Last updated 29 October 2026.
There are three ways to give Microsoft Teams real phone numbers: Microsoft Calling Plans, where Microsoft is the carrier; Direct Routing, where you connect your own carrier through a session border controller; and Operator Connect, where a carrier already inside Microsoft’s programme is provisioned from the Teams admin centre. All three need a Teams Phone licence. Only two of them leave room for a reseller.
That last sentence is the part missing from every comparison of these three, because they are written for the IT department choosing, not for the partner selling.
The three routes
| Calling Plans | Direct Routing | Operator Connect | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who is the carrier | Microsoft | Any carrier you choose | A carrier in Microsoft’s programme |
| Infrastructure needed | None | A supported session border controller | None |
| Where it is set up | Microsoft admin centre | Teams admin centre plus SBC configuration | Teams admin centre |
| Country availability | Limited to where Microsoft sells it | Wherever your carrier operates | Where participating operators offer it |
| Control over routing and rates | None | Full | Limited to the operator’s offer |
| Room for a reseller | Effectively none | Yes | Only if you are, or work through, an operator |
Every route requires a Teams Phone licence on top of the customer’s existing Microsoft subscription. That cost sits underneath all three and is not a differentiator, though it is regularly forgotten in a quote.
What this means if you are selling, not buying
Calling Plans remove you from the transaction
Microsoft is the carrier, Microsoft bills, and the numbers belong to that arrangement. You can advise on it, configure it and support the customer, but there is no voice margin in it for you. For a customer determined to buy everything from Microsoft on one invoice, that is the honest answer, and saying so builds more credibility than steering them away.
Direct Routing is where reseller economics work
You choose the carrier, you set the price, you own the relationship, and the customer keeps Teams as the interface. The trade is that somebody has to run a supported session border controller and keep it patched, monitored and correctly configured for each tenant. That somebody is you, unless your platform provides the routing layer as a service, which is the model most MSPs end up choosing.
Operator Connect has a barrier most MSPs cannot clear
This is the point that gets glossed over. Operator Connect provisioning is available from carriers accepted into Microsoft’s programme, and joining it is not a step an average MSP takes. In practice your options are to resell an existing operator’s Operator Connect service, or to use Direct Routing and get a comparable outcome without the programme requirement.
If a supplier implies you can simply offer Operator Connect under your own brand, ask precisely whose operator entry the customer will see in their Teams admin centre. The answer is instructive.
Which to put in front of which customer
- Customer already all-in on Microsoft, small, wants one invoice, few calling requirements. Calling Plans. Configure it, charge for the work, move on.
- Customer wants Teams as the phone system but has real calling needs, multiple sites, international, existing numbers or a contact centre alongside. Direct Routing through a platform.
- Customer is large, wants a named carrier visible in Teams and a formal service relationship. Operator Connect through an operator, with you alongside rather than in the middle.
- Customer does not actually use Teams for daily collaboration. Do not build their phone system on it. This is more common than vendors admit, and the result is a phone system nobody opens.
Where RingLogix is the wrong choice
If the customer’s requirement is genuinely one Microsoft invoice and nothing else, Calling Plans wins and we lose that deal fairly. Equally, if you already operate your own session border controllers and carrier relationships and simply want the cheapest termination behind Teams, buy capacity from a carrier rather than a platform. Our value is removing the routing layer and the per-tenant configuration work, and if you want to keep that work there is nothing for us to add.
What to check before quoting
- Does the customer hold, or need, a Teams Phone licence for every user who will make calls?
- Are the existing numbers portable, and are any tied to services that complicate a port?
- Are emergency calling obligations satisfied for each physical location, which behaves differently across the three routes?
- Is calling actually needed for every user, or for a subset? This changes the economics more than the route does.
- Does the customer need call queues or a contact centre, and is that requirement inside Teams or alongside it?
- If Direct Routing, who is responsible for the SBC, and is that cost in your quote?
The third item is the one most likely to be discovered late. We covered the underlying obligations in our piece on wholesale versus retail SIP trunking, and they do not disappear because the interface is Teams.
Frequently asked questions
What is Operator Connect?
A Microsoft programme that lets an approved carrier be selected and provisioned directly from the Teams admin centre, so the customer gets PSTN calling in Teams without deploying session border controllers and without Microsoft being the carrier. The carrier must be a participant in the programme.
What is the difference between Operator Connect and Direct Routing?
Operator Connect uses a carrier already integrated with Microsoft and is provisioned from the admin centre, with no session border controller for anyone to manage. Direct Routing connects any carrier you choose through a supported SBC, which gives full control of routing and rates in exchange for running that infrastructure. Operator Connect is simpler; Direct Routing is more flexible and open to any carrier.
Can I use Microsoft Teams as a phone system?
Yes, with a Teams Phone licence plus one of the three PSTN connectivity routes. Teams on its own handles internal calls and meetings; calling external numbers requires that additional licence and a carrier arrangement.
Do I need Microsoft Calling Plans to make calls in Teams?
No. Calling Plans is one of three routes and it is the one where Microsoft acts as the carrier. Direct Routing and Operator Connect both deliver external calling without it, using a carrier of your choosing or an approved operator respectively.
Which is cheaper, Direct Routing or Calling Plans?
Direct Routing is frequently cheaper on calling itself, because you choose the carrier and negotiate the rate, but the comparison is incomplete without the session border controller and the management around it. Calling Plans has no infrastructure cost and no rate negotiation. Compare the total including support effort rather than the per-user figure.
Can an MSP resell Operator Connect?
Not directly, unless the MSP is itself an operator accepted into Microsoft’s programme, which is a substantial undertaking. The practical routes are to resell an operator’s service or to use Direct Routing, which produces a comparable outcome for the customer without the programme requirement.
Deciding
Establish two things before recommending anything: whether the customer genuinely lives in Teams, and whether they want one Microsoft invoice or the best calling arrangement. The first determines whether this project should happen at all. The second decides which of the three routes you should be quoting, and whether there is a business in it for you.
If Direct Routing without running the infrastructure is the model you want, the RingLogix partner programme sets out how the routing and per-tenant configuration are handled.
