Operator Connect
for Microsoft Teams

Operator Connect is a Bring Your Own Carrier (BYOC) PSTN connectivity model that gives Microsoft Teams users voice and emergency calling access. Operator Connect lets your employees dial out of your organization’s instance, communicating with contractors, partners, customers, and even emergency responders.

Operator Connect gives enterprises an intuitive, yet flexible, way to manage PSTN connectivity. Main benefits of Operator Connect include:

Simple setup

You can easily purchase and manage voice, phone numbers, and emergency calling from the Microsoft Teams Admin Center. Unlike Direct Routing, Operator Connect doesn’t require powershell knowledge.

Shared support SLAs

Any Operator Connect provider must be approved by Microsoft Teams, which means you can access shared Support-Level Agreements (SLAs) and a direct line to your provider’s support team.

Pure cloud connectivity

Operator Connect is a hosted connectivity model, which means you can go pure cloud and phase out legacy systems, like SBCs. That means less time spent maintaining on-premise equipment, and more cost efficiency in the cloud.

Global reach

Depending on your Operator Connect provider, you can connect globally—wherever you have customers or employees. Don’t let limited Calling Plans hold you back.

Use your preferred vendor

Keep using your existing connectivity contractors, or find a new operator that can give you the coverage and support you need.

To turn on phone number assignments with Operator Connect, your users need to be Microsoft Teams Phone licensed, and in TeamsOnly mode. You’ll also need a Microsoft-certified Operator, and a Microsoft-certified E911 provider.

Once this has been set up, select and activate your Operator from the Microsoft Teams Admin Center.

Formerly called Operator Connect Mobile, Teams Phone lets organizations give employees a single phone number and voicemail to use across company-provided mobile phones, desk phones, and Microsoft Teams. This is limited to specific carriers.

Operator Connect and Direct Routing are both PSTN connectivity models for Microsoft Teams. Unlike Direct Routing, Operator Connect offers a pre-approved selection of providers, is a pure cloud solution, and offers shared support SLAs with Microsoft.

In addition, Operator Connect is much simpler to manage and deploy. No PowerShell knowledge is required, and you can manage all of your users from the Teams Admin Portal.

To enable an Operator in Microsoft Teams, follow these steps: 

1. Enable your operator. Go to the All Operators tab and select the Operator and countries you want to enable for Microsoft Teams. Your contact information will be provided with your operator, and they’ll get in touch about contracting information. Then, accept the data transfer notice, and select Add as my operator to save. 
2. Set up phone numbers. If you’re adding phone numbers for new users, you can acquire and assign numbers from your Operator. If you’re moving existing numbers from Calling Plans or Direct Routing to Operator Connect, you’ll need to port the phone numbers to your new Operator.
3. Assign numbers to emergency addresses. Create emergency addresses in the Teams admin center, and assign them to the appropriate phone numbers. This allows you to manage dynamic emergency calling and maintain compliance with emergency requirements like RAY BAUM’s Act.