There is a lot of buzz in the media around VoIP and how it can lower business telecommunications costs. While VoIP does beat traditional phone service on cost, it also provides the ability to tie small businesses into the phone company’s switching network more closely, which is a far more significant milestone in telephony.

For many years, the phone company has allowed big businesses to purchase PRI circuits that gave them more control over their phone calls. These special lines allowed for the exchange of extra pieces of information which enabled the use of fancy features such as enhanced voicemail, call queues or ring groups. This type of enhanced functionality was too expensive for a small office; most small businesses settled for Caller ID and touch tone service.

VoIP services mark the first time small businesses have been able to gain direct access to phone company’s special enhanced signaling. A small business can have telecommuters who take their office phone number home with them. A small computer repair shop can continue taking phone calls from customers via cell phone when their office power goes out. A real estate company can transfer callers from their receptionist to agents in the field without tying up their phone lines.

The most common form of VoIP service that provides this ability is a SIP trunk. SIP trunks allow information to traverse digitally from the phone company to the business (or home user) before a call begins, such as what type of call is in progress, where the call came from, and where the call should go next.

In addition, SIP Trunking represents a significant milestone in ordering flexibility for business customers. It is no longer necessary to order bundled lines that only come in bulk in order to gain the benefits of being tied to phone company signaling systems. With SIP, you only order what you are really going to use so you’re never throwing money away just to get the extra features.

Speaking of extra features, check back soon for more about the advanced features that come with SIP trunks.

Tags: Bandwidth.com, bandwidthu, definition, FreePBX, SIP, SIP trunking, VoIP