Moving from PSTN to SIP trunking
The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), with analogue, ISDN BRI, E1 or t1 lines, will gradually disappear and be replaced by SIP as the main method to transport voice.
All the main telecom providers are all phasing out traditional PSTN functionality and are moving customers to IP. SIP trunk and phone system upgrades are going to be inevitable.
Global & Local trends
In 2017 BT, France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and Telecom Italia no longer offered ISDN lines. In 2018 Verizon in the USA followed suit and also discontinued the use of ISDN and analogue lines. They phased out expensive legacy lines and replaced these with one single cost effective method of communications, SIP trunking.
On the local front, Telkom SA embarked on a massive fibre deployment drive and are installing SIP enabled exchanges all across the country.
The benefits of SIP trunking
Lower monthly Line & DID rental. The monthly fee to have a number of lines installed at your office drops significantly with SIP trunks and DIDs cost a lot less.
Lower call charges. There are many SIP trunk providers and competition has driven down call charges significantly. Some SIP trunks even come with unlimited calling plans.
Better customer service. It is quick and easy to add numbers to your SIP trunk and terminate them on your IP PBX, you can offer customers more options at a significantly lower cost.
Move office and keep the same number. SIP trunks are not bound to a location, so it’s easy to move office without having to change your stationary or inform your customers. There is no longer any need to pay to forward phone calls to the new office.
Eliminate VoIP Gateways. SIP trunks will eliminate the need to buy and manage VoIP Gateways. All phone calls come in via IP. No extra conversion often means better quality.
Modern IP PBX / Unified Communications solutions will give customers increased productivity, mobility and boost sales. Connecting an IP PBX to SIP trunks is much easier than via the PSTN.
Flexibility. It is easy to add channels to your SIP trunk to cope with increased calls. A simple phone call will allow you to add channels, and often this can be done immediately. Compare that to the delay in having additional lines installed and then having to upgrade your old PBX to handle more lines.
Correct number of channels. With SIP trunks, you can easily choose the correct number of channels that you need.
A few factors come into play when making this decision. At Goldtel we take the following very seriously and have multiple levels of security in place.
Factors to take note of are:
Security
As SIP trunks are exposed to the Internet, it is very important that the SIP trunk has a well secured network and an anti-fraud system in place. The anti-fraud system must monitor the system and provide protection against call fraud.
Own network
Does the SIP trunk provider run its own network or is it a rebranded service? There are many providers out there reselling SIP trunks from other providers. At Goldtel we own our own network and are an accredited ECNS license holder.
Competitive Cost
Costs vary widely between services. Some vendors will overcharge for SIP trunks. Look for competitive rates, but ensure that you are getting a business quality SIP trunk service. Be cost conscious, but expect to pay a bit more for business class service.
Number Porting
Can the provider port your phone numbers? Ensure that you choose a provider who can port all the existing numbers – not all providers are able to do this for all regions.
Once you have selected your SIP trunk provider, consider a dedicated Internet line for the SIP trunk.
Most firewalls are able to handle multiple WAN connections, and, considering the low cost of an Internet line in most places, a separate VoIP connection will be the most reliable way to ensure the quality of your VoIP calls.
However, some SIP trunk providers bundle their service with a dedicated Internet line. This keeps your voice traffic separate from your data. Much will depend on the cost and your network infrastructure. Check that your firewall is up-to-date and will be capable of handling VoIP traffic correctly.
Chances are that the trusted old PSTN lines are connected into another trusted old device, the hardware-based PBX. This device is inflexible, difficult to manage and often expensive to maintain.
Technically it is possible to buy a gateway that allows the old PBX to talk to the SIP trunks. But why not upgrade to a modern IP PBX and leverage the flexibility and modern features IP telephony can bring.
This allows you to take advantage of the cost savings, easy management, and productivity increases with full-scale Unified Communications that an IP PBX offers.
You can choose from a hosted PBX, an appliance PBX, or a software-based PBX.
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