Microsoft Teams Direct Routing — fully managed, in 80+ countries

What is Microsoft Teams Direct Routing?

Direct Routing is the Microsoft-blessed way to give Microsoft Teams Phone a real PSTN dial tone without buying Microsoft's bundled Calling Plans. You bring your own phone numbers (DIDs) from a SIP carrier, route them to Teams via a Session Border Controller (SBC), and Microsoft Teams becomes a fully working phone system that can dial and receive calls anywhere in the world.

Direct Routing exists because Microsoft's Calling Plans only covers about 30 countries. Most enterprises operate in more countries than that — or want lower per-number pricing than Microsoft's bundled per-seat model. Direct Routing solves both: you bring any SIP carrier (DIDHub), you pay flat per-number rates, and you get every country that carrier supports.

The traditional pain of Direct Routing has always been the SBC — you had to license AudioCodes, Ribbon, AnyNode or Oracle, deploy it in a DMZ, expose it to the public internet with hardened TLS, manage cert renewals, configure SBC-side routing rules, and do it all with deep telecom expertise. DIDHub eliminates that by running the SBC for you as a service.

Direct Routing vs Operator Connect vs Calling Plans

Microsoft offers three ways to add PSTN to Teams. Most enterprises end up on Direct Routing. Here's why:

Two ways to get Direct Routing on DIDHub

You don't have to deploy an SBC to use DIDHub Direct Routing. Pick the path that matches your team's appetite for telecom infrastructure.

80+ countries — every market Calling Plans doesn't cover

The biggest reason teams switch from Calling Plans to Direct Routing is country coverage. Calling Plans is limited to roughly 30 markets, and even within those, number availability varies. DIDHub Direct Routing covers 80+ countries across all eight regions:

Browse the full country / area-code reference →

Teams Direct Routing by country

The same managed SBC, the same transparent per-number pricing, in every market DIDHub supports. Below is a quick reference for the most-requested Teams Direct Routing countries — including those Microsoft Calling Plans doesn't cover at all.

For the full list of 80+ countries — including those without dedicated landing pages yet — see the area-code reference or talk to us for a per-country quote and regulatory walk-through. Direct Routing pricing on DIDHub is published; no minimum commit, no quote required for most markets.

Pricing — flat per-number, no per-seat fees

Microsoft Calling Plans charges a per-seat license plus a per-number cost. DIDHub Direct Routing has no per-seat fee — you pay only for the numbers you actually use plus per-minute usage.

Quick math for a 50-user company calling internationally: Calling Plans = ~$50 × 50 users = $2,500/mo minimum (and you still can't dial half the world). DIDHub Direct Routing = $50 SBC + 50 DIDs at $1.99-1.50 = ~$125/mo + actual usage. Difference scales linearly with seat count.

Setup — managed SBC path (30-60 minutes end-to-end)

The DIDHub managed SBC path is designed to be the fastest route from "I want Direct Routing" to "my Teams users are on the phone".

PowerShell setup snippet

The DIDHub dashboard generates these commands for your specific tenant — but here's what they look like, so your IT and telecom teams know what to expect. Run them in an admin PowerShell session after Connect-MicrosoftTeams. Replace sbc.yourcompany.com with the FQDN DIDHub provisions for your tenant.

1. Register DIDHub's managed SBC as a Teams PSTN gateway

# Register DIDHub's managed Microsoft-certified SBC as a PSTN gateway
New-CsOnlinePSTNGateway -Fqdn "sbc.yourcompany.com" -SipSignalingPort 5067 -MediaBypass $True -ForwardCallHistory $True -ForwardPai $True -Enabled $True

2. Create a PSTN usage record + voice route

# Create a PSTN usage label and a voice route that matches every dialable number
Set-CsOnlinePstnUsage -Identity "Global" -Usage @{Add="DIDHub-Usage"}
New-CsOnlineVoiceRoute -Identity "DIDHubGlobal" -NumberPattern ".*" -OnlinePstnGatewayList "sbc.yourcompany.com" -Priority 1 -OnlinePstnUsages "DIDHub-Usage"

3. Build the voice routing policy

New-CsOnlineVoiceRoutingPolicy -Identity "DIDHubVoicePolicy" -OnlinePstnUsages "DIDHub-Usage"

4. Apply the policy and assign the DID to a Teams user

# Per-user assignment — repeat for each Teams user, or scope tenant-wide
Grant-CsOnlineVoiceRoutingPolicy -Identity "[email protected]" -PolicyName "DIDHubVoicePolicy"
Set-CsPhoneNumberAssignment -Identity "[email protected]" -PhoneNumber "+15551234567" -PhoneNumberType "DirectRouting"

5. Verify the gateway and test a call

Get-CsOnlinePSTNGateway -Identity "sbc.yourcompany.com"
Get-CsOnlineUser -Identity "[email protected]" | Select-Object LineUri,OnlineVoiceRoutingPolicy

The full snippet is auto-generated and pre-filled in your DIDHub dashboard with your unique FQDN, the right SIP port and the SBC certificates already in Microsoft's allow-list. The above is canonical, vendor-agnostic — you can use it as a reference for any Direct Routing carrier.

