Microsoft Teams Phone is the cloud-based phone system, or private branch exchange (PBX), built into Microsoft Teams and the wider Microsoft 365 service, where it handles call control so an organization can run its business calling inside the Teams apps people already use.[1] Calls between Teams users in the same organization stay on the internet and never touch the traditional phone network, while a Teams Phone add-on license plus a separate connection to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) lets those users dial and answer regular phone numbers.[1][2] The license adds enterprise calling features such as auto attendants, call queues, cloud voicemail, call transfer, and external caller ID on top of the basic calling already included with Teams.[3] Microsoft offers four ways to connect Teams Phone to outside numbers: its own Calling Plan, Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, and Direct Routing.[2] Teams Phone was previously named Phone System, and it succeeds Skype for Business Online, which Microsoft retired on July 31, 2021.[9]
\n","summary":"Teams Phone is Microsoft's add-on that turns Microsoft Teams into a business phone system. Internal Teams calls are free over the internet; a Teams Phone license plus a PSTN connection lets users call and receive regular phone numbers, with features like auto attendants, call queues, and voicemail. Connectivity comes through a Microsoft Calling Plan, Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, or Direct Routing, and Teams Phone Standard runs about $10 per user per month before a calling plan.","publishedAt":"2026-07-18T03:24:54.673","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","editorialStatus":"APPROVED","lastReviewedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","nextReviewDueAt":"2026-10-17T00:00:00","templateVersion":"v2","aliases":["What is Teams Phone?","What is Microsoft Teams Phone Standard?","Is Teams Phone a PBX?","What was Phone System in Microsoft 365?","Does Microsoft Teams have a phone system?","What is Teams Phone used for?","How is Teams Phone different from Teams calling?","Teams Phone meaning","What does Microsoft Teams Phone do?","Is Teams Phone the same as a Calling Plan?","Can Microsoft Teams replace my office phone system?","What is the Teams cloud phone system?"],"confidenceScore":94,"confidenceLabel":"High","canonicalUrl":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"contributorOrganizationProfile":{"entityId":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","legalName":null,"description":null,"websiteUrl":null,"imageUrl":null,"slogan":null,"subtitle":null,"facts":[],"coiNote":null,"foundingDate":null,"numberOfEmployeesText":null,"contactPoint":null,"address":null,"headquartersText":null,"organizationType":null},"contributorPerson":{"slug":"answerstack-editorial-team","displayName":"AnswerStack Editorial Team"},"sections":[{"id":"cceb22d1-012b-4d69-8f3f-832c4448a5f7","sectionKey":"what_teams_phone_does","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"What does Teams Phone actually do?","introMarkdown":"Teams Phone is Microsoft's cloud phone system, delivered from the same Microsoft 365 platform that runs Teams chat, meetings, and files.[1] It gives an organization the call-control and private branch exchange (PBX) features a business normally buys from a separate phone vendor, so calls can be placed, answered, transferred, and routed inside the Teams desktop, web, and mobile apps, or on a certified desk phone.[1][3] By default, calls between people in the same organization run natively over the internet and never reach the public phone network, which removes carrier toll charges for internal calls.[1]\n\n### The license and the phone line are two separate things\n\nTo reach a landline or mobile number, Teams Phone needs two pieces that Microsoft keeps deliberately distinct. The first is a Teams Phone license assigned to the user, which turns on the enhanced calling features. The second is a connection to the public switched telephone network, or PSTN, which supplies the actual phone numbers and the route to domestic, international, and emergency calling.[1][2]\n\n### Where the product came from\n\nTeams Phone carries some history that still shows up in documentation and license names. It was previously called Phone System, and it is the successor to the voice features once delivered through Skype for Business Online, which Microsoft retired on July 31, 2021 and pointed customers toward Teams.[9] In practice, it is Microsoft's current option for replacing a legacy PBX, packaged as an add-on to a subscription many organizations already hold.[1][10]","introHtml":"Teams Phone is Microsoft's cloud phone system, delivered from the same Microsoft 365 platform that runs Teams chat, meetings, and files.[1] It gives an organization the call-control and private branch exchange (PBX) features a business normally buys from a separate phone vendor, so calls can be placed, answered, transferred, and routed inside the Teams desktop, web, and mobile apps, or on a certified desk phone.[1][3] By default, calls between people in the same organization run natively over the internet and never reach the public phone network, which removes carrier toll charges for internal calls.[1]
