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What is SIP Termination? The Complete Guide in 2024

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What is SIP Termination? The Complete Guide

Do you want to make affordable international calls with high quality?

More businesses are using cloud phone systems☁️ nowadays because of their flexibility and high quality. Terms that eventually come with cloud phone systems are VoIP and SIP Termination, where SIP refers to Session Initiation Protocol and VoIP refers to Voice over Internet Protocol. 

SIP Termination refers to making calls from a provider to a recipient over a SIP-enabled network for connecting with traditional phone lines☎️ and VoIP phones📱.

In this article, we have briefly covered all the needed information, including what SIP termination and origination refer to, how they work, and the factors to consider while choosing a SIP termination provider. 

Let’s explore the ultimate guide to SIP termination within this article.

🔑Key Highlights:

  • SIP termination is the process of sending calls from a provider through an SIP-enabled network and connect with other PSTN or VoIP-enabled phones.
  • It initiates calls, converts them into SIP packets, and delivers them to the recipient’s phone number.
  • SIP call termination provides affordable call quality with a high global presence, improving business scalability with reduced call errors. 
  • To choose the right SIP provider, research them, look after the features they provide, and go for demo trials.

Understanding the concept of SIP and VoIP termination

Before starting, let’s know the basics of SIP and VoIP termination

SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol, a protocol for transmitting voice via the Internet, where SIP termination refers to making calls via SIP protocols. On the other hand, VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) termination is the completion of making phone calls using various protocols, such as H.323 protocols, SIP protocols, and Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP).

Let’s jump into finding what each term specifically refers to. 

What is SIP termination?

SIP termination is routing calls from a provider using a SIP-enabled network to connect with another PSTN and VoIP provider. It is a process of initiating and making outbound calls to customers anywhere in their location. 

What is SIP termination

It allows advanced VoIP or trunking features like advanced routing, outbound calls, and call ID management. 

What is SIP origination?

SIP origination is incoming calls from Public Switched Telephone Networks ( PSTN ) or SIP-enabled devices. This helps to deliver quality calls to your business. 

SIP origination allows advanced VoIP features like Direct inward dialing (DID), Caller ID, call routing, and more. It enables businesses to receive calls from other parties, whether they originate from SIP-based systems or PSTN lines.

What is VoIP termination?

VoIP termination is making phone calls from a provider until the recipient receives them. It completes calls from one provider to another (including the Public Switched Telephone Network PSTN network). VoIP termination differs from SIP because it uses various protocols for making calls, not only SIP protocols. 

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) uses the Internet Protocol while making calls which eliminates the cost of physical hardware and makes it cost effective compared with traditional phone lines. Because of its flexibility, Voice termination has been commonly used for telecommunication over long distances.

How does SIP termination work?

SIP termination works by initiating a call from a provider. The call then goes to SIP, gets routed to the specified location, and is delivered. 

Here’s the detailed process of how it works: 

  1. Call initiation: At first, the user initiates the call with a VoIP or SIP-enabled device. It’s more like making a regular call but with a required system and device.
  2. Converting to SIP: After the call initiates, the service provider may use a VoIP service provider or SIP-enabled network to convert the call into SIP packets.
  3. Routing: After successfully converting calls into SIP packets, the SIP termination provider receives the packets. The provider routes the call to the specified destination. Here, it can interconnect with a telecom carrier or PSTN.
  4. Delivering Call: Finally, the call gets delivered to the recipient’s phone number, it can be a traditional landline or any SIP-based device.

SIP origination Vs. SIP termination

SIP origination and SIP termination are two VoIP components used for making and receiving calls over the Internet, but they differ in the routing process and some areas.

Some of the differences between them are listed below in table:

SIP OriginationSIP Termination
It refers to the process of making calls from the caller’s end.It refers to the calls made from one provider to another provider, including PSTN. 
Can provide better call quality by using codecs and QoS mechanisms.Can be affected by poor internet or problems in SIP infrastructure. 
It routes calls from PSTN or SIP devices to your VoIP system.It sends calls from the VoIP system to PSTN or other systems.
It is important for receiving and delivering calls.It is not directly involved in call initiation but provides proper routing.
Primarily focus on incoming calls within the internal routing.Focuses on outbound calls and connections.
👋 Take a look at: SIP vs. VoIP: What are the differences & which one is best

What are the benefits of SIP termination?

SIP termination in business helps provide quality calls with less latency and disruptions. It also offers many advantages to the business. 

