When searching for a voice phone service provider, you will come across terms like call origination and call termination. Together, both have to do with how phone calls start, travel, and arrive at a destination.
So, it is good to understand what both mean and how they shape business calling.
Let’s dive in!
Understanding Voice Origination and Termination for Business Phone Systems
In this quick guide, we’ll look at:
- Call Origination and How it Works
- What is Call Termination?
- How to Choose the Right Call and Voice Origination Provider
What is Call Origination? How Does it Work?
Call origination is an incoming call received by your phone service provider and routed to your business phone system.
Let’s break the process down some more.
In cloud phone systems, voice over IP (VoIP) technology uses session initiation protocol (SIP) to digitize voice data and send it to the recipient. Therefore, call origination is the process of collecting calls initiated by a calling party (your customers) over a telephone exchange or PSTN and then handing the calls over to a VoIP endpoint (your business).
Other related terms include voice origination, VoIP origination, and SIP origination.
Key to choosing a call origination provider:
- High audio and sound quality
- Flexibility in ways of receiving calls
- Advanced routing and forwarding strategies
- Call management tools
What is Call Termination?
Call termination is the process of sending calls from one provider (usually a VoIP network) to another provider (PSTN or VoIP networks).
In a cloud phone system, this is also known as voice termination, VoIP termination, and SIP termination.
Key to choosing a call termination provider:
- High audio and call quality
- Availability of backup routes, in case of failure
- Caller ID management
- Competitive pricing
Choosing the Right Call Origination Provider
As a business making and receiving calls, you will need both call origination and termination services.
What should you look for in a call origination and call termination provider?
1. Price
As with any service, consider what you are getting for the price of this service. Different providers will offer varying included and add-on features and functionality. They may even offer discounts based on usage or business size. Similarly, some providers may offer mix-and-match or “a la carte” solutions where you simply pick what you need instead of purchasing a whole package. Keep your budget in mind when deciding what type of pricing works best for your circumstance.
2. Functionality
Next, look for features and premium services offered. It is a good idea to see what else the provider offers in case you want to scale your service in the future. Maybe you plan to open new offices in different countries and need to provide support in those areas. Can this provider help you offer follow-the-sun help desk support? Maybe you have multiple departments and need an IVR manager to manage call flows. Will you be able to customize how calls are routed between different teams?
3. Quality
Like pricing, quality is another important factor in deciding whether a service is right for you. Look at customer reviews and case studies to see how the service is used. Reviews and testimonials will give you an idea of common issues users experience. It will also demonstrate how the business solves these issues. And it shows how they proceed to help and care for their customers. Additionally, if the business offers a free trial, use it to test the service’s quality and usability.
4. Experience
You may also want to consider the age of the business. A call origination provider who has been in business for 10+ or 20+ years knows what they are doing. And they are keeping with current business trends and demands. Otherwise, they would not be relevant anymore. Plus, the years of experience give them an edge over newer players. They would’ve built long-term and meaningful relationships with other carriers and service providers, helping them offer you uninterrupted service.
5. Support
Finally, look for the different ways the business provides support. Are they reachable during times of the day or via different channels? Do they have guides and tutorials for self-service and troubleshooting help? Do you get to speak with a person or are people often stuck with automated chatbots? The more responsive the provider is, the better the service you experience.
Call Origination with Global Call Forwarding
Global Call Forwarding offers carrier-grade global inbound service, including call origination. You can use our cloud telephony services to expand your business’ reach in various countries around the world. We also offer a wide range of business calling features and premium services so you can build a phone system that works best for you.
Want to learn more? Chat with our experts today!