\nTo reach a landline or mobile number, Teams Phone needs two pieces that Microsoft keeps deliberately distinct. The first is a Teams Phone license assigned to the user, which turns on the enhanced calling features. The second is a connection to the public switched telephone network, or PSTN, which supplies the actual phone numbers and the route to domestic, international, and emergency calling.[1][2]
\nTeams Phone carries some history that still shows up in documentation and license names. It was previously called Phone System, and it is the successor to the voice features once delivered through Skype for Business Online, which Microsoft retired on July 31, 2021 and pointed customers toward Teams.[9] In practice, it is Microsoft's current option for replacing a legacy PBX, packaged as an add-on to a subscription many organizations already hold.[1][10]
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":0},{"id":"0ccde2b9-b7c6-42fa-a4ca-f897a07ba028","sectionKey":"features","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Which calling features does a Teams Phone license add?","introMarkdown":"A Teams Phone license adds the enterprise calling features that a traditional PBX provides, layered on the basic person-to-person calling that a Teams Enterprise license already includes.[3] Microsoft draws a clear line between the two: native Teams calling covers basics like voicemail and video calls, while the Teams Phone license enables dialing PSTN numbers, call park, call delegation, external caller ID, and the automated call-handling services below.[3]\n\n### Auto attendants and call queues\n\nAuto attendants and call queues are the two features most businesses picture when they think of a phone system. An auto attendant is a menu that greets external and internal callers and routes them to the right person, department, or operator, and a call queue holds incoming calls with a greeting and music on hold until the next available agent can answer.[3] Both run on resource accounts rather than on a person's license, and a single service number can handle many calls at once, which is why a main business line and a support line are usually built this way.[3][5]\n\n### Cloud voicemail and everyday call handling\n\nCloud voicemail delivers each message to the user's Exchange mailbox as an email with the recording attached, so it is reachable from a desk phone or any Teams app.[3] The license also turns on the day-to-day controls people expect at work, including call forwarding and simultaneous ring, shared-line delegation so an assistant can answer for an executive, call park so a call can be resumed on another device, and external caller ID drawn from the company directory.[3]\n\n### AI features and paid add-ons\n\nFor teams that want AI in their calls, Microsoft layers Copilot and Teams Premium on top of Teams Phone. Microsoft 365 Copilot in Teams calls captures conversation points and can suggest follow-up tasks during a live call, while Teams Premium adds call captions and transcripts in a preferred language plus deeper queue analytics.[6] These sit alongside the calling license rather than replacing it, and businesses often adopt Teams Phone first for the convenience of dialing straight from an Outlook contact, then add the AI layers later.[6][11]","introHtml":"A Teams Phone license adds the enterprise calling features that a traditional PBX provides, layered on the basic person-to-person calling that a Teams Enterprise license already includes.[3] Microsoft draws a clear line between the two: native Teams calling covers basics like voicemail and video calls, while the Teams Phone license enables dialing PSTN numbers, call park, call delegation, external caller ID, and the automated call-handling services below.[3]
\nAuto attendants and call queues are the two features most businesses picture when they think of a phone system. An auto attendant is a menu that greets external and internal callers and routes them to the right person, department, or operator, and a call queue holds incoming calls with a greeting and music on hold until the next available agent can answer.[3] Both run on resource accounts rather than on a person's license, and a single service number can handle many calls at once, which is why a main business line and a support line are usually built this way.[3][5]
