Teams / Teams Phone

Dear @Renee Meredith,

I hope you’re having a good day and thank you for your question. This is a very common and important topic when organizations are considering Microsoft Teams Phone.

Microsoft Teams Phone is a cloud‑based phone system built into Microsoft Teams. It allows users to make and receive external phone calls (PSTN) directly from the Teams app on desktop, mobile devices, or Teams‑certified phones, and it is managed centrally through the Teams Admin Center.

Overview documentation: What is Teams Phone

Regarding pricing, there isn’t a single flat cost. Teams Phone licensing depends on your existing Microsoft 365 plan. It is included with Microsoft 365 E5, while Business, E1, or E3 plans require a separate Teams Phone license. Calling charges are added based on how Teams connects to the public phone network, which gives flexibility for organizations of different sizes.

For setup, the typical process includes assigning Teams Phone licenses, choosing a PSTN connectivity option, assigning phone numbers, and configuring basic call features such as voicemail, call queues, or auto attendants. Smaller organizations often start with a simple setup, while larger organizations may design more advanced call routing as they grow.

For reference: Set up Teams Phone in your organization

Microsoft fully supports porting existing phone numbers into Teams Phone. This is handled through the Teams Admin Center and usually requires authorization from your current carrier and some country‑specific documentation. Porting is a standard migration scenario and does not limit future growth.

This article is an accompaniment for IT professionals and Teams Phone administrators in the process of porting phone numbers to Microsoft Teams Calling Plans: Transfer phone numbers to Microsoft Teams

When it comes to texting (SMS), availability depends on your region and the PSTN connectivity model you choose. In many cases, SMS is provided through specific carriers or third‑party, Teams‑certified integrations, so it’s important to evaluate this early if texting is a business requirement.

Referent: Plan for SMS in Microsoft Teams

In terms of scalability, Teams Phone is designed to grow with your organization. It uses a cloud‑based architecture, centralized management, and flexible PSTN options, allowing many organizations to start small and expand over time without changing the end‑user experience.

For accurate pricing, porting timelines, and region‑specific capabilities, it is recommended to review the documentation above and engage Microsoft Sales or a certified Teams Phone partner. Additional planning resources are available in the Teams Phone adoption and planning guides.

If more details are available about organization size, location, or calling requirements, the documentation can be mapped more precisely to the appropriate Teams Phone model. If you need help at any point, or if you have any questions during the process, please feel free to reach out, I’m always here and happy to assist.  

Warm regards, 

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Teams Phone is the calling solution built into Microsoft Teams that adds enterprise phone system capabilities such as user calling, auto attendants, and call queues.

For the areas asked about:

1. Pricing Pricing details are not included in the provided information. For cost comparisons and licensing options, use the public Teams Phone information page referenced in the Q&A answer: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/microsoft-teams-phone.
2. Setup and capabilities Teams Phone builds on the same administration model as native Teams calling and adds:

• Enterprise phone system features (for example, auto attendants and call queues).
• Voice policy settings that can be applied at global, group, and user levels.

High-level deployment help options include:

• Microsoft Cloud Solution Architect–led workshops for planning, piloting, and enabling at scale (via Unified Support plans).
• Microsoft FastTrack enablement services for licensed customers.
• A partner ecosystem that can help with planning, PSTN access, devices, and ongoing management.

More details on what is included are in Teams Phone features: Teams Phone features.

3. Getting numbers and porting numbers To use Teams Phone for calling, phone numbers are required for users and for services (like auto attendants and call queues):

• Step-by-step guidance is in Set up Teams Phone in your organization, specifically Step 3: Get and assign phone numbers for your users and services.
• Phone numbers can be:
  • User numbers (for individual users).
  • Service numbers (for auto attendants and call queues, supporting many simultaneous calls).
• How numbers are acquired and managed depends on the PSTN connectivity option.
• Country-specific guidance exists for acquiring and porting numbers, for example:
  • United States: Phone number management for the United States
  • Canada: Phone number management for Canada
  • United Kingdom: Phone number management for the United Kingdom
  • South Africa: Phone number management for South Africa
  • Hong Kong: Phone number management for Hong Kong
  • Singapore: Phone number management for Singapore

Each country page explains:

• What information/documents are needed to order new numbers.
• What number types are available.
• Typical lead times for acquiring numbers.
• Any special constraints (for example, vanity numbers, mobile availability).

4. Texting (SMS) for team members The provided information does not describe SMS/text capabilities, so no details can be given here.
5. Will it grow with an organization? Teams Phone is designed as an enterprise-grade phone system and supports growth via:

• Centralized administration and voice policies at global, group, and user levels.
• Support for large-scale deployments, including workshops and FastTrack services.
• Service numbers that can handle hundreds of simultaneous calls for auto attendants and call queues.
• A partner ecosystem to help with scaling, optimization, and management.

For a deployment that grows with an organization, use:

• The Teams Phone feature overview to understand capabilities.
• The setup guidance for acquiring and assigning numbers.
• Country-specific number management pages for planning PSTN coverage.

References:

• What is Teams Phone
• Set up Teams Phone in your organization
• Phone number management for the United States
• Phone number management for Canada
• Phone number management for Hong Kong
• Phone number management for Singapore
• Phone number management for the United Kingdom
• Phone number management for South Africa
• transfer skype to teams - Microsoft Q&A