Compatible SBCs (BYO-SBC path)

If you'd rather operate the SBC yourself, every Microsoft-certified Teams Direct Routing SBC works with DIDHub as the upstream carrier.

Each gets a dedicated configuration guide. We provide trunk credentials (or pin to your static IPs), TLS certificates, and a senior carrier engineer on call during your initial cutover.

Security & compliance

• SIP TLS 1.2 / 1.3 on every Direct Routing trunk — Microsoft Teams won't talk plain SIP, and neither will we.
• SRTP for media; media bypass supported so RTP flows directly between Teams clients and DIDHub edge for the lowest possible latency.
• STIR/SHAKEN attestation on US outbound calls — DIDHub signs all calls automatically, so they don't get spam-flagged on the called party's carrier analytics.
• E911 / emergency calling with location-based routing — comply with US Kari's Law / Ray Baum's Act, and equivalent emergency-calling regulations in other regulated markets.
• Optional call recording — Microsoft Teams recording captures only the Teams side; DIDHub's carrier-side recording captures both legs cleanly with separate channels for diarization. MiFID II / HIPAA-aligned setups available.
• SOC 2 Type II infrastructure, ISO 27001 certified — DPA available on request.

Common Teams Direct Routing use cases on DIDHub

• Multi-country enterprises — replace Calling Plans across 50+ markets with a single Direct Routing tenant. Common for SaaS, consulting, finance.
• Calling Plans price reduction — companies running 200+ Teams Phone seats often save $1k-10k+/month switching to Direct Routing on flat per-number pricing.
• Markets Microsoft doesn't cover natively — Israel, India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and most APAC are limited or absent on Calling Plans; Direct Routing is the only path.
• Inbound port-in — bring existing landline ranges from BT, Verizon, Telekom, etc. into Teams without losing the numbers.
• Centralised call recording for compliance (MiFID II finance, healthcare, contact centers).
• AI voice agents bridged into Teams — pair a DIDHub DID with both an AI voice platform (Vapi/Retell/Bland) AND a Teams user via routing rules, so AI handles overflow / after-hours and Teams handles human calls.

Migrating from Microsoft Calling Plans to Direct Routing

If you're already on Microsoft Calling Plans and want to switch to Direct Routing — usually for cost reduction, broader country coverage, or to leave per-seat licensing — here's what the migration looks like end-to-end. The whole project for a 100-seat tenant typically lands in 2-4 weeks of calendar time, with a few hours of actual hands-on work spread across it.

1. Inventory your existing numbers and seats Day 1

   List every PSTN-enabled Teams user, what number they have today, what country it's from, and which Calling Plan license they're consuming. In Teams Admin Center: Voice → Phone numbers exports a CSV. Tag each number "keep" or "drop" — some Calling Plan inventory may not be worth porting if it's a vanity number you no longer use.

2. Pre-provision Direct Routing alongside Calling Plans Day 2-3

   Set up the DIDHub managed SBC in your tenant per the setup steps. Direct Routing and Calling Plans coexist in the same tenant — you're not breaking anything yet. Run a test call from a non-production user (a spare Teams Phone Standard license + a freshly-bought DIDHub DID) to validate end-to-end before committing to the cutover.

3. Order port-ins for each number Week 1-2

   Sign one Letter of Authority per country. DIDHub handles the back-and-forth with Microsoft (the losing carrier) and your local PTT regulator. Microsoft port-out timing is consistent: US 5-10 business days, UK 10-15, EU 15-20, APAC and other 15-30. Ports happen on a scheduled FOC date — your numbers don't go down.

4. Cut over user-by-user as ports complete Week 1-4

   As each number ports to DIDHub, remove the Calling Plan license, assign the DIDHub DID, apply the DIDHub Voice Routing Policy. The user's Teams Phone keeps the same number, same Teams app, same dial habits — but now answers and dials via Direct Routing. Most users won't notice anything changed.

5. Decommission Calling Plans licenses After all ports complete

   Once every PSTN user is on Direct Routing, drop the Calling Plans subscription in Microsoft 365 admin. Calling Plans is monthly-cancelable. From here, you only pay Microsoft for Teams Phone Standard ($8/user/mo); everything else (numbers, minutes, optional managed SBC) is DIDHub on a flat per-DID model.

6. Validate billing and usage analytics Month 2

   Compare your first full DIDHub invoice to the equivalent Calling Plans month. Most enterprises with 100+ seats see 50-80% PSTN cost reduction on month 1. DIDHub's analytics dashboard surfaces per-user, per-country and per-DID minutes and spend — which Microsoft Calling Plans does not expose at the same granularity.

