The SIP Revolution
August 28, 2008
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...Last month about this time we started a poll to determine the general tone of our readers knowledge of Voice Over IP and SIP Trunking and whether or not your companies are using it. While the number of votes was far too small to be considered statistical in any way (and we have a telecom savvy crowd around here), it was interesting none the less.
For the better part of the last few years, only large companies and call centers were utilizing VoIP in the corporate environment. But sales of traditional phone systems have stalled and most new phone systems being sold to companies today are VoIP/SIP enabled, making it much easier to make the change.
Even though they could take advantage of the lower rates, many companies still haven’t switched. But if prevailing opinion holds true, and our poll would indicate that at least you think so, that is all about to change.
It is easy enough for a company with IP enabled equipment to switch to SIP (often within hours of calling their carrier), but companies with traditional phone equipment have been left out in the cold unless they want to pop for a new phone system.
Newer offerings are making it possible for companies with old phone systems to connect via SIP and achieve the associated cost savings and flexibility. The carrier simply sends you a device which sits between your phone equipment and their IP network. While most carriers will charge you a monthly rental or add cost on top of what they would charge their IP only customers, it can still be a great savings.
A company which keeps popping up in SIP news is now offering two T1s worth of capacity (48 channels) over a single circuit (normally 24 channels). For many customers, this would nearly cut their telecom bill in half. While such huge savings aren’t yet the norm, it is becoming increasingly attractive to companies everywhere to at least explore the possibilities of Voice over IP regardless of the capabilities of their current equipment.
For the four of you who voted that you don’t know what the heck VoIP and SIP are, now is a very good time to start doing your research. The next 18 months should see a dramatic change in the way average businesses approach their voice and data needs.
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We’ve been looking into this for a year or more. We think our phone system supports SIP trunks, but every time we get started, something else pops up that keeps us from making the change. I’m not sure if my IT/Phone guys have cold feet or they just don’t understand how it all works.