If you’ve updated your meeting rooms to Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) to achieve a simple, all in one solution, having a legacy phone system in the middle of the table for audio conferencing will probably come across as a bit last century.
Not only does it seem strange having an old, cumbersome piece of audio conferencing kit in an all singing, all dancing MTR, but the presence of a traditional phone system might actually confuse users who are using the room for the first time.
So, what can you do to avoid having to use a legacy phone in your MTR, but still have the ability to make regular phone calls out from the room?
The solution
To get away from using outdated equipment in your Microsoft Teams Room for making external calls, you should add a Microsoft Teams Calling Plan to your MTR account.
This enables the MTR to make and receive PTSN calls directly from the room solution, with no need for additional telephony equipment.
What is a Microsoft Teams Calling Plan
If your organisation has Microsoft Teams, calls between users are free. However, if you are a business where you require regular calls to be made to customers or anyone outside of your organisation but still use Teams, you would need to buy a Calling Plan.
Microsoft Teams Calling Plan is a service which gives you a phone number and an amount of minutes dependent on your need, which you pay monthly for. This service is offered through Microsoft Office 365, and there is no extra PSTN contract.
Calling plan options
There are several types of Microsoft Teams Calling Plans to choose from depending on business need, but the main ones you would probably look at are domestic and international.
The Domestic Calling Plan is ideal if your organisation only makes calls within the country you are based in.
The International Calling Plan allows you to make both the domestic calls, and also calls out to 196 other countries.
When choosing the right plan for your organisation, consider whether you would ever need to call internationally or not. If your business is solely based in one country, then domestic may be the better option for you.
Adding a Microsoft Teams Calling Plan to your MTR
Adding a Microsoft Teams Calling plan to your existing Microsoft Teams Room couldn’t be easier.
All you need to do is add the required plan to your meeting room account from the Microsoft Office 365 admin portal and assign a phone number. Once complete, your MTR is ready to make and receive calls either domestically or internationally, dependent on the plan you chose.
Your new phone number can even be added to the MTR in-room display, enabling end users to see what the phone number for that particular room is.
James Hammond
Principle Microsoft AV Consultant
Symity