DIDHub provides a dedicated migration engineer for tenants with 50+ users. Schedule a migration call to map your existing inventory and get an exact savings estimate before you commit. Most calls take 30 minutes; we'll usually have a CSV-based projection back to you within one business day.

DIDHub vs other Direct Routing providers

The Microsoft Teams Direct Routing carrier market has matured considerably. Here's how DIDHub compares to the providers most enterprises evaluate alongside us. We've tried to be honest about where each option is strong — DIDHub isn't always the right call.

Microsoft Teams Direct Routing glossary

Quick reference for the acronyms and terms you'll see throughout the Teams Direct Routing world. If you're new to telecom-meets-Microsoft, this is the cheat sheet.

Direct Routing (DR)

Microsoft's pattern for connecting any third-party SIP carrier to Microsoft Teams Phone via a Session Border Controller. The most flexible of Microsoft's three PSTN paths (alongside Operator Connect and Calling Plans).

Operator Connect (OC)

Microsoft's curated partnership program where pre-vetted operators provide PSTN to your Teams tenant with one-click activation. Smaller operator list than Direct Routing; less flexibility on routing; operator-set pricing.

Calling Plans

Microsoft's first-party PSTN bundle. Microsoft sells you the numbers and the minutes per seat, limited to roughly 30 countries. Simplest option but most expensive at scale and most limited geographically.

Session Border Controller (SBC)

The piece of telecom infrastructure that sits between Microsoft Teams and the public SIP network, handling SIP normalization, TLS termination, RTP/SRTP relay, fraud guard and topology hiding. Microsoft Teams Direct Routing requires a Microsoft-certified SBC. DIDHub provides one as a managed service so you don't need to operate your own.

BYO-SBC / BYOC

"Bring Your Own SBC" or "Bring Your Own Carrier" — patterns where you operate your own SBC and use a third-party SIP carrier (like DIDHub) for PSTN connectivity. Maximum control, requires SBC engineering expertise.

FQDN

Fully Qualified Domain Name. The DNS name of your SBC (e.g. sbc.yourcompany.com) that Microsoft Teams uses to find and authenticate against your Direct Routing endpoint. Must be a verified domain in your Microsoft 365 tenant.

PSTN

Public Switched Telephone Network — the traditional global phone network. "PSTN dial tone" is what gives a Teams user the ability to call any external number, anywhere.

DID

Direct Inward Dialing — a phone number that lets external callers reach a specific user or service without going through an operator. The thing you assign to a Teams user.

STIR/SHAKEN

The US/Canada caller-ID authentication framework. STIR signs each call with one of three attestation levels (A, B, C); SHAKEN is the ecosystem that verifies the signature. Required on US/CA outbound; DIDHub signs all outbound automatically with attestation A.

Media bypass

An optimization where the actual voice (RTP) flows directly between the Teams client and the carrier edge, skipping the SBC for media. SIP signaling still goes through the SBC. Lower latency, better MOS, lower SBC compute cost.

Location-based routing (LBR)

A Direct Routing feature that routes calls based on the calling user's geographic location, primarily for emergency-calling compliance and toll-bypass restrictions. Required for US Kari's Law / Ray Baum's Act compliance on Teams Phone.

Voice Routing Policy

A Microsoft Teams admin policy that defines which Direct Routing PSTN gateways are allowed for outbound calls from a given user. The thing you Grant-CsOnlineVoiceRoutingPolicy per user.

PSTN Usage

A label on a Voice Routing Policy that tags a category of outbound calls (e.g. "Domestic", "International", "Emergency"). Routes are matched against usages to determine which gateway handles which call patterns.

Teams Phone Standard

Microsoft's per-user license that enables Teams Phone features (voicemail, hold/transfer, attendant). Required for PSTN regardless of which path you choose. About $8/user/month at standard MSRP.

Phone Number Type

A classification Microsoft Teams applies to each number — DirectRouting, CallingPlan, OperatorConnect, etc. Set via Set-CsPhoneNumberAssignment -PhoneNumberType DirectRouting when porting in DIDHub DIDs.

E911 / Emergency calling

Enhanced 911 — the US/Canada standard for routing emergency calls with location info. Equivalent regimes exist in other countries (UK 999/112, EU 112, Australia 000). DIDHub supports dynamic E911 with PIDF-LO location reporting per Microsoft's spec.

Resource Account

A Microsoft Teams "phantom" account used by call queues, auto attendants, voice apps. Direct Routing supports Resource Accounts; you assign DIDHub DIDs to them like any other user, then attach the queue/AA logic on the Teams side.

SIP REFER

A SIP method that signals call transfer between endpoints. Direct Routing supports SIP REFER for Teams call transfers; DIDHub honors REFER on inbound legs and on outbound transfers via the managed SBC.

Frequently asked questions

Related resources