Many businesses have begun to make the switch away from traditional phone lines to SIP Trunking. It’s no surprise—not when traditional lines are both costly and inflexible, whereas SIP Trunking offers an inexpensive alternative. However, what is SIP exactly? Before jumping into a new technology, it is important that you understand both what it is and whether your specific business can benefit from its’ advantages.
What is SIP?
SIP is known as Session Initiation Protocol. It is used to send voice and unified communication services through the internet. You can use SIP through SIP-enabled communication systems and handsets, like a PBX.
What is a SIP Channel?
For each single incoming or outgoing call, you use a SIP channel. It is easiest to think of it as a kind of standard phone line. Each SIP Trunk you have can support any type of SIP channel.
What Makes Businesses Choose SIP?
SIP Trunking allows businesses to pay a low monthly rate per SIP channel. They can also enjoy cheaper (in some cases free) national and international calling. One of the biggest benefits of SIP is its ability to scale. Customers can add or remove channels anytime they choose without having to completely alter their infrastructure. SIP Trunking also lets customers take advantage of unified communications benefits like video, instant messages, and application integration.
Is it the Same as VoIP?
While Voice over Internet Protocol is similar, it is not the same thing. SIP is one type of protocol that is used to accomplish VoIP.
How is the Audio Quality?
While all of the above benefits sound great, they are for nothing if SIP is not reliable. When making the switch to SIP Trunking, it is important to use a provider than can take advantage of all SIP Trunking has to offer. If they use a Tier-1 network and set up your router correctly, SIP calls will sound just as great as you are used to.
If you have any questions regarding SIP Trunking, please contact Intuity today at (800) 811-1086. Please feel free to also follow us on Facebook.