If you need to have SIP trunking explained to you, you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to get into all the ins and outs about SIP trunking, from the way it works within a business phone system to the things that separate good trunk providers from bad ones.

For your convenience, we’ve listed all the topics that this article will cover just below.

Session initiation protocol trunking, or SIP trunking for short, is a way to connect analog on-premises PBX phone systems to the internet. This lets business phones, particularly traditional phones, work via the internet instead of using the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

That means you can use your existing PBX system to place VoIP calls when you partner with a SIP trunking provider. If you want to keep using your old phone system equipment, SIP trunking is an option you should consider.

What is a SIP trunk call?

A SIP trunk call is essentially a call made via your SIP trunking service. It works by sending digital packets via the internet.

A major advantage of SIP trunk calls is that they’re very versatile. You can use SIP trunking for local and long distance calls, as well as international calls. International or long distance calls are cheaper with SIP trunking, but it’s good practice to ask your provider to detail these rates so you can estimate how much call charges will cost.

SIP trunking vs PBX

Private branch exchange, or PBX, is a type of business phone system. As such, it’s less a question of the difference between SIP trunking and PBX, and more of a look into how they interact.

The traditional version of PBX is a type of on-premises phone system that relies on using physical wires to route calls, and can only let users place voice calls. Hosted PBX, or cloud-based PBX, is a newer model that lets users place calls over the internet, and those calls don’t have to be limited to voice only.

SIP trunking can transform a traditional PBX system into a fully internet-based business communications system similar to a full IP PBX.

There are a lot of benefits of SIP trunking to keep in mind as you decide whether this technology is the right choice for you. We’re going to discuss the top three benefits of SIP trunks so you can get a better idea of the ways SIP trunks can help your business.

1. Securing business continuity and future-proofing your system.

Business continuity is the ability of your business to keep running during emergencies or power outages. SIP trunking is a great way to safeguard your system from downtimes caused by hardware damage.

In addition, your business communications system will be fully up-to-date and modernized. You’ll be able to move towards the future confidently knowing that your internet telephony service provider has you covered and can keep your phone system working smoothly. As an added bonus, you’ll also get to boost your business’ scalability and reduce your reliance on hardware.

2. Upgrading your phone system.

There’s more to SIP trunking than just securing the future of your business. While you’re at it, you might as well give your phone system a boost in functionalities. By making the switch from traditional analog systems to a SIP trunking-based one, you can improve your call quality, as well as turn your phone system into a unified communications hub.

That means giving yourself access to internet-based solutions like instant messaging and video conferencing, as well as easy integrations with other key business apps.

3. Straightforward pricing model.

Most SIP trunking providers use a simple monthly pricing system, usually based on the number of lines needed. Provided your SIP provider is following these common pricing models, the monthly fees should be relatively straightforward. You do need to take into account additional fees for calls that are not covered by your provider, however.

There is also a setup fee. That’s because there’s a physical installation involved to make SIP trunking work, since it’s based around using your existing PBX hardware.

Pricing is a major benefit to SIP trunking because your phone bills stay relatively consistent. But again, it’s good business practice to look really closely at your solution’s service-level agreements before you sign anything in order to avoid getting shocked by your bill.

SIP trunking gives you access to all the kinds of benefits that come with using VoIP technology, while still letting you use your existing PBX hardware. That means you don’t need to use brand-new VoIP phones for your telecommunications needs—SIP trunking can make the hardware you’ve already invested in VoIP-friendly.

In other words, you won’t need to invest heavily to equip your company with new virtual phones or other tech to reap the benefits of using a VoIP-based communications model.

Every SIP trunking provider has unique pros and cons to the services they provide. Some of them might offer particularly great packages for use in contact centers, for example, while others might emphasize protocols that enable seamless internal communications.

But which features do the best providers offer? We’re going to look at some of the most prominent ones.

Universal business phone compatibility

Regardless of the hardware you’re using, your provider should let you implement SIP trunks to let you use it as part of a VoIP phone system. It shouldn’t matter how old or new your PBX phone system is, your provider should offer universal compatibility for their SIP trunking.

Reliable SIP trunking

You know that all providers sell SIP trunks. However, that doesn’t mean their only focus should be selling SIP trunks. They need to show that their services are reliable as well.

If a provider doesn’t focus on the quality and reliability of their SIP trunking, then that provider isn’t the right one for your company. You need to be able to trust your SIP trunking provider, which you can only do if the service they provide is reliable.

Multiple SIP channels

Put briefly, a SIP channel is the means by which a SIP trunk supports inbound and outbound calls. More SIP channels means your SIP provider can support a greater number of concurrent calls.

You can think of SIP channels as the virtual counterparts to traditional telephone lines.

Every business needs a certain number of phone lines. If your SIP trunk provider can give you access to a high number of channels, you’ll be able to make and take lots of simultaneous calls, which is a must for many companies. That’s why the top SIP trunking providers offer this.

SIP and VoIP are actually better suited to working together than being considered as SIP trunking vs VoIP. Let’s look at why.

VoIP, which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, is all about placing phone calls using an internet connection. In other words, Voice over IP (Internet Protocol) is a type of telephony tech that makes internet telephony work as an alternative to traditional phone lines.

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), meanwhile, is a type of technology that helps businesses with traditional PBX systems use VoIP technology.

Essentially, SIP exists to enable IP telephony, including VoIP calls, even with legacy hardware.

Put briefly: Just about anyone can! SIP trunking makes it easy to manage your telecom needs. All you need is a little internet bandwidth and your phone system is good to go.

There are also some particular groups that can specifically benefit from moving over to SIP trunk providers, though. Let’s take a look at which ones those are:

Startups and small businesses

Small businesses and startups can always benefit from simple, cost-effective communications services and solutions.

SIP trunking lets small businesses turn older tech into something modern and usable, by providing VoIP functionalities. It helps small business owners set up video calls and start conferencing with anyone in the world, without nearly as much initial outlay (or wasting prior investment in hardware).

Businesses seeking unified communications solutions

If what you want is to set up a UCaaS solution for your business, you can certainly benefit from establishing a business relationship with a SIP trunking provider.

That’s because SIP trunking lets companies swap to a VoIP-based, internet-powered model that lends itself to unified communications much more easily than a hardware-based traditional PBX phone system would.

Multinational companies

With employees, teams, and departments scattered across multiple countries and geographical locations, multinational companies can benefit from SIP trunking more than most.

Instead of struggling to connect with disparate employees, SIP trunking helps these businesses easily get in touch with anyone who’s got an internet connection. That improves the business’ efficiency, as well as helping employees work on projects together regardless of their physical location.

Companies with international clients

It can be difficult to have real-time conversations with people halfway across the world—that is, unless you’re using a tech solution like SIP trunking for your international calling needs.

With SIP trunking, it’s easy to set up VoIP gateways that help you connect with people all over the world. Companies with many international clients will find themselves benefitting massively from using SIP trunking to support their business needs.

In business, if you stand still, you fall behind. By adopting SIP trunking, you can connect your business to all the benefits of modern internet telephony, including cost savings, greater redundancy, multimedia communications options, and enhanced capability to handle significant call volume.

That’s all without wasting any prior investment in on-premises hardware or abandoning existing phone numbers. To find out more about the potential of SIP trunking and modern communications solutions, get in touch with 8x8 today.