Direct Routing

Direct Routing is the Teams Phone connectivity option where the customer brings their own Session Border Controller (SBC) and SIP carrier connection. The SBC sits between Microsoft Teams and the carrier, translating signalling and media. Direct Routing offers the most flexibility — choose any carrier, integrate on-prem contact centres, comply with country-specific telecom regulations — at the cost of operational complexity. Compared to Microsoft Calling Plans (Microsoft is the carrier) and Operator Connect (a Microsoft-certified operator hosts the SBC), Direct Routing is for organisations with telecoms ops capability that want maximum control. SBCs are certified by Microsoft from vendors including AudioCodes, Ribbon, Oracle, Cisco, Anynode.