\nCloud voicemail delivers each message to the user's Exchange mailbox as an email with the recording attached, so it is reachable from a desk phone or any Teams app.[3] The license also turns on the day-to-day controls people expect at work, including call forwarding and simultaneous ring, shared-line delegation so an assistant can answer for an executive, call park so a call can be resumed on another device, and external caller ID drawn from the company directory.[3]
\nFor teams that want AI in their calls, Microsoft layers Copilot and Teams Premium on top of Teams Phone. Microsoft 365 Copilot in Teams calls captures conversation points and can suggest follow-up tasks during a live call, while Teams Premium adds call captions and transcripts in a preferred language plus deeper queue analytics.[6] These sit alongside the calling license rather than replacing it, and businesses often adopt Teams Phone first for the convenience of dialing straight from an Outlook contact, then add the AI layers later.[6][11]
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":1},{"id":"c02ea37d-63bf-4dd0-8a24-6f8299774a85","sectionKey":"licensing","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"What do you need to license and turn on Teams Phone?","introMarkdown":"Three pieces have to line up: a base Teams or Microsoft 365 subscription, a Teams Phone license on top of it, and a PSTN connectivity option for external calls.[4] Teams Phone Standard is the add-on that provides the hosted phone service and its PBX capabilities such as cloud voicemail, call forwarding, call transfer, auto attendants, call queues, and caller ID.[4] It does not include any minutes to the outside world by itself, so a calling plan or another PSTN option is a separate decision.[4]\n\n### Where Teams Phone is already included\n\nSome subscriptions bundle the Teams Phone license, so a buyer may already own it. Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5 include Teams Phone, which is why organizations on those plans often only need to add a PSTN connection rather than the phone license itself.[4] On lower tiers such as E3 or a Business plan, Teams Phone is bought as a standalone add-on.[4]\n\n### What the licenses cost\n\nMicrosoft lists Teams Phone Standard at $10.00 per user per month on an annual commitment, and independent pricing guides current to April 2026 quote the same $10 figure.[6][8] A bundle that combines Teams Phone with a Microsoft Calling Plan runs higher, around $17 per user per month for the license plus a block of outbound minutes.[8] Prices vary by region and change over time, so treat these as planning numbers rather than a quote.[6][8]\n\n### Turning it on for a user\n\nBuying the license is only the first step. Each user also has to be voice enabled and assigned a phone number in the Teams admin center before they can make and receive PSTN calls.[5][3]","introHtml":"Three pieces have to line up: a base Teams or Microsoft 365 subscription, a Teams Phone license on top of it, and a PSTN connectivity option for external calls.[4] Teams Phone Standard is the add-on that provides the hosted phone service and its PBX capabilities such as cloud voicemail, call forwarding, call transfer, auto attendants, call queues, and caller ID.[4] It does not include any minutes to the outside world by itself, so a calling plan or another PSTN option is a separate decision.[4]
\nSome subscriptions bundle the Teams Phone license, so a buyer may already own it. Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5 include Teams Phone, which is why organizations on those plans often only need to add a PSTN connection rather than the phone license itself.[4] On lower tiers such as E3 or a Business plan, Teams Phone is bought as a standalone add-on.[4]
\nMicrosoft lists Teams Phone Standard at $10.00 per user per month on an annual commitment, and independent pricing guides current to April 2026 quote the same $10 figure.[6][8] A bundle that combines Teams Phone with a Microsoft Calling Plan runs higher, around $17 per user per month for the license plus a block of outbound minutes.[8] Prices vary by region and change over time, so treat these as planning numbers rather than a quote.[6][8]
\nBuying the license is only the first step. Each user also has to be voice enabled and assigned a phone number in the Teams admin center before they can make and receive PSTN calls.[5][3]
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":2},{"id":"487df391-63ec-4329-a1f9-97bccedb81ed","sectionKey":"pstn_table","sectionType":"table_section","heading":"How does Teams Phone reach outside phone numbers?","introMarkdown":"Teams Phone supports four ways to connect to the PSTN, and one organization can use more than one at the same time, mixing them by region or by type of worker.[2] The table compares them at a glance, and each option gets its own explanation below.","introHtml":"Teams Phone supports four ways to connect to the PSTN, and one organization can use more than one at the same time, mixing them by region or by type of worker.[2] The table compares them at a glance, and each option gets its own explanation below.
