Harrington says, “Who would have believed how rapidly the fledgling concept of SIP trunks would advance in just one year?
Now well into its expansion phase, the idea certainly isn’t perfect, nor is it without its deployment glitches, but it’s the future and it’s vital to understand and exploit it.
Within this market, there exists a raft of jargon, miscommunication and unnecessary complexity. Even those ‘in the know’ use a variety of different descriptive terms when discussing the same thing: “A SIP trunk or an End Point?” “How many concurrent calls?” “What do I need?” “How many should I order?” – is it any wonder that there is confusion and business is lost?
Tipicall use the analogy of ISDN when demystifying SIP – one connection and multiple lines – as it is practical to explain and an easy concept to convey.
How many concurrent calls does a client require? That’s how many SIP lines we’ll order. We charge per concurrent call and we name each one a ‘trunk’ – it really is that simple!
We carefully assess the individual requirements of each client, establishing what will be their best connection method, and how many concurrent calls they need. We don’t waste time explaining the detail; we just give them a system that works!
We recommend the separation of voice and data, especially if using DSL. Our experience indicates that data will always interfere with voice, no matter how good the connection. (If the client has a large MPLS, QOS-enabled, voice-prioritised circuit, then combination of data and voice is possible – but we advise to keep it simple.)
There are plenty of systems ready to use SIP trunks, but it’s never wise to assume that your current provider will support their operation. There may be a template available for setting up trunks with your system. Alternatively, a test trunk can be established to determine likelihood of compatibility. Minor tweaks to the configuration might be all that’s needed to proceed with SIP trunks on an existing system. It doesn’t have to be officially approved; if it works, then it guarantees operational versatility and great efficiency savings.”