SIP Trunking – What Are the Benefits for UK Call Centres?
A SIP trunk is a service offered by an Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP) to use Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to deliver telephone services and to set up communications for individual users as well as both small and large businesses.
Many UK based call centres will implement SIP trunking as it is known to be a far more robust and cost effective service to ISDN, which is the use of standard phone lines. Quality, resilience and flexibility are also major benefits of using SIP trunks.
Compared to ISDN, SIP trunks are far cheaper to purchase on a per channel basis as well as being a lot more cost effective for businesses to install. There is no requirement for the installation of fixed landlines when SIP trunking is in use. SIP is also far more flexible in terms of the telephone numbers you can take on as you are not restricted to a geographical location unlike a standard ISDN landline. SIP trunks are far easier to install in comparison and there are no restrictions on the number of lines that can be installed. Flexibility in the terminating service provider is also an advantage for call centres. In terms of infrastructure, SIP trunks will save businesses from having to purchase costly BRI’S (Basic Rate Interfaces), PRI’S (Primary Rate Interfaces) or PSTN gateways. These factors are unarguably huge benefits for any call centre.
SIP also offers lower calls costs than ISDN at the same time as there being no limit on calls per second.
If the adequate quality of service measures are applied then voice quality is never an issue with SIP trunking unlike ISDN. These measures include the prioritisation of voice traffic and over provisioning of links. Reliability is also a major quality of SIP as SIP trunks can be more reliable than the traditional PSTN. This is due to the high number of failover solutions that can be implemented. By using a SIP trunk, a business is able to very easily re locate and keep the same geographical number, so little if no requirement at all for ongoing call forwarding costs and any costs that may be associated with the re printing of any company advertising material. This also applies if an agent is to move desks as there is no fixed physical landline to tie them down. An agent can very easily move location and keep hold of their existing number. If there is to be a manoeuvre within a company or in the event of a disaster, SIP can very quickly and efficiently maintain calls, which in effect will create less interruption for the business.
If a call centre is spread across various sites then the business can still use just the one SIP trunking account, again creating less inconvenience and lowering what would normally be additional costs to the business.