It calls landlines and mobiles
Teams Phone adds outside calls, auto attendants and call queues to Teams. Microsoft positions it as a replacement for a traditional office PBX.
Overview
The short answer
Yes, Teams can be your business phone system. Each user needs the right licence, and your Teams tenant needs a route to the phone network.
It takes two things
A Teams Phone licence for each user, and a route to the phone network: Operator Connect, Direct Routing, a Microsoft Calling Plan or Teams Phone Mobile.
Your numbers come with you
Your existing UK numbers can move to Teams, so customers keep dialling the numbers they know. We handle the port.
A desk phone is optional
Staff can call from the Teams app on a PC, Mac or mobile with a headset, or from a Teams-certified desk phone.
Features
What Teams Phone adds to Teams
Once we switch on Teams Phone and give each user a number, your team gets these calling features.
Auto attendants
A menu that sends callers to a person, a team, voicemail or an outside number. You can route calls differently for opening hours, after hours and bank holidays, and callers can say a name to find someone.
Call queues
Callers hold until someone in the team is free. If nobody answers, the call can overflow to voicemail, another queue or a named colleague.
Voicemail with transcripts
Messages land in Outlook as an email with the recording attached and a written transcript, so staff can read a message in a meeting.
Park, transfer and move
Park a call and pick it up from another phone with a short code, transfer it with or without an introduction, or move a live call from laptop to mobile.
Delegates and call groups
An assistant can answer and make calls on a manager's line, and call groups share one person's calls with colleagues.
Desk phones and headsets
Teams-certified desk phones from makers such as Yealink and Polycom, plus headsets for the app. We supply and set them up.
How it connects
Four ways to connect Teams to the phone network
Teams Phone handles calling inside Teams. One of these four routes carries your calls out to landlines and mobiles, and you can mix them.
Route
How it works, and what we do
Operator Connect
A phone operator certified by Microsoft supplies your numbers and carries your calls. It switches on in the Teams admin center, with no hardware at your end. We set it up and port your numbers.
Direct Routing
Teams connects to a phone carrier through a certified Session Border Controller. It suits businesses that want to keep an existing PBX or analogue lines and devices working alongside Teams. We set it up and port your numbers.
Microsoft Calling Plan
Microsoft acts as the phone company: it supplies the numbers and minutes and takes the port. We advise on whether it fits.
Teams Phone Mobile
Your company mobile number becomes your Teams number too, through a mobile operator that offers it. It covers personal numbers only, not auto attendants or call queues. We advise on whether it fits.
Not sure which route fits? Book a free demo and we'll recommend one for your numbers and sites.
Licensing
The licences behind it
Teams Phone is a Microsoft licence that sits on top of the one your staff already use for Teams.
Teams Phone Standard
The add-on that lets each user call landlines and mobiles. It's separate from the route that carries the calls.
A plan that includes Teams
Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard or Premium, or Teams Enterprise, for example. You can't add Teams Phone without one.
Microsoft 365 E5
E5 already includes Teams Phone, so E5 users need no separate Teams Phone licence.
Resource accounts
Each auto attendant and call queue runs on a resource account. Businesses with Teams Phone get an allocation of these licences at no cost.
Phones in shared spaces
A desk phone in a reception, kitchen or meeting room runs on a Microsoft Teams Shared Space licence instead of a user licence.
Frontline workers
Staff on Microsoft 365 F1 or F3 use Teams Phone Standard for Frontline Workers, a version of Teams Phone that pairs with those plans.
We check which licences your users already hold and give you the full cost on the demo call.
Before you switch
What to have ready
Six things we go through with you before the move.
A list of your numbers
Every number you want to keep, with your current provider and account number. Microsoft quotes 12 to 30 business days for a UK port to its own Calling Plans; we confirm the date for your route.
Your old line kept live
Don't cancel your current phone service before the port. We can't move a number from a cancelled line.
An emergency address per site
Each number needs a registered address so emergency services know where a caller is. Microsoft requires one for Calling Plan users, and operators set the rule for their own routes. We add them for you.
