What is SIP Trunking, and how does it work?
Business owners are constantly looking for ways to cut costs and prioritize their expenses without sacrificing the quality of their communications systems. However, with so many tasks to manage, such as business services, shipping, or payroll, mastering the knowledge of each area and finding the best alternative is always a bit difficult.
When it comes to systems or phone lines, we can find hundreds of providers with many new ideas. But which one is the best for my brand or company? There are so many options. Therefore, you have likely heard about SIP Trunking and maybe about a colleague who is saving money by using it. And that’s right! It can help you cut costs and enjoy other benefits. Know them here!
SIP Trunking: What is it?
The Session Initiation Protocol or SIP is the way to make a voice-over IP call (VoIP). We can describe it as an application layer protocol used to set up real-time video or audio sessions between two endpoints, meaning phones or other devices. To summarize, we can say that SIP is a technology that can create, modify and terminate sessions in an IP network, working for sessions of one or more parties, both in two-way calls and in multi-party conference calls.
In this sense, the term SIP trunk refers to the virtual version of an analog phone line. SIP providers can use SIP trunking to connect one, two, or up to twenty channels to their PBX, allowing operators to make outgoing calls on their existing system without any restriction on the number of concurrent calls.
How many concurrent calls can be made with SIP Trunking?
The concurrent call limitation is based on the Internet bandwidth capacity. For each non-compressed call, approximately 85-100 kbps of bandwidth is required. But the upload speed is usually slower on most internet connections.
Therefore, when determining the number of calls a connection will support, you should use its upload speed. Let’s say that the upload speed on your Internet connection is 4 Mbps. In that case, the maximum recommended number of calls would be 40. To calculate the number of calls, we can use this formula: Number of Concurrent Calls During Busiest Hours X 100 Kilobits per Second = Bandwidth in Megabits per Second Required for SIP Trunking.
How much does SIP Trunking cost?
The cost of SIP Trunking can vary according to the needs of each company or business. However, many SIP Trunking providers offer plans that include unlimited incoming and outgoing calls per channel, even if they are local or long distance.
Each channel allows operators to make or receive a single call. That means that once you fill up all your channels, you won’t be able to receive any other calls. Nonetheless, you can add more additional channels if you are looking for more capacity. All you have to do is contact your service provider.
It should be noted that this type of SIP trunking service gives companies the opportunity to budget their expenses in terms of telecommunications processes. Business owners can estimate their costs on telephone systems before installing them, which is a great advantage for their operations and investments.
Final thoughts.
VoIP phone systems and SIP Trunking came to optimize the phone systems and processes of today’s businesses. We can say that they are innovative tools that allow us to save money while enjoying all the benefits that telephone and technological evolution has brought.
If the calls are relevant for your business and you want to invest in order to improve your communications, do not hesitate to contact us! VoIP systems and SIP Trunking can become your great allies and help you take your business where you want it to be!