The Fundamentals of SIP Trunking

What is SIP Trunking?

SIP Trunking is where you sip cocktails from an elephant’s trunk in a tiki bar, right? Or maybe it’s where an elephant is sipping from a lake in the middle of Africa??? Not quite. SIP (Session Initiated Protocol) Trunking is a service offered by a communications service provider that uses the protocol to provision voice over IP (VoIP) connectivity between an on-premises phone system and the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

How Does SIP Trunking Work?

A communications service provider will offer MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) infrastructure or use existing ethernet to establish a platform for accepting and placing calls. SIP Trunking is usually VoIP based and is used as a replacement for an existing on-premises phone service.

Benefits of SIP Trunking

Cost Savings and Efficiency

VoIP services usually reduce communications costs due to the ability to manage features off-site and reduce the necessity of utilizing on-site IT departments to manage communications more efficiently when their time can be better spent managing core competencies within the business itself. Let’s take Clyde’s private security company for example. Clyde was spending quite a bit of money on his on-premises phone system and having to employ an IT department that spent much of their time on making sure the phone system was performing after their service contract had expired. Once Clyde switched to VoIP and utilizing an MPLS solution that employed SIP Trunking, he was able to save money and give his IT department more resource time to spend on making his private security company more efficient.

Virtual Presence

Because SIP Trunking utilizes the internet to facilitate phone calls, you will have a virtual presence. So, let’s take Clyde’s security company. Clyde has employees that work different shifts. They take turns surveilling their customer’s property and when they’re unavailable, they need to be able to reach someone to take their shift. If Donald isn’t at work, he needs to be reached by Reginald at a moment’s notice. So, Reginald dials Donald’s number and with a SIP Trunking line, he is found on his mobile device walking another property that’s nearby. He will swing by the other property so Reginald can take to the dentist to fix that nagging cavity. With an on-premises system, this virtual presence would not even be an option. Reginald would have to stay at work even though his tooth ache is jeopardizing his position as a security guard.

Space for Growth and Scalability

Adding phone lines when your business grows can be quite costly with a typical on-premises PBX. But switching to a SIP Trunking solution allows businesses to scale appropriate to their growth model and reduces the necessity for managing copper wire installation every time his need outgrows his existing communications environment.

Reliable Technology

Remember the days where you’d be caught in a lightning storm and the phone line that connected your business to the outside world was struck by a nasty lightening bolt… Your business would be down for days waiting for a repair crew from the telephone company to make their way over to your location. If your business survived only by the seat of its pants and the ability to make a phone call was diminished or removed completely, your company’s survival rate was likely on a trajectory of failure within days. Enter the internet and all of the possibilities that come along with it. SIP, VoIP, cable television, etc. And, because repairs take place in a data center at some remote location undisclosed to the public, downtimes have become noticeably short. With SIP and VoIP, your business will survive because re-routing technology to other devices and services is more reliable than on-premises systems could ever hope to be.

SIP vs. VoIP

The easiest way to describe the difference between SIP and VoIP, is to realize that VoIP is basically a phone service delivered via the internet and SIP is the conduit utilized to deliver the internet to your business. Let’s say you want to sail across the ocean. You’d need a vessel to travel in and the ocean to carry you to your destination. The vessel would be VoIP and the ocean would be SIP.

Getting Started with SIP Trunking

Getting started with SIP Trunking should be as easy as deciding on what wine to pair with that juicy ribeye steak you just ordered. Follow these steps and you won’t go wrong:

1. Take stock of your existing communications environment.
2. Set goals for your business communications needs – users, phones, internet, etc.
3. Decide on the features, price, bandwidth, etc. you’ll need to meet your goals.
4. You’ll need to be on a PBX network before you can start SIP. A good SIP Trunking provider can assist you with this.
5. Do your research. Read articles written by experts to truly get the best bang for your buck.
6. Speak with an industry consultant so that you are armed with the most relevant data, so your long-term communications goals are attainable.
7. Interview several SIP Trunking providers until you feel comfortable that they are the best choice for your situation.
8. Make your decision based on several factors, not just price.

Learn About a Phone System for Your Business

If you’re ready to explore more of what VoIP can do for your organization, don’t miss our powerful Cloud PBX offering and PanTerra Streams. What’s even better is that you can try it for FREE today!