The world of Telecoms is made up of acronyms and abbreviations. Unless you’re very involved in the industry, it can be easy to glaze over when someone starts talking about ECC or SLAs and SIP. This is one of the most common jargon words in telecoms – but what are SIP Trunks? And what can they do for your business?
What are SIP Trunks?
SIP Trunks are an IP-based alternative to traditional phone lines. SIP utilises your internet connection to make and receive calls online directly to the PSTN and VoIP networks. They are a highly flexible service and a great way of maintaining call quality at a significantly lower cost than a traditional connections.
How do they work?
SIP Trunks consist of several channels delivered to your premises over an internet data connection. These channels break out to the PSTN network, allowing for ‘on-net’ and conventional telephone calls. Most PSTN and ISDN numbers (including Direct Dial In, DDI and non-geographic Number Translation Services) can be easily ported to SIP. That means you can retain your existing contact number. SIP is also compatible with most leading PBX office telephony systems. So, any business with an existing PBX can switch to using SIP straight away with no hassle.
Internet matters
The number of SIP channels your service needs depends on the bandwidth of your connectivity solution. A standard ADSL connection is enough for less than four channels. However, more than four channels need FTTC or Ethernet connectivity, depending on the number of SIP channels you require. Up to 100 calls per second and 10,000 users can be supported simultaneously via SIP.
There are two types of SIP Trunk connection that will alter the quality of the call depending on available bandwidth. A G.711 channel uses 106Kpbs and allows for the same quality as a standard PSTN line. However, if your internet cannot support that level of connectivity, then a G.729 channel only utilises 40Kbps. Although the quality of the call is reduced due to the voice packets being compressed.
How Can SIP Trunks Benefit my business?
SIP Trunks provide the same quality telephony as conventional fixed-line services at a fraction of the cost. SIP uses your business’s internet connection. This means you no longer need to invest in line rental or by the minute call plans. You simply need to pay a flat monthly rate no matter how many calls need to be made.
Another advantage of SIP Trunking is that, unlike traditional ISDN services, the number of SIP channels you have can be scaled up or down. That’s without the need for any infrastructure changes and no matter the size of your business. As long as you have the necessary bandwidth to cater for the extra channels, we can instantly provide them upon request on a ‘pay as you grow’ basis. These can be on a temporary or permanent arrangement and are perfect for seasonal voice demands or to support periodic sales campaigns etc.
So that’s SIP Trunks. If you would like to find out more about SIP Trunking, fill out a form on our website, call us on 0333 240 1824 or email us at hello@soconnect.co.uk.