Some of the benefits are: 

Benefits of SIP Termination
  • Improve call quality: Using SIP termination, businesses can enjoy improved call quality with high clarity and reduced latency. This ensures crystal-clear communication with customers.
  • Cost savings: It eliminates the requirement for expensive hardware installations like physical phone lines, reducing the cost of long-distance calls. Eventually, this saves the business money. 
  • Global presence: It allows businesses to make outbound calls through SIP providers in different regions, helping them create a local presence worldwide.  
  • Reduced errors: It makes outbound calls through a reliable SIP-enabled network, which reduces the chance of encountering errors like latency and jitter
  • Scalability: SIP termination systems often use the Internet for routing calls, allowing businesses to scale up without geographical limitations. 

What factors should be considered when identifying the right SIP termination provider?

Choosing the right SIP termination provider can be a subjective matter. However, certain factors should be considered when looking for an SIP termination provider.

Here are some factors to consider while choosing the right SIP termination provider:

What factors should be considered when identifying the right SIP Termination provider

1. Research about providers

You need to consider different SIP termination providers. Learn about what they offer and the scope of their service. Check if they provide a reliable system with fewer chances of network disruptions. 

2. Analyze them

After the research, you should compare all those different providers. Compare them based on pricing, features, plans, customer support, reliability, etc. For better understanding, go through the review sites and study the pros and cons of the providers. You can learn what the experienced users say about those providers.

3. Availability

While analyzing, check the provider’s availability. Your SIP termination provider should have multiple options if an unusual failover occurs. In case customer support becomes unreachable, you need to be able to have a second, third, and other option. 

Also, be sure about the region they provide. You should not be restricted to one geographic area and charged extra for technical issues.

4. Reach out 

After properly analyzing the providers, you should contact them to understand how they fulfill your business needs. Also, ask if they provide flexible and customizable features that allow you to feel in control of the features. 

5. Give it a try

Finally, now you can ask them if they offer a free trial. If yes, start the trial and experience the quality. Also, with a trial, you can easily decide if that suits your business.

Which option suits your business requirements: SIP termination or SIP origination?

Both SIP origination and termination fulfill specific business needs. Your business needs can determine which one you should choose.

If you are a business that consistently receives incoming calls, then going for SIP origination can suit your business. This way, you can get the advantages of SIP origination, such as flexibility and improved call quality. 

On the other hand, if making outgoing calls is part of your business routine, then SIP termination can be a good fit. This service offers affordability and allows you to gain more control over outbound calls. Likewise, you must consider the cost, requirements, and locations before deciding what to choose. Overall, both have their own advantages and drawbacks; it is always essential to research and evaluate before making a decision. 

👋 Take a look at: SIP Trunking: Everything You Need to Know in 2024

Wrapping up

SIP termination has been popular with businesses because it provides cost-effective solutions with scalability and reduced errors. The simple work pattern of SIP termination starts with a caller initiating the call and ends with the recipient number. In this process, the SIP provider converts calls into SIP packets before receiving them at the recipient’s number.😊

Businesses using SIP termination service should consider the system’s availability, analyze it, and experience a demo trial for assurance.  When deciding between SIP origination and termination, think about your call traffic. If your company gets more incoming calls, go for SIP origination. But if you make a lot of outbound calls, SIP termination is the better choice.💫

FAQs

What is SIP?

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is a protocol for transmitting voice over the Internet. 

What is the difference between SIP trunking and SIP termination?

Both are relatively the same, but there’s a slight difference between them. SIP trunking involves making calls using the SIP-enabled network to a traditional phone line. In contrast, SIP termination involves making calls through a SIP-enabled network to conventional phone lines and other telephony systems.

What are the disadvantages of SIP termination?

Some disadvantages of SIP termination are:

  • Quality issues can be affected in between due to some factors ( poor internet, infrastructure problems).
  • Dependency on the SIP provider.

What are the reasons for selecting SIP termination?

The reason for choosing SIP Termination:

  • Global reach: You can get phone numbers and call in countries where your office is unavailable. 
  • Improving outbound calls: Selecting a SIP termination ensures providing good quality with cost efficiency over outbound callings. 
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Dinesh Silwal

Dinesh Silwal is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of KrispCall. For the past few years, he has been advancing and innovating in the cloud telephony industry, using AI to enhance and improve telephony solutions, and driving KrispCall to the forefront of the field.

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