SIP Trunking has become one of the most popular choices for a Business Phone System. Also known as Session Initiation Protocol, SIP is a method for voice communication over the internet. With SIP, you can replace your PSTN. This not only saves you money but gives you access to a whole host of features and benefits. If you decide that switching to SIP Trunking is right for your business, here’s how you should prepare:
Top Benefits of SIP Trunking
First of all, why should you consider switching to SIP Trunking? As mentioned above, it can save you money. Not only will you see your monthly phone bill drop, but SIP Trunks are much more flexible and scalable, saving you money in the long run. They are also cheaper to maintain.
SIP also comes with better features like DID (Direct Inward Dialing), toll-free numbers, caller ID, and more. With SIP Trunking you get all of this without sacrificing voice quality.
Switching to SIP Trunking
If you decide that SIP is right for your businesses, it’s time to figure out what you need to do to make the switch. Here are some questions you need to answer before making the move:
What are your call capacity needs?
You never want your callers to receive busy signals. As long as you have enough SIP Trunks, this won’t happen. However, to ensure that you have enough trunks, you need to understand how many calls you are getting per day. You need to note how many simultaneous calls you have at any one point as well. Identifying heavy call periods and seasons is helpful as well. All of this information will help your prospective provider determine how many trunks you need.
How much bandwidth do you need?
Because SIP Trunking uses the internet to place calls, bandwidth is extremely important. Voice does not consume a large amount of bandwidth, nevertheless it is important to take into account how much use your solution will see. If you don’t have enough bandwidth, you will experience call quality issues.
What extra equipment is required?
The great thing about SIP is that in many cases it does not require all new equipment. For businesses currently using non-IP or digital PBX systems you can leverage your existing infrastructure and use it for SIP. As long as you have a gateway or an interface device that accepts SIP, you are good to go.
If you have any questions about SIP Trunking, please contact Intuity today at (800) 811-1086. Please feel free to also follow us on Twitter.