Enterprises looking for ways to cut costs, improve the customer experience, and drive productivity often consider updating their phone systems to a cloud-based service. With any technology decision, there are acronyms and new terms that require navigation. When it comes to phone service, SIP trunking and IP trunking are two that need defining.
SIP trunking and IP trunking are not interchangeable, nor are they competing technologies. You will hear IP trunking used interchangeably with Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). Here are a few more ways to understand the terms to aid in making informed decisions about phone service:
IP trunking: In IP trunking, voice transmissions are considered data, and they are communicated over data connections. This is in contrast to traditional plain old telephone service (POTS) lines that transmit voice through electrical-based signals. IP trunking can be deployed as an on-site solution that is managed by the in-house IT team, or it can be housed in the cloud with a subscription service. IP trunking is an alternative to a private branch exchange (PBX) system, rather than an alternative to SIP trunking.
The benefits of IP trunking include:
- Measurable cost savings
- Excellent scalability
- Options for including a variety of sophisticated multimedia communications
- Mobility
- Options for adding and removing phone lines
Potential drawbacks of IP trunking include:
- There must be sufficient data connectivity to ensure quality of service
- Power outages could affect handsets
- Public internet connectivity can affect the ability of IP trunking to work effectively
SIP trunking: SIP trunking is a standard approach for handling the transmission of multimedia communications. As an alternative to PBX phone systems, SIP trunking is a way to support VoIP telephony with services hosted either on-site and managed by the IT team, or in a cloud server with a monthly subscription.
IP trunking can be managed through a PBX system and media gateway. IP trunking often includes SIP trunking through a session border controller (SBC).
The benefits of including SIP trunking in a phone service subscription plan include:
- SIP can support a variety of media types
- SIP integrates with other platforms easily because it is open standard
- SIP supports multimedia data transmission, with multiple transmissions occurring simultaneously
The potential drawbacks of SIP trunking include:
- It can be difficult to find a skilled SIP specialist
- While SIP is considered open standard, there are some exceptions with its features
Organizations that want to drive cost savings and improvements in productivity and mobile connectivity should consider all the relevant options. While IP trunking and SIP trunking are not competing technologies, they are each an important consideration for updating communications.
For more than 35 years, Copper State Communications has been assisting Arizona businesses in upgrading to the latest telecommunications technologies and custom-fitting phone solutions. Contact us for an appointment to talk more about your options for phone systems.
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