SIP Trunks for
Local Governments

The cost of telecommunications can eat up a significant portion of the budget for local governments. While communications is an essential government function, unnecessary money spent on traditional phone lines equates to dollars that are not being put to work for the community. Likewise, time spent administering the phone system, trying to understand complex phone bills, or negotiating carrier contracts could be put to more beneficial use.

That's why local leaders are increasingly turning to cloud communications. SIP trunking provides an easy transition from legacy phone lines to internet-based, modern, unified communications systems. With SIP, local governments can cut costs and increase flexibility while providing even better service to the communities that they serve.

Recent analysis finds that global SIP trunking services market will exceed $12 billion by 2023. There are many reasons why the approach is so popular.

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What is SIP Trunking

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking is an internet-based replacement for traditional physical telephone lines. It serves as the connectivity backbone for a variety of unified communications capabilities using the existing broad-band internet connection. A SIP trunk connected to an IP compatible phone system allows public employees to make calls to any phone number. Each SIP trunk can handle an unlimited number of SIP channels, which are equivalent to a single phone line.

The terms SIP trunking and VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are different technologies, just like your old-fashioned phone lines and your phone system aren't the same thing. SIP makes it possible to leverage VoIP, but SIP channels can also support web conferencing, high-definition video, text messaging, and faxing.

The Benefits of SIP Trunking for Local Governments

There are a number of compelling reasons that SIP trunking is so popular in the public sector.

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Costs Reduction

The use of SIP trunks reduces costs for local governments in several ways. First, the agency can get rid of expensive physical telephone lines (PRIs) that are associated with long-term contracts and long-distance charges. Most SIP trunking providers offer long-distance calls to the lower 48 states at no additional per-minute charge. Finance administrators enjoy the simplicity and predictability of this approach. Costs are further reduced because, unlike PRI lines that are sold in groups of 26, local governments can order the exact number of SIP channels that they need. If you need 30 concurrent lines, you pay for 30, not 52.

Many local governments and agencies see telecommunications savings of as much as 50% when they switch to SIP.

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Agility

The needs of local governments can change at a moments notice. The traditional approach to communications requires making guesses about your needs long into the future. Not so with SIP. Local governments can easily add or remove SIP channels when needs change, even seasonally. With SIP.US, it is a snap for administrators to make changes or cancel on-demand.

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Simplified Network Management

Technology resources are a scarce and expensive commodity in the private sector, so it doesn't make sense to give them two networks to manage when one would do. That's what happens with traditional phone lines, the telephone and internet networks are completely separate. With SIP, you have just one network for both uses, letting your IT team turn to other priorities.

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Direct Inward Dialing

SIP gives you the option of assigning a 10-digit phone number to each employee, department, or room. You can create a call flow that works for your team and your community. Instead of hard-wiring these numbers to one location, users can "log-in" with their assigned phone number from any phone, simplifying office moves or normal daily workflow. If you already have DIDs or other numbers that you'd like to keep, no problem. They can be ported to your new SIP trunking service.

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Disaster REcovery

In the event of a natural or man-made disaster, it may be more important than ever for citizens to be able to reach your staff. In the event that you can't get into the office, or power is lost at one or more locations, your SIP service can redirect your calls to other offices, mobile phones, or even home landlines. In addition, our data centers are redundant, so a failure at one center won't impact your service.

Why Local Governments Choose SIP.US

While there are many inherent benefits of SIP trunking for local governments, it is important to remember that not all SIP services are the same. Before you decide what's best for the public that you serve, you'll need to compare the features, costs, and support services offered by each vendor. SIP.US is an excellent choice for local governments and agencies because we make it easy.

  • Unambiguous Pricing

    Every dollar counts when planning your budget, so we are upfront about every fee we might possibly charge. Our pricing is simple, we charge a low monthly fee for each SIP channel and no setup fees. We also offer low rates for local and toll-free direct dial numbers. All of the cost details are right here.

  • Easy to use control panel

    Our administrative control panel is streamlined and easy to use, even for people without telecommunications backgrounds. Your team can quickly make moves adds and changes, review call data records, and monitor the health of the system. If you run into something tricky, we are always available to help.

  • Compatibility

    Our trunks can be used with almost any internet-enabled (IP) phone system, whether it is at your location or hosted by a third party online. We are also compatible with the many free, open-source PBX systems available. If your legacy phone system isn't internet ready, it may be possible to connect it with an inexpensive adapter.

  • Easy to scale

    With SIP.US you get and pay for exactly the number of SIP channels you need at any time. If you want to add more or cancel a few, you can do it on-demand in the control panel. There are no contracts, and you are not obligated to maintain a minimum number of channels.

  • Easy to test

    You don't have to trust your vital communications network to our word.  We offer 60 minutes of free calling for you to test SIP.US with your equipment in your office. We won't even ask for a credit card to get started. It is easy to set up in just a few minutes, so you can give it a try and move forward with confidence.

  • Easy to Trust

    SIP.US utilizes only Tier-1 upstream providers to route our SIP traffic. We do this to ensure that you get the highest quality voice experience and a redundant network for outstanding reliability and performance.

See Pricing

FAQs

Most likely. If the system is less than 10 years old, it is probably IP enabled and ready to go. If you are using a hosted solution, which offers many benefits for local governments looking to modernize, SIP trunks are the obvious choice for connectivity. If your IT team wants to keep control over the physical phone system, but still leverage new unified communications features, there are low-cost (sometimes free), open-source alternatives available. SIP.US is compatible with those as well.

If you have an older legacy PBX or key system that is not internet-ready, we may still be able to help by using an inexpensive device called an ATA (analog telephony adapter).

Find out how your organization can benefit from SIP trunking by getting your free trial today.

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Customer Feedback

Here is what our customers have to say about working with SIP.US.

Simple Interface.

We were able to get our systems up and running with SIP.US in a matter of minutes using the simple online interface.

Matt Harrison

Elevate Audio Visual

Low cost and good!

It’s easy to be low cost, but it’s a lot harder to be low cost AND good! In my opinion, SIP.US should be on anyone’s short list of primary providers.

Michael Dodds

Doddstech

All the tools I need.

The SIP.US Control Panel gives me all the tools I need to add, change and delete phone numbers. I can even order all the DIDs I need and set them up instantly. I love having access to these self-service tools, but I know the support team is also there if I need additional help.

Colin Cook

Thimble River

Up and running in minutes.

We are able to get our Switchvox systems up and running with SIP.US in a matter of minutes using the simple online interface.

Mike Crockett

BITS Technology

Quality support, low price.

I wasn’t sure how to configure my Asterisk system to work with SIP.US. The SIP team was able to remotely access my system and set it up for me. I didn’t expect that level of support for such a low price.

Greg Galvin

The Galvin Law Group

Fast and easy set-up.

I don’t have any experience with SIP trunking, but connecting my Asterisk PBX to SIP.US was fast and easy.

Eddy Pareja

Sangfroid Web Design

Excellent support.

The reason we moved most of our VOIP to you is because of your excellent support. We moved from another provider but your support makes the extra money well worth it.

Brian Marshman

CEO BMI SmartCloud