How SIP Trunking can transform business communications

Updated: 9 September 2020 | SMB, Digitalisation, Voice and Collaboration | 5 min read

Communication is an essential part of business. While a traditional phone call is fast and personal, internet-based modes such as email, video conferencing, and instant messaging are also effective and fast becoming the preferred contact channels.

To meet next-generation business communication needs, SMBs can turn to a future-forward solution like SIP Trunking.

SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol, is a set of communication protocols to connect and terminate real-time sessions of voice or video between two endpoints.

A SIP Trunk replaces the physical connection required to connect to the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) with modern Internet Protocol (IP) / internet data networks. It is basically a virtual version of the traditional business phone line.  

As a result, businesses can make conventional phone calls over IP networks, which is what enables Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Since it makes use of an internet connection rather than landline telephone lines, SIP is able to integrate voice, video data and internet services on a single connection.

The circuit-switched PSTN requires a physical connection between the origin and destination to establish a call. SIP Trunking transforms voice or video into packets of data then sending them over the internet or a data network to the intended destination.

A SIP trunk can have an unlimited number of channels, where a channel equates to an incoming or outgoing call. As there’s no limit to the number of channels a SIP trunk can hold, businesses would only need one SIP trunk regardless of how many concurrent calls they have. They can connect a compatible PBX or IP-PBX system to a SIP trunking provider, such as Singtel, to take advantage of this.

SIP Trunking may be the right solution for your business if:

• You have multiple office sites or locations.
• You have a high call volume — either between office sites or from customers.
• Your call volume varies with different times of peak call periods.

Cost savings

As SIP Trunking comes with concurrent calls, businesses can significantly reduce their monthly recurring charge. For instance, a team of 10 employees may only require 5 concurrent calls (lines) at the same time, so there is no wastage for unused lines. Employees can also make calls between office sites without incurring any PSTN call charges.

Extensive functionalities

SIP Trunking provides full-featured private branch exchange (PBX) functionalities, including call transfer, conditional call forwarding, extension dialling, interactive voice response, and voice mail.

SIP Trunk connections can also be integrated into unified communications solutions such as audio and video conferencing, document sharing, and instant messaging for more effective conversations with customers and more robust business collaboration.

Improved quality and high availability

Clear communication drives greater employee productivity and a better customer experience. With Singtel’s SIP Trunking, businesses get a dedicated SIP network for exceptional voice quality.

Moreover, Singtel’s SIP network is powered by intelligent trunk routing protocols and a resilient network infrastructure for high availability. The network is also private and non-internet routable for added security.

Increased scalability

SIP Trunking enables business growth without the need to invest in additional infrastructure. SMBs can easily scale up or down the number of concurrent calls on a single SIP Trunk, paying only for what their business needs. They can opt for dedicated SIP Trunking for a stand-alone voice infrastructure, or even use SIP Trunking over their existing fibre broadband for a single infrastructure to support both voice and data.

This decreases the number of phone lines, lessens maintenance work, and allows for more efficient bandwidth use.

Number retention

When businesses relocate their premises, it can be tedious to move multiple traditional business phone lines from one location to another. Being virtual means that the SIP Trunking can be shifted easily to a new office.

SIP Trunking is a cost-effective and easily scalable telephony solution that not only meets the fast-growing communication needs of SMBs, but also transforms the business communication experience.