SIP Trunks Offer More Than
Just A Network Connection
By Craig Joseph, Business Development Director
I think it is a little premature to announce the death of the ISDN circuit, however, I would find it very difficult to understand why any organisation that is currently looking to expand or swap out their network connections would not decide to go with VoIP trunks.
Even if an organisation is yet to make the transition from TDM to VoIP internally, there are many convincing reasons why they should still select a VoIP trunking for their network connection and in particular SIP based trunks.
SIP has become a well established standard for VoIP connectivity and interworking is playing a significant role in the delivery of VoIP trunks with intelligent network services. This has led to the majority of switch vendors opting to support SIP trunks on both their new IP based platforms and also on their legacy TDM based switching.
So why is SIP trunking so attractive? What additional capability does it offer? How can it help me deliver better service at lower cost?
Here are just five reasons why organisations are opting for SIP trunks:
(i) Greater Flexibility
With SIP based trunks comes far greater flexibility in the way you source the precise services that you need. Rather than being restricted to fixed blocks of circuits you are able to define the number of simultaneous calls you need to support your business, the level of resilience required and determine whether you utilise a dedicated VoIP circuit or shared bandwidth.
(ii) Price
There are a number of factors that reduce the total cost of ownership for SIP based trunks. First, you will find that network operators are offering more attractive deals on their VoIP product lines, fixed rental costs and in some cases even call charges are far more attractive than traditional ISDN circuits. Second, you will normally find that the costs associated with commissioning and installing VoIP trunks is less than that for a traditional ISDN circuit. And finally, the inherent flexibility means that you are only paying for what you require, unlike the world of ISDN an additional line is just that rather than the need to commit to another block of 15 or 30 circuits.
(iii) Convergence
The move to SIP based trunks also enables you to gain the benefits of converged network based services. For example, network providers are now providing combined voice and internet services where SIP based trunks and internet data bandwidth is delivered over the same circuit. Not only does this enable you to reduce costs by combining the two services, it also provides a single point of supply and more importantly a single bill. These new converged services are ideal for supporting smaller regional offices.
(iv) Intelligent Network Services
By utilising SIP to initiate and manage communication sessions a complete range of intelligent network services can be supported over VoIP trunks. This not only includes the standard services that you receive today with your ISDN circuits but a range of additional SIP specific services. For example, SIP provides far greater flexibility for number portability; DDIs are not restricted to consecutive blocks and geographic boundaries are removed. If an organisation wishes to set up a central contact centre that appears to have a local number for each city in the UK, then this can be easily achieved with SIP.
(v) Resilience
My fifth reason for opting for SIP based trunks is the ability to increase resilience and continuity in your network services. Making the move to network services being delivered as VoIP circuits provides far greater flexibility and options for the way you architect your voice and data infrastructure. Resilience can be introduced at the PSTN level by opting for high availability options. Further resilience can be introduced by utilising multiple circuits and having fail over options utilising data connection pipes.
So in summary, increased flexibility, broader choice and options brought about through voice and data convergence, the ability to support both traditional and some additional intelligent network services, a way of increasing the resilience of both your voice and data network – and not to be forgotten, the likelihood of a reduction in cost. So why would anyone not make the move to SIP trunks?
If you would like to learn more about SIP trunks and network services or have a specific question for our team, please do not hesitate to contact us at connection@ipintegration.com or call us on 0118 918 4600.