How calls are answered today
Who picks up which number, your opening hours and what happens out of hours. We turn this into your auto attendant and call queues.
A reliable internet connection
Teams calls run over the internet. Microsoft warns that emergency calls may not work without it, for example in a power cut, so keep a mobile to hand as a backup.
A device for each person
Decide who needs a desk phone, who needs a headset and who only needs the app. We supply Teams-certified phones and headsets.
Existing Microsoft 365 customer? You get 20% off consultancy and setup. Book a free demo and we'll go through the list with you.
Setup
From demo to your first call in Teams
We plan the route, build your call flows, then move your numbers on an agreed date.
01
Discovery and route
We look at your numbers, sites, current contract and how calls are answered today, then recommend Operator Connect or Direct Routing.
02
Licences and port order
We check each user has Teams and Teams Phone licences and raise the port order for your numbers, using a letter of authorisation you sign.
03
Call flows
We build your auto attendants and call queues, add emergency addresses and set up voicemail, forwarding and caller ID.
04
Phones and testing
We set up desk phones and headsets, then test inbound and outbound calls and each call flow before the port date.
05
Port day and support
Your numbers move across on the agreed date, we show your team the new set-up, and our UK support desk takes it from there.
We confirm your port date once we've checked your numbers.
Book a free Teams Phone demo
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FAQ
Microsoft Teams Phone questions
What UK businesses ask before moving their calls into Teams.
Can I use Microsoft Teams as a phone system?
Yes. With a Teams Phone licence for each user and a route to the phone network, Teams makes and takes outside calls and runs auto attendants and call queues. Microsoft describes Teams Phone as a replacement for traditional PBXs.
Can Teams call landlines and mobiles?
Yes, once Teams Phone is switched on. Without it, Teams only calls other Teams users. The calls reach landlines and mobiles through Operator Connect, Direct Routing, a Microsoft Calling Plan or Teams Phone Mobile.
How much does Microsoft Teams Phone cost?
It depends on the Microsoft licences your users already hold, the route you choose and the setup work. We give you the full cost on the demo call, and existing Microsoft 365 customers get 20% off consultancy and setup.
Do I need Microsoft 365 E5?
No. E5 includes Teams Phone. On other plans you add a Teams Phone Standard licence to a plan that already includes Teams, such as Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard or Premium.
Can I keep my existing phone numbers?
Yes. We port your UK numbers to Teams. Keep your current service live until the port completes, because we can't move a number from a cancelled line.
What's the difference between Operator Connect and Direct Routing?
With Operator Connect, a Microsoft-certified operator supplies numbers and calls, and it switches on in the Teams admin center with no hardware at your end. Direct Routing connects a carrier through a Session Border Controller, which suits businesses keeping an existing PBX or analogue lines.
Can our old phone system run alongside Teams during the move?
Yes, with Direct Routing. It can connect an existing PBX and analogue devices to Teams, so staff can move across in stages.
Is Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile available in the UK?
Yes, UK mobile operators offer it. Your company mobile number also becomes your Teams number, with one call history and voicemail. It covers personal numbers only, not auto attendants or call queues. We'll advise on whether it suits your team.
Do I need a desk phone?
No. Staff can call from the Teams app on a PC, Mac or mobile with a headset. Reception desks and shared spaces can use a desk phone, and we supply Teams-certified ones.
How do I set up Microsoft Teams Phone?
Microsoft's order is licences, then a route to the phone network, then numbers, emergency addresses, auto attendants, call queues and devices. We do each step for you, and your numbers move on an agreed port date.
Contact
Turn Teams into your phone system
Tell us how many people need a number and how calls reach you today. You'll hear back within 1 business day, with a 30-minute discovery call to follow. Existing Microsoft 365 customers get 20% off consultancy and setup.
0333 370 7000
Mon-Fri 8am-5pm
[email protected]
Response within 1 business day, guaranteed
United Kingdom
UK-based team, since 2012
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Related
More Microsoft and phone pages
The rest of Teams, and the other phone systems we set up.