Skip to content
Merged
Changes from all commits
Commits
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension

Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
14 changes: 14 additions & 0 deletions fern/products/platform/pages/calling/voice/SIP/index.mdx
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ SIP is fundamental to modern Voice over IP (VoIP) communications and enables fea
- Presence information
- Multimedia distribution

These are capabilities of the protocol in general. See [Presence and location support](#presence-and-location-support) for which of them SignalWire supports.

Getting started with SIP involves understanding a few key components:
- SIP endpoints (phones, softphones, or applications)
- SIP servers (proxies, registrars)
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -62,6 +64,8 @@ SIP phone systems enable you to perform a wide range of functions that a traditi
- Enabling instant messaging, multimedia conferences, user presence information, and E911 calls for emergencies.
- Bridging different sets of equipment and software by negotiating common capabilities before the calls start, akin to two people who speak different languages finding a way to communicate. SIP has the benefit of working with diverse vendors and setups as long as they share even a fraction of similar capabilities.

These are functions of the protocol, and support for them varies by provider. See [Presence and location support](#presence-and-location-support) for the location, availability, and presence items on this list.

#### Affordability

As we alluded to earlier, a big benefit of alternating to a SIP trunk is price-oriented. We had mentioned how you save on long-range calls and international calls due to every call being viewed as a local call through SIP. However, there are other areas that a SIP trunk saves money in, including:
Expand All @@ -82,6 +86,16 @@ SIP calling consolidates your entire communication network into a handful of dev

Most SIP providers offer wideband audio or HD voice with a higher sample rate of telephone audio, giving your phone higher fidelity audio than other systems.

## Presence and location support

SIP presence and PIDF-LO location objects are two SIP features that other providers sometimes bundle with a SIP trunk. SignalWire handles both differently: presence isn't supported, and emergency location comes from an address you register rather than from the call.

SIP presence is the SUBSCRIBE/NOTIFY event package that lets one SIP device watch another's status, with state carried in PIDF (Presence Information Data Format) bodies. Busy lamp field (BLF) keys and online/offline indicators in desk phones and softphones depend on it. SignalWire doesn't accept presence subscriptions, so devices registered with SIP Credentials can't watch each other's status. The Dashboard shows when a SIP Credential last registered, but there is no API or webhook for registration state.

PIDF-LO (Presence Information Data Format Location Object, RFC 4119 and RFC 5491) is how some networks attach a per-call location to a 911 call, carried on the INVITE through a `Geolocation` header. On SignalWire, the location a dispatcher receives comes from the emergency address you register and assign to the phone number. See [E911](/docs/platform/e911) to set one up, and update the assigned address when a device moves.

To request either capability, contact [SignalWire support](https://support.signalwire.com).

## Using a softphone with SignalWire [#softphone-configuration]

Any SIP-compatible softphone (such as Zoiper, Bria, Linphone, MicroSIP, or 3CX) can be used with a SignalWire SIP Credential.
Expand Down
Loading