SIP Trunk Add-On Features to Consider

In the old days, there was one phone company and one service. These days, the copper lines are in the phase-out stage. The ISDN line disappears entirely from the Verizon network in 6 states this year.

Analog lines like T1, E1 and others are on the way out in the UK, Italy, Germany, France and other parts of Europe. The replacement is the flexible and economical Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunk. 

Your SIP trunk gives you lines and telephone numbers, but there are some cool extras. Read on for some SIP network add-ons to consider.

What Is a SIP Trunk?

SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol. SIP trunking replaces traditional telephone lines. It’s a method of sending voice and other communications services over the internet.

To use a SIP trunk you need an IP-enabled PBX (private branch exchange) system. SIP trunks enable users to make and receive phone calls over the internet to anyone with a phone number, anywhere in the world.  SIP trunks use a packet switch network.

Voice calls are broken down into digital packets. The packets are sent across a network to the final destination where the process is reversed.

What Are SIP Channels?

SIP channels are the equivalent to telephone lines. You need one open line for every incoming or outgoing call that happens at the same time (or you get the dreaded busy signal.) SIP channels work the same way.

To estimate the number of SIP channels you may need, take the current number of phone lines or T1/PRI lines in use. The monthly price for your SIP trunk depends on the number of channels you need plus additional services. 

Benefits of Using a SIP Network

Saying good bye to copper lines brings lots of benefits.  With SIP you enjoy:

Flexibility

It’s easy to add channels to your SIP trunk to cope with increased calls. A simple online interface will allow you to add channels. This can be done immediately.

Contrast that to the time needed to install additional lines and then having to upgrade your PBX hardware to take more connections!

Correct number of channels

With a SIP network, you choose the number of channels that you need. In the old way, ISDN/T1, you had to choose either 15 or 30 lines. This usually meant you ended up with expensive extra capacity, month after month.

Lower Monthly Line and DID (Direct Inward Dial) Rental

The monthly fee for the number of lines installed at your office is significantly reduced with a SIP network. Direct inward dialing (DID) is a service that allocates a large number of phone numbers to a single line.

This feature allows a company to create dozens of unique phone numbers without installing individual phone lines. DID costs are low with SIP trunking.

Lower Call Charges

SIP.US trunks come with unlimited calling in the contiguous U.S. and Canada. Inbound and outbound international call charges are low. Even better, you can allow customers local, long-distance and international dial-in options at a low cost.

Portability

SIP trunking is not bound to a location, so it’s easy to move offices without changing every advertisement or every single piece of stationery. No extra line forwarding charges, either.  

Hardware Savings

Using a SIP network eliminates the need to acquire and manage VoIP Gateways. No extra signal conversions mean better call quality. Modern IP PBX to SIP network connections are flexible and grow with your business. 

No more hardware-based PBX systems mean unlimited flexibility. You can choose from a hosted PBX, an appliance PBX, or a software-based PBX.

Must-Consider SIP Network Add-Ons 

Choose the right SIP trunk add-ons to maximize your network.  A few factors come into play when choosing these extras:

Nomadic e911

Automatically routes 911 calls to the local emergency center to the registered physical address of the account. Enhanced Nomadic e911 customers set any physical address in the United States as the address to be transmitted on 911 calls.

The address appears on the emergency services operator’s screen when the call is placed. The address can be updated at any time online. 

Caller ID

SIP trunk users have inbound Caller ID and customizable outbound Caller ID. Set the individual or business name as desired.

Call Data Records

Call Data Records (CDRs) provide insight into business activities. They help decision-makers understand communication needs and the best solutions.  Real-time CDRs and historical records up to a year in the past are available.

Our anti-fraud protocol monitors the system and protects against call fraud. 

Multiple DID Options

Use SIP trunks for local DIDs for each area you do business. Have a local presence without a physical office in the area. SIP trunks uncouple the physical location of the phone from the phone number. Remote workers are no problem.

Toll-Free Numbers

Our SIP network supports 800, 888 and other toll-free numbers for businesses. We include international toll-fraud protection.

SimpleFAX Service 

Eliminate FoIP problems. Keep your fax machine and port your dedicated DID fax number with our adapter. 1,000 incoming and outgoing faxes per month included with a small charge for each additional page. Faxes are transmitted on traditional copper lines.

FAX to Email

Send incoming faxes to a registered email as PDF files. Send outbound faxes as email attachments. View the full history of sent/received faxes in a web portal.  Choose your own FAX CallerID.

Number Porting

Bring your number with you. Don’t change numbers because you switch providers or locations. 

Business SMS

Send and receive SMS messages via your SIP network. You can enable most DIDs for SMS to email. You can also send SMS via email.

Right-size your message per line or choose a 10,000 message plan to share between DIDs. 

Why Choose SIP.US?

SIP.US provides an easy to use, self-service control panel for all of your services. Most changes are instant and can be initiated without a customer service call. SIP.US welcomes many different types of businesses, including outbound call dialers and telemarketing. 

If you do business around the country or around the world, you can obtain DID numbers from a large database of 40 countries around the world and many US rate centers. Our monitoring system keeps an eye out for fraud and stops barred calls in progress, shuts down your trunk and alerts you of possible fraudulent activity.

Our pricing is pre-paid, no-contract and simple. For each unlimited SIP trunk channel, it is $24.95 per month. No contracts.

You can add, subtract or cancel channels anytime. Changes are easy through our self-service control panel.  

Bring Your Own Broadband, PBX, or Open Source Solutions

SIP.US lets you bring your own broadband internet. Unlike some SIP network providers, data connectivity need not be through SIP.US. Choose whatever provider, in whatever form.

Cable is fine. So are DSL, T-1 or other high speed up/down connections. Whichever works best for you.

An IP phone call consumes around 85kbps up/down. We also allow the G.729 compressed code to take the number down to 35kbps, but only in cases of extreme bandwidth constriction. 

SIP.US trunk service is a match for open source systems such as Asterisk, FreeSwitch, Elastix, PBX in a Flash and other popular Graphical User Interfaces. Our ‘cut-and-paste’ trunk configuration settings make it easy and fast to start our services on your own.

The Right SIP Network for the Best Service

Costs vary widely between services. Some vendors will overcharge for SIP trunk service bundles. Only pay for what you need with SIP.US no-contract service.

SIP.US price transparency means that you pay for what you need when you need it and no more. Look for competitive rates, but ensure that you are getting a high-quality, made for business use, SIP network. We provide a solid, well-protected and secure network.

Telecom providers often use confusing bundles and artificial limits to differentiate their packages. It might look cheaper, but the quality is missing or you might have a bunch of unwanted extras. Make your selection based on who has control over your service and network.

SIP.US routes customer traffic using only Tier-1 upstream providers. We give our clients a redundant platform for performance and reliability. All without sacrificing the best quality voice service. 

System Fault Avoidance

SIP.US has multiple gateways across the US to avoid single points of failure. We allow customers to designate a primary and secondary IP-PNX for redundancy and system stability. 

If you run dual PBX’s we deliver inbound calls to your primary PBX.  If the system detects a failure, it sends it to the secondary PBX. If there’s a routing failure, calls can also go to a backup PSTN number. All of this can be coordinated in the easy to use control panel.

Ready to Make the Switch?

We offer a no-obligation free trial of our superior SIP network services. Our trial account includes 60 minutes of outbound calling to anywhere in the lower 48 contiguous US states. Test our service–it’s easy.

Fill out this form. You can start right now. Confirm your email address and we create your SIP trunk. With your test credit, you configure it to your system and start calling!