What Is MS Teams Direct Routing?

If your business already runs on Microsoft Teams and you're looking at how to make and receive external phone calls through it, you'll come across two options: Microsoft Calling Plans, or Direct Routing. Here's what Direct Routing actually is, how it compares to Microsoft's own calling plans, and what to look for in a provider.

What Is MS Teams Direct Routing?

Direct Routing is a feature within Microsoft Teams that lets you connect your own external telephony provider directly into Teams, rather than buying calling minutes through Microsoft itself. In practice, this means calls to and from ordinary phone numbers — landlines, mobiles, anyone outside your organisation — are carried over a SIP trunk connection into Teams via a Session Border Controller (SBC), instead of through Microsoft's own Calling Plan network.

Users still make and receive calls directly from within Teams, exactly as they would with a native Calling Plan — the difference is entirely in how the call is routed behind the scenes and, usually, how much it costs.

Direct Routing vs. Microsoft Calling Plans

Microsoft Calling Plans are Microsoft's own bundled minutes, bought and billed directly through Microsoft 365. They're simple to set up, but pricing is fixed by Microsoft and minute bundles can work out expensive at scale, particularly for businesses making a high volume of outbound calls.

Direct Routing uses a third-party telecoms provider's SIP trunks instead, connected in through an SBC. This generally works out considerably cheaper per minute, especially for businesses already using or considering SIP trunking elsewhere, and it also means existing number ranges and contracts with a chosen provider can often be kept and routed into Teams, rather than having to migrate everything to Microsoft's own numbering.

What to Look For in a Direct Routing Provider

• Their own Session Border Controller — Direct Routing depends on an SBC to bridge the SIP trunk into Teams. A provider running their own SBC, rather than reselling someone else's, generally means faster fixes when something goes wrong.
• Straightforward setup — how much configuration and technical work is required to actually get Direct Routing connected to an existing Microsoft 365 tenant?
• Genuine cost savings — the whole point of Direct Routing is usually cost. Worth comparing actual per-minute and line rental pricing against existing Calling Plan costs before switching.
• Reliability and support — since this becomes the business's phone system, not just a chat app feature, the same standards that would apply to choosing any telecoms provider apply here too.

How Plustel's Direct Routing Works

Plustel's MS Teams Direct Routing connects your SIP trunks straight into Microsoft Teams through our own Session Border Controller, rather than a resold third-party SBC. This is a genuinely cost-effective alternative to Microsoft Calling Plans, and it means organisations can make full use of Microsoft 365 licensing they're already paying for while routing calls through a provider they choose.

If your business already runs on Teams and is weighing up the cost of Calling Plans against a Direct Routing setup, the MS Teams Direct Routing page has the full breakdown, and the team can talk through what the switch would actually involve for your existing setup.