Communication is crucial for reaching customers and working with your staff and partners. Choosing the right communication system will help you in your operations, fall within your budget, and meet your needs as your business grows.
Among your options is a sip trunk. This new technology uses your existing hardware to communicate with the outside world. It rivals and outcompetes older methods in multiple ways.
In this blog, we’ll explore this technology so that you can understand how it may benefit your business and if you should select it.
What Is a Sip Trunk?
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a technology service you can receive from communication providers. It uses voice-over IP to provide your business with a phone system based on your existing hardware or a cloud-based equivalent. With it, you can establish, modify, and terminate calls. In other words, you can make calls across multiple endpoints, record voice messages, transfer calls, etc. Meanwhile, “trunk” refers to grouping communication channels into one consolidated connection.
This technology is replacing time division multiplexing (TDM), which traditionally uses copper lines to offer voice communication. This older technology would require additional lines if you desired to add a new phone number or place a phone in a new location. Meanwhile, the newer one allows you to modify your system without altering your hardware. Moreover, this new technology offers other services apart from voice calls such as messaging and transfer of other media.
How Does SIP Trunking Work?
This type of trunking works over the Internet. More specifically, it creates a path for voice and multimedia to go from a network provider to your private branch exchange hardware. This exchange hardware allows for inbound and outbound communication channels and a variety of call options. It’s also possible to have a cloud version of this system. So, this trunking technology is a sort of middleman between the telephone and internet provider and your exchange phone system.
When you make a call through sip trunks , it’ll transform your voice into a digital packet, which it sends through the communication channels. Through direct inward dialling, this technology can then give your staff a specific number without adding separate phone lines.
Your staff will receive these digital packets through these numbers. If they have a voice-over-IP application, they’ll receive these calls or other data through mobile devices such as tablets. Alternatively, they can receive the data packets through a fixed phone with a voice-over IP adapter or a device connected to a wireless router.
The Pros and Cons of IP SIP Trunk
This technology is quickly replacing the older time division multiplexing method because of its benefits. However, it still has limitations, which have prompted businesses to maintain their older system.
To understand the nuances of this technology, let’s explore the pros and cons.
The Pros
When you use this technology, your business can receive the following benefits:
- Reduced Cost : Compared to the older technology, starting to use this technology and maintaining its minimal infrastructure costs less.
- Ease of Installation : Installing this technology and configuring your phone system is simple. In particular, it doesn’t require digging to lay lines.
- Maximised Equipment Use : You fully utilise your equipment since you either use your existing private branch exchange hardware or a cloud version.
- High Functionality : This technology offers additional features compared to the traditional method, including exchanging multimedia. It also facilitates collaboration and communication for staff who travel and work remotely.
The Cons
Using sip trunk has the following disadvantages:
- Requires Compatibility : If you plan to use your physical private branch exchange, you’ll need to ensure that it’s compatible with this technology. In addition, your fixed phones won’t be able to receive these voice-over IP calls. However, you can purchase a cloud version instead of a compatible phone private branch exchange hardware and connect adapters to your fixed phone.
- Unnecessary Functions : If you truly only need to make and receive phone calls, then the other functions of this technology aren’t useful to you and the switch may be an unnecessary cost.
- Unreliable Quality : The quality of your calls depends on your internet connection. Therefore, using this technology may hamper your communication if you have a poor-quality connection.
- Unusable for Internal Networks : If you need to make internal calls and use an intercom, this technology may not meet your needs. Nevertheless, you can contact a provider to verify whether this technology can solve your problem.
Should Your Business Use SIP Trunk Technology?
To know whether you should use this technology, you should first assess whether it offers what you need. If access to this variety of communications can help your business operate and even grow, you should then consider whether you have the internet connection to maintain high-quality calls.
You should switch to this newer technology if you currently have a bloated communication budget. This is particularly true if your physical equipment requires costly maintenance or if you’re paying for lines you’re not using. In either situation, using this newer technology will reduce your communication costs.
Furthermore, you should verify whether other communication technology would suit your business better. For instance, compare it to the other popular yet older communication method time division multiplexing in this table:
| Features | Communication Method | |
| SIP | TDM | |
| Installation Cost | Low | High |
| Installation | Easy | Difficult |
| Hardware | Unnecessary | Necessary |
| Flexibility | High | Low |
| IP Hardware Longevity | Long | Short |
| Rerouting | Worldwide | Location-Based |
| Maintenance | Low | Moderate |
| Scalability | High | Low |
| Reliability | Connection-Based | Always |
Conclusion
Now you know that sip trunking is a new communication technology that uses your existing hardware or a cloud-based alternative to allow you to manage your calls and exchange other types of media. With such versatile technology, your staff can work from anywhere and remain connected. They can even use this technology to collaborate more easily with offices in other regions. Moreover, this technology is easy to maintain and cheaper than its older alternative. Plus, it scales to meet your needs. Therefore, consider these benefits when you decide what communication system you’ll install in your business.