Picking the right carrier is the second-biggest Teams Phone deployment decision (after the deployment model itself). Below is the Operator Connect carrier landscape in Canada, US, and globally; the Microsoft-certified SBC vendor list for Direct Routing; and the Teams Phone Mobile carrier list by country.
Microsoft’s SBC certification list is binding. Non-certified SBCs do NOT work with Direct Routing. Verify the specific product + firmware version in the Microsoft Teams Direct Routing infrastructure documentation before purchasing.
Mediant series is the most common SBC choice for mid-market Teams Phone deployments. Models: Mediant 500/800/1000/2600/4000/9000 covering 30 to 60,000 sessions. Supports HA pairs, transcoding, advanced SIP normalization. AudioCodes also publishes a virtual edition for cloud / VMware deployments.
SBC family covers 1000 / 2000 / 5000 / 7000 / Edge series. Strong for large enterprise + carrier-class deployments. Ribbon SBC 5000 is the dominant choice in F500 Direct Routing. Supports up to 200,000+ sessions on the largest models.
Acme Packet E-SBC family. Strong for organizations standardized on Oracle infrastructure. Carrier-grade. Less common in mid-market; dominant in Tier-1 carrier networks.
Vega series + Sangoma SBC family. Strong for SMB and lower mid-market — better price point than AudioCodes / Ribbon for smaller deployments. Open-source roots (FreePBX / Asterisk lineage) make it popular with shops that want flexibility.
Cisco Unified Border Element runs on ISR / ASR routers. Natural choice for Cisco-resident shops modernizing from Cisco PBX / CUCM to Teams Phone. Strong for organizations with existing Cisco voice infrastructure.
anynode is a software-only SBC that runs on Windows Server. Popular for organizations that want SBC functionality without dedicated appliance hardware. Strong for the SMB segment that needs Direct Routing flexibility but not appliance complexity.
P-Series SBC. Newer entrant to the certified list. Competitive pricing for SMB and lower mid-market deployments. Strong for shops that want a simpler vendor relationship.
| Country | Carrier offering Teams Phone Mobile |
|---|---|
| US | Verizon Business |
| Canada | Rogers Business |
| UK | BT |
| Australia | Telstra |
| Switzerland | Swisscom |
| Germany | Deutsche Telekom (T-Systems) |
| France | Orange Business |
| Netherlands | KPN |
The major Canadian Operator Connect partners as of May 2026: Bell Canada (largest enterprise presence), Telus (strong Western Canada), Rogers (strong Ontario + Teams Phone Mobile via Rogers Wireless), BCE / Bell Business Markets, Lumen Technologies (cross-border US + Canada), Tata Communications (multi-country), and several specialty providers. Most Canadian mid-market deployments land on Bell or Telus for domestic + Lumen or AT&T for cross-border US connectivity.
Microsoft maintains a binding certified vendor list. The major certified SBC vendors as of 2026: AudioCodes (Mediant series), Ribbon Communications (formerly Sonus, SBC 1000/2000/5000/Edge), Oracle (Acme Packet E-SBC), Sangoma (Vega + SBC family), Cisco (CUBE on ISR/ASR routers), TE-SYSTEMS (anynode software SBC), Yeastar (P-Series), and several others. Non-certified SBCs do NOT work — Microsoft’s certification process verifies SIP interop, media handling, security posture, and feature parity. AudioCodes Mediant is the most common choice for mid-market; Ribbon SBC 5000 dominates large enterprise.
Teams Phone Mobile combines a user’s mobile carrier line with Teams Phone — calls to/from the mobile number ring in Teams (and on the mobile device), SMS appears in Teams, contacts sync. Carriers as of May 2026: Verizon Business (US), Rogers Business (Canada), BT (UK), Telstra (Australia), Swisscom (Switzerland), Deutsche Telekom / T-Systems (Germany), Orange Business (France), KPN (Netherlands). The mobile carrier becomes the PSTN provider for that user, billed alongside the Teams Phone Mobile license. Pricing typically $20-$30/user/mo total. Best for field staff, sales teams, and executives who use mobile as their primary work line.
No. Microsoft’s SBC certification list is binding for Direct Routing. Non-certified SBCs cannot register with Microsoft’s Direct Routing infrastructure — the SIP trunk handshake will fail. Certification is product-and-firmware-version specific (e.g., AudioCodes Mediant 800 with firmware 7.40A.250 or later). Most major SBC vendors maintain Microsoft Teams certification across their current product lines, but always verify the specific SKU and firmware in the Microsoft Teams Direct Routing infrastructure documentation before purchasing.
For Calling Plans: international calls are billed per-minute outside your domestic plan (Domestic Calling Plan covers US/Canada; International Calling Plan adds 196 destination countries at $24/user/mo). For Operator Connect: most carriers include international calling in their tariff, but rates vary widely — verify with each carrier. For Direct Routing: international call routing depends on your SIP trunk carrier’s coverage and pricing. Cross-border North America (US ↔ Canada) is included in most Operator Connect contracts and in the Microsoft Domestic Calling Plan.
We have shipped deployments on all the major Canadian + US carriers and run AudioCodes, Ribbon, and Cisco CUBE SBCs in production. The right combination depends on your geography, existing carrier relationships, and routing complexity. We do the analysis explicitly during the scoping call.
