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5 Main Difference Between SIP Trunking & Hosted PBX
Telecom Business Review | Wednesday, January 19, 2022
SIP trunking isn't a substitute for hosted or on-premise PBX. It's a replacement for publicly-switched telephone network (PSTN) technologies.
Fremont, CA: If you don't have a technical background, finding the difference between SIP Trunking and Hosted PBX can feel breathtaking. Even if you learn the fundamental differences, it can still be challenging to determine which is right for your business.
Choosing the right business communications system is not as simple as choosing between hosted PBX providers and SIP Trunking. In this blog post, we'll define hosted PBX and SIP trunking, so you can notice how they might fit into your VoIP decision.
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SIP Trunking & Hosted PBX
One of the organizations' most excellent decisions when utilizing VoIP business phone services is deciding between a presented private branch exchange (PBX) or a PBX hosted on-premises. If you employ a hosted PBX, your vendor handles the technical aspects of providing service. In addition, the vendor will provide SIP trunks to allow you to make telephone calls over an Internet connection.
Organizations with a premise-based PBX will often manage it themselves or pay the vendor to manage it on-site. Deciding between premise-based or hosted PBX options provides some trade-offs in flexibility, security, pricing, and ability to scale.
Hosted PBX
A hosted private branch trade provides PBX functionality such as an automated attendant, voicemail, automatic call distribution, and call transfer without having to own or maintain all required equipment on site.
A PBX operates by routing calls to extensions while enabling your VoIP service provider to maintain all required equipment and software.
Pros of Hosted PBX
• Unnecessary to purchase, maintain, or update PBX equipment
• Potential for higher cost savings with bundling integrated communications
Cons of Hosted PBX
• Quality of service (QoS) relies on the consistency of your connection to the vendor's hosted service
• The service provider retains a high degree of control
• Vendor features and add-on service offerings can differ.
SIP Trunking
SIP Trunking employs IP at the application layer to connect a phone call to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), exchanging a traditional "phone trunk" such as a Primary Rate Interface (PRI) or analog line. SIP trunking can be employed by an on-premise PBX that endows SIP and is a gateway to link your internet telephony service provider to your PBX.
Trunking to a hosted PBX is generally done through SIP.
SIP Trunking Pros
• Influences your IP Network, turning voice into an application on the network
• Extra call appearances (the equivalent of phone lines) can be added rapidly without waiting for more circuits to be installed.
• Call appearances can be defeated to other sites quickly, so you can be flexible with where phone service is provided. This was essential for many of our customers during the global pandemic.
SIP Trunking Cons
• Practical bandwidth analysis to defend QoS (quality of service) is fundamental due to multimedia transmissions.
Let's study how SIP trunking and hosted PBX differ in services, scalability, and features.
Services
Services in Hosted PBX
Hosted PBX incorporates "standard PBX" services like voicemail, conference calls (such as Microsoft Teams Calling), and access to detailed call records. Additionally, depending on your business's needs, you can include add-on services such as conferencing or mobility features.
Services in SIP Trunking
SIP trunking's main functions incorporate locating the user, selecting the end system for a session, learning user availability, deciding the capability of the end-user system, instituting a session (call), and managing the call session, comprising termination, transfers, and more.
Scalability
Hosted PBX Scalability
Hosted PBX is suggested for slower-expanding companies with a few dozen employees. Since your solution is hosted, you don't have the equipment on-site, instead going through a third-party vendor. Consequently, much of the scalability of your hosted PBX solution will be based on the vendor's capacity rather than the needs of your business.
There are advantages to not having equipment on-site at your business, nevertheless. One advantage is regarding outages and downtime. For example, if a thunderstorm knocks power to your building, your PBX is still up since it's hosted "in the cloud" other than on-site.
SIP Trunking Scalability
SIP Trunking can require higher investment costs regarding scalability due to the need to acquire and retire old equipment. You'll also need to scale your technical support in-house as you scale using this system.
The novelty of this technology can make finding talent and troubleshooting support more challenging.
Features
Features of Hosted PBX
Hosted PBX runs your VoIP solution completely over your internet connection. A downside is that an unstable internet connection can cause problems with your phone. However, a workaround is you can have a softphone on a mobile device that can still make/receive calls.
Another feature of hosted PBX is flexibility. When using a hosted PBX, employees have an approach to their phone line even when they are not in the office. Therefore, this solution is more suitable for traveling or remote workers.
Features of SIP Trunking
SIP trunking solutions can employ for a remote workforce as well. For a remote worker to approach their line in this scenario, they would be required to have their home office phone mapped to their work phone.
Another aspect of SIP Trunking relates to calling volume and quality. This solution is commonly known for delivering a high connection rate even when call volumes are high.
A Final Note on SIP Trunking
SIP trunking isn't a substitute for hosted or on-premise PBX. It's an alternate to publicly-switched telephone network (PSTN) technologies, which incorporate:
• T1
• Primary Rate Interface (PRI)
• Analog lines
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