\n","outroMarkdown":"Every option still requires a Teams Phone license on each user. The choice below changes who supplies the numbers and the connection, not whether you need the license.[2][4]","outroHtml":"Every option still requires a Teams Phone license on each user. The choice below changes who supplies the numbers and the connection, not whether you need the license.[2][4]
\n","contentJson":{"rows":[{"cells":["Microsoft Calling Plan","Microsoft","None","Regions where Calling Plan is sold and you want an all-Microsoft setup [2]"]},{"cells":["Operator Connect","A certified landline operator","None","Your preferred carrier is in the program and you want it managed for you [2]"]},{"cells":["Teams Phone Mobile","A certified mobile operator","A mobile SIM (can be an eSIM)","You want a SIM mobile number to double as the Teams number [2]"]},{"cells":["Direct Routing","Any operator you choose","A certified session border controller (SBC)","You need to keep an existing carrier or connect legacy PBX and analog gear [2]"]}],"columns":["Option","Who is your PSTN carrier","Infrastructure you manage","Where it tends to fit"]},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":3},{"id":"0ecba5a9-573e-4685-a738-829fdd06a584","sectionKey":"pstn_calling_plan","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Microsoft Calling Plan","introMarkdown":"A Microsoft Calling Plan makes Microsoft your phone carrier, so the phone numbers, the calling minutes, emergency screening in the US, and the support all come from Microsoft under a 99.999% reliability service level agreement.[2] You buy a Calling Plan license per user, choose a domestic, international, or pay-as-you-go option depending on how much your users call out, and manage everything in the Teams admin center with no hardware to run.[2][4] This tends to fit organizations where a Calling Plan is sold in their country and they are content to have a single vendor for both the software and the dial tone.[2] The first thing to check is availability, because Calling Plans are sold in a limited set of countries, so a company outside that list has to use one of the other three options.[2]","introHtml":"A Microsoft Calling Plan makes Microsoft your phone carrier, so the phone numbers, the calling minutes, emergency screening in the US, and the support all come from Microsoft under a 99.999% reliability service level agreement.[2] You buy a Calling Plan license per user, choose a domestic, international, or pay-as-you-go option depending on how much your users call out, and manage everything in the Teams admin center with no hardware to run.[2][4] This tends to fit organizations where a Calling Plan is sold in their country and they are content to have a single vendor for both the software and the dial tone.[2] The first thing to check is availability, because Calling Plans are sold in a limited set of countries, so a company outside that list has to use one of the other three options.[2]
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":4},{"id":"1fdf801b-92cb-4f34-b304-b16b27f9d20b","sectionKey":"pstn_operator_connect","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Operator Connect","introMarkdown":"Operator Connect lets you keep or choose a third-party carrier that has already built a certified connection into Microsoft Teams, so you get their numbers and dial tone without running any voice hardware yourself.[2] After you pick an operator from Microsoft's directory, you enable them in the Teams admin center and assign their numbers to your users, and that operator supplies the PSTN access, support, and service level agreement.[2] This suits a business whose preferred carrier participates in the program, or one that wants managed calling in a country where Microsoft's own Calling Plan is not sold.[2] Because the operator owns the underlying connection, the setup and much of the ongoing management shift to them, which is usually the point for a team that would rather not run its own telephony infrastructure.[2]","introHtml":"Operator Connect lets you keep or choose a third-party carrier that has already built a certified connection into Microsoft Teams, so you get their numbers and dial tone without running any voice hardware yourself.[2] After you pick an operator from Microsoft's directory, you enable them in the Teams admin center and assign their numbers to your users, and that operator supplies the PSTN access, support, and service level agreement.[2] This suits a business whose preferred carrier participates in the program, or one that wants managed calling in a country where Microsoft's own Calling Plan is not sold.[2] Because the operator owns the underlying connection, the setup and much of the ongoing management shift to them, which is usually the point for a team that would rather not run its own telephony infrastructure.[2]
