Enterprise SIP trunking

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a digital way to make and receive phone calls and other forms of cloud-based communication over an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

Communications platforms like virtual phone systems, unified communications, and contact center software use SIP to talk to one another over the internet. Organizations and consumers alike use SIP to create, manage, and terminate calls (or sessions).

SIP Trunking is one way to place voice calls and send digital communications over the internet.

SIP trunking services allow us to make Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls, send SMS/MMS messages, place 911/emergency calls, and use other SIP-based real-time communications.

The primary benefits of SIP trunks compared to Primary Rate Interface (PRI) are cost savings, cloud flexibility, and scale. Because SIP trunks are elastic, businesses can scale SIP services up and down to meet demand easily.

In addition, cloud-based voice like SIP removes the need for fixed overhead costs and on-premise equipment. The infrastructure costs for SIP trunking are also lower because SIP eliminates the need for primary rate interfaces (PRIs), which requires enterprises to buy lines in bundles of 23. PRI customers who need 10 lines have to buy a bundle of 23, leaving 13 unused. SIP trunking, however, can be purchased in whatever number of units a business requires.

SIP trunking allows businesses to converge networks because it’s an application, not a service. Just as copper lines transmit signals instead of creating them, SIP allows any endpoint to communicate with another, as long as the two endpoints both agree to use SIP. That means a single-location company can converge its networks, roles, and equipment into one system that meets all of its communication needs.

Speed, agility, and leanness are guiding principles for companies that need to stay competitive today. To support those principles, businesses need technology, like SIP trunking, that supports them. The benefits of SIP trunking include:

• Unlimited call capacity: SIP trunking gives you unlimited, simultaneous call capacity so you can get concurrent calls to and from a single number. 
• Flexibility: Because phone numbers associated with SIP services are virtual, you don’t need to be tied to your physical location, except where regulations require this. This lets you use DID numbers and SIP trunks for a two-way voice service from your office in New York City, even though you don’t actually have an office in New York City.
• Scalability: SIP trunks bring flexibility and control to your business phone system, especially for larger enterprises. In these scenarios, your dedicated data circuits serve as the backbone for seamless communication.
• Cost savings: Traditional analog circuits are costly because they have to be designed, configured, maintained, and upgraded. SIP trunking provides the same call quality as traditional line, but since it runs over the Internet, it doesn’t require the same level of design and configuration. Plus, the maintenance and upgrades to the network would be necessary whether SIP trunking was being run through them or not. Long distance, local inbound, and termination services can be included, providing another opportunity to save costs. Plus, SIP trunking delivers cost savings as great as 60% over traditional methods.
• Direct-to-provider control: By leveraging SIP trunks over dedicated data circuits, you actually gain more control over your business phone system. As you expand to new domestic or international locations, you can manage and control your own resources.

A hosted PBX is typically more cost-effective for small businesses that don’t have the resources or expertise to manage on-site PBX hardware. However, SIP trunking is often better if a company already has on-site PBX hardware, and wants greater control and customization options. 

Businesses should look for a SIP trunking provider if they want the added benefits of virtual circuits and flexible pricing options. This system is often referred to as an IP-PBX (Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange). Coupled with SIP trunks, an IP-PBX serves up similar features to hosted solutions. SIP trunks typically save a business customer money over a hosted solution in that a SIP trunk can serve the needs of three to four employees, while a hosted seat is needed for each employee.

Today, many companies use SIP trunking to power the voice calling within their UCaaS and CCaaS platforms. However, SIP Trunk services can work with any SIP-ready hosted PBX system. SIP Trunks can also be made to work with a traditional analog or key phone system with an IAD (Integrated Access Device).

With all the advantages that SIP trunking offers, why do any companies still use traditional services? It’s simple. Traditional telecom has been in existence for over 100 years. Over its lifetime, copper has been widely adopted, of course, and it’s the telephone technology that most of us grew up using. The short answer is: it was the best option that businesses have had until recent years. SIP trunking is only about 10 years old. That means it was purpose-built to work in today’s business environment. 

Since the advent of SIP trunking as a business tool, nearly 70% of decision-makers have adopted SIP, and of those adopters, 96% report satisfaction with call quality. A protocol can only achieve widespread adoption when it’s based on consistent standards. The guidelines for how a SIP trunk should work and interoperate with a phone system are defined and guided by the SIP Forum, an organization of telecom experts who work toward the continual improvement of SIP standards.

Network ownership does matter, particularly for larger organizations with higher call volumes. Large enterprises tend to see more call volume as they have more employees and customers that rely on underlying SIP trunking services to do business.

As the sheer volume of communications that are critical for doing business increase, so does the risk and potential cost assumed by the enterprise in the event of an outage. Therefore, it’s critical to pick a SIP Trunking provider that is an actual carrier with ownership of the underlying network. This will allow the enterprise to maintain greater control and visibility into their SIP trunking services, as well as go directly to the source for resolution if there are ever issues or disruptions in service.

While most SIP providers are resellers that rely on several carriers, Bandwidth gives you direct-to-carrier access, meaning we cut out the middleman, giving you better support with deeper insights and faster results.

Industry leaders such as Google & Microsoft rely on Bandwidth, a top SIP trunking provider, because of our record of stability, innovation, reliability, and growth. Bandwidth is able to meet these challenges because we’re a Tier 1 carrier—we own and operate a nationwide network, with billions of minutes traversing it every month.