SIP trunking provides a way for SMBs to cut down considerably on the startup and management costs of switching to VoIP phone services. SIP-trunking reduces the need for gateways by using software to manage the VoIP service, and by utilizing the carrier’s already-existing network of gateways. This avoids the multiple hops associated with IP network connections and so preserves the voice quality. Gateways will only be needed when running hosted IP applications over existing non-IP PBXs on the customers site.
“Use of SIP Trunking with the TeleWare IP Centrex hosted services is especially efficient, because the call is delivered end to end over an IP interconnect, avoiding having to use TDM to IP or PSTN to IP gateways.” explained Steve Haworth CEO for TeleWare plc. “For many of our customers using SIP-trunking to connect to the TeleWare platform means that they can deploy IP telephony applications on their existing architecture and so the payback for switching to hosted IP applications can occur in as little as 3-12 months,” added Haworth.
Illume Consulting track the development of the trunking market. They advised in their September Convergence Bulletin that 80% of hosted service were now offering SIP trunking as part of their portfolio. However, for most of them it was a very recent addition to the portfolio and Illume also predicts this figure will grow dramatically, as new providers establish their products in the market.
SIP Trunking provides a smart and cost effective solution to customers by eliminating the need for additional equipment, such as managed media gateway devices to interface between IP voice to the PSTN.
A SIP Trunk is primarily a concurrent call that is routed over the IP backbone of a carrier using VoIP technology. SIP Trunks used in conjunction with the Teleware IP Centrex hosted service are replacements for traditional PRI or analog circuits. The popularity of SIP Trunks is due primarily to the ability to combine the cost savings of the hosted IP Centrex based SIP service along with the increased reliability of a service backed by the SLAs of the SIP Trunk Providers.