapters, or VoIP apps on computers and mobile devices.
SIP is an advanced signaling protocol used for establishing, managing, and terminating real-time communications like voice, video and messaging sessions over IP networks. It defines the rules for how VoIP connections are set up and routed.
While VoIP provides the core capability of making calls over the internet, SIP acts as the intelligence layer that enables advanced VoIP features like call transfers, interactive voice response, call routing, and conferencing.
Businesses often implement centralized VoIP solutions or use a VoIP provider that relies on SIP trunks to connect their VoIP phones to the public phone network. The VoIP phones themselves use SIP signaling to initiate and manage calls over these trunks.
So, while VoIP provides the basic ability to make calls over the internet, SIP technology enables the advanced call control capabilities and connectivity of VoIP phone systems used by businesses.
What Is the Difference Between SIP Trunking and PRI Trunking?
SIP trunking and primary rate interface (PRI) trunking are two different methods that business owners can use to connect their business phone systems to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Here are the key differences:
- PRI trunks use time-division multiplexing (TDM) to digitally transmit multiple voice calls simultaneously over traditional ISDN telephone lines. SIP trunking carries calls as IP data packets over the internet or private IP networks.
- PRI is an older circuit-switched telephony technology, while SIP trunking is more modern and based on packet-switching. This makes SIP better suited for scalability and integrating new multimedia applications.
- With PRI, businesses pay for 23 fixed channels regardless of usage. SIP trunking allows calls to share network bandwidth dynamically, only using capacity as needed. This makes SIP trunking more cost-effective.
- PRI services lock businesses into proprietary hardware rented from the provider. SIP software integrates with most modern PBX systems and desk phones using standard protocols.
- Number portability and adding new lines is complex with PRIs. SIP trunks can be set up and scaled in software, allowing rapid adjustments. This supports business growth and seasonal needs.
- PRI lacks built-in redundancy. SIP offers failover capabilities to reduce downtime risks by rerouting traffic over alternate paths when outages occur.
Overall, SIP trunking provides a more flexible, scalable and cost-effective approach to connecting business phone systems over modern IP networks. The advantages have led many business owners to migrate from legacy PRI to SIP solutions.
About Symplicity Communications
Consider us your trusted partners in the realm of SIP trunking services. We deliver comprehensive solutions that can transform the way you manage your communication infrastructure and optimize your connectivity. Here are the key areas where we excel to ensure your SIP trunking success:
- Our top priority is establishing a robust and dependable SIP trunking connection. This guarantees constant accessibility to your critical voice and data services, ensuring uninterrupted communication performance and support for your business operations.
- We are dedicated to providing you with a flexible and scalable SIP trunking environment. As your communication needs evolve, our services can effortlessly adapt to accommodate increased demand, eliminating concerns about capacity limitations.
- We recognize the importance of efficient communication in SIP trunking operations. Our solutions are thoughtfully designed to foster collaboration among your network administrators and partners, facilitating smoother communication management workflows and decision-making processes.
Our commitment is to offer you the expertise, guidance, and ongoing support needed to ensure a seamless implementation of your SIP trunking strategy. With our services, you can trust that your SIP trunking will be efficient, reliable, and equipped with the capabilities necessary for your business to excel in the world of modern communication.
In addition to contact center services, we also excel in managed IT, cybersecurity, and business intelligence solutions. Explore our solutions page for a comprehensive overview of the services we provide.
FAQ on SIP Trunking
What is the difference between SIP and SIP trunking?
Session initiation protocol (SIP) is a signaling protocol that controls voice and multimedia communication sessions over IP networks. SIP trunking uses SIP to connect business phone systems to voice service providers over the internet.
What is a SIP trunking services phone number?
A SIP trunking services phone number is a virtual number provisioned by the SIP provider that callers can dial to reach your business. This public number is mapped to your internal extensions.
How many phone lines does a SIP trunk have?
A single SIP trunk can support multiple concurrent calls, depending on the bandwidth capacity allocated. Additional SIP trunks can be added to increase call capacity as needed.
Is an SIP phone the same as an IP phone?
An SIP phone and an IP phone are essentially the same thing—desk phones that use internet networking and SIP for voice calls rather than legacy analog or digital lines.
Does SIP trunk use the internet?
Yes, SIP trunks use the internet pathways owned by the SIP provider to connect calls between your business and the PSTN. Secure encryption protects call traffic.
What is the difference between an SIP trunk and a call path?
A SIP trunk is the connection from your PBX to the provider. Call paths represent each distinct concurrent call that can be carried over the SIP trunk’s bandwidth.
