SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol, is the IETF protocol for VOIP, unified communications and other text and multimedia sessions, like instant messaging, video, online games and other services.
SIP allows people to communicate using their phone, computer or mobile device over their private network or the public internet, or a combination of both. SIP reduces communications costs, creates efficiencies and opens new opportunitiesfor business communications. Benefits of SIP
Reduce costs - no need to purchase ISDN, BRI's, PRI's or local PSTN gateways.
Lower cost voice services can be set up directly from fixed/mobile operators
Optimal bandwidth utilisation due to both voice and data on the same connection
Easy to scale as you grow with no need to invest in PSTN gateways and addtional line cards
Redundancy / back-up flexibility with SIP Trunks via multiple IP/Data links
Rich real-time communications features like instant messaging, file transfer, video conferencing, whiteboarding, application sharing, Presence (see who is currently online and available)
Facilitates unified communications and new ways of delivering applications to the desktop
Infrastructure
You can SIP enable your existing infrastructure provided your PBX supports SIP trunking and you have an up-to-date firewall/router that will support SIP ALG. Security
A SIP Trunk is an IP connection so a good service provider will have security measures in place to safeguard traffic end-to-end. See our data sheet for some questions you should ask your service provider in this regard. Call quality and reliability
The two questions we most often are asked in relation to SIP are "Will voice quality be good enough?" and "Will our phone service be available when we need it?".
An unequivocal 'Yes' to both those questions! AirSpeed will manage QoS (Quality of Service) and CoS (Class of Service) for SIP traffic - this prioritises voice and ensures it has the necessary bandwidth for delivery.
Reliability of SIP connections with the right service provider and redundancy architecture can be greater than for traditional voice.
Contact us for a full explanation of how this is designed and managed by AirSpeed.
What is SIP?