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":5},{"id":"06702671-1170-4990-aefa-42b0d16843b1","sectionKey":"pstn_teams_phone_mobile","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Teams Phone Mobile","introMarkdown":"Teams Phone Mobile ties a user's SIM-enabled mobile number to their Teams identity, so a single number rings on the cell network and inside Teams.[2] It relies on certified mobile operators that have completed the integration with Microsoft, and the mobile SIM, which can be an eSIM, is the piece you administer.[2] This fits mobile-first staff who want one number for the desk, the app, and the handset rather than juggling separate work and mobile lines.[2] Availability depends on whether your mobile provider takes part in the Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile program, so it is worth confirming with the carrier before you plan around it.[2]","introHtml":"Teams Phone Mobile ties a user's SIM-enabled mobile number to their Teams identity, so a single number rings on the cell network and inside Teams.[2] It relies on certified mobile operators that have completed the integration with Microsoft, and the mobile SIM, which can be an eSIM, is the piece you administer.[2] This fits mobile-first staff who want one number for the desk, the app, and the handset rather than juggling separate work and mobile lines.[2] Availability depends on whether your mobile provider takes part in the Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile program, so it is worth confirming with the carrier before you plan around it.[2]
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":6},{"id":"a3565505-5fee-476e-a726-a98e0a47fbd1","sectionKey":"pstn_direct_routing","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Direct Routing","introMarkdown":"Direct Routing connects your own choice of carrier to Teams Phone through a certified session border controller, or SBC, that you, an integrator, or a Direct-Routing-as-a-Service provider procures and manages.[2] It is the most flexible option and the one that works in any country, which is why organizations pick it to keep an existing carrier contract, meet a local regulatory requirement, or connect legacy equipment such as analog devices, overhead paging, and third-party PBXs.[2] The cost of that flexibility is responsibility, since the SBC brings certificate management, DNS settings, call-routing policies in Teams, and last-mile circuit integration, so it asks more of the IT team or the partner running it than the other options do.[2] Direct Routing is also the only model that can keep local PSTN calls working through a Survivable Branch Appliance if the connection to the cloud is interrupted.[2]","introHtml":"Direct Routing connects your own choice of carrier to Teams Phone through a certified session border controller, or SBC, that you, an integrator, or a Direct-Routing-as-a-Service provider procures and manages.[2] It is the most flexible option and the one that works in any country, which is why organizations pick it to keep an existing carrier contract, meet a local regulatory requirement, or connect legacy equipment such as analog devices, overhead paging, and third-party PBXs.[2] The cost of that flexibility is responsibility, since the SBC brings certificate management, DNS settings, call-routing policies in Teams, and last-mile circuit integration, so it asks more of the IT team or the partner running it than the other options do.[2] Direct Routing is also the only model that can keep local PSTN calls working through a Survivable Branch Appliance if the connection to the cloud is interrupted.[2]
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":7},{"id":"2967325d-1ff0-4a7e-b4ee-2cb7e36e2aae","sectionKey":"emergency_calling","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"How does emergency calling work on Teams Phone?","introMarkdown":"Emergency calling on Teams Phone works by attaching a validated physical address, and optionally a place such as a floor or office, to each user, so that responders receive a usable location when someone dials for help.[7] Microsoft calls this an emergency location and recommends creating addresses with the map search feature in the Teams admin center, which validates them and attaches the geo codes that some countries use to route the call.[7]\n\n### Static addresses and dynamic location\n\nA registered address is the static location assigned to a user, and it works well when people sit at a known desk.[7] Dynamic emergency calling goes further by detecting the Teams client's current network location and routing both the call and any security-desk notification accordingly, and it is supported across all four PSTN options, though Direct Routing needs extra configuration.[7] For staff working from home, Teams can use device location sharing so a remote worker's emergency call still carries a current address.[7]\n\n### Who handles the setup\n\nHow much of this you configure yourself depends on the PSTN option. With a Microsoft Calling Plan the emergency screening service and the registered address are included and managed by the Teams admin, whereas with Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, and Direct Routing the carrier or your own team takes on more of it.[2][7] United States deployments also carry regulatory emergency-calling obligations, and because the setup differs by PSTN option, Microsoft documents the emergency-calling considerations for each one.[2][7]","introHtml":"Emergency calling on Teams Phone works by attaching a validated physical address, and optionally a place such as a floor or office, to each user, so that responders receive a usable location when someone dials for help.[7] Microsoft calls this an emergency location and recommends creating addresses with the map search feature in the Teams admin center, which validates them and attaches the geo codes that some countries use to route the call.[7]
\nA registered address is the static location assigned to a user, and it works well when people sit at a known desk.[7] Dynamic emergency calling goes further by detecting the Teams client's current network location and routing both the call and