SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) trunking is Voice over IP application which provides access to the public phone network over an internet connection. Companies that offer this service are known as Internet Telephony Service Providers, and SIP trunking offers a number of advantages over traditional land line based telephone service.
The principle benefits of SIP trunking are lower monthly costs and flexibility relative to traditional phone companies. SIP trunks cost at least 20% less per month than regular lines and maximize utilization of network capacity by combining voice calls with data over the same internet connection.
In terms of applications and real life benefits, SIP trunk providers can offer non local area code and exchange phone numbers without having to deal with the costs and limitations of remote call forwarding from traditional phone companies. This capability is very useful to companies who wish to offer their customers a “local” presence for marketing purposes in area’s which are geographically distant from the physical office.
SIP trunks also enable virtually any size office to have Direct inward Dial (DID) numbers. Using DID, a company can offer its customers individual phone numbers for each person or workstation within the company without requiring a physical line into the phone system for each possible number. This feature had only been available to larger organizations as the only other type of circuit able to support DID is a PRI line. Since PRI lines support up to 23 phone lines and cost $350-400.00 per month, they are well beyond the need and budget of the SMB market. With SIP trunks, an office with as few as three phone lines can have DID numbers.
The Samsung OfficeServ 7000 series communications system we offer support a direct connection to SIP trunks, as do most other current generation telephone systems. The good news is that many of the benefits of SIP trunks can even be realized by those who have older telephone systems which do not support VoIP applications such as since SIP.
Power 3 is an authorized channel partner of Fusion, a SIP trunk provider. There are many others to choose from as well, such as Level 3, AT&T and Verizon. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or would like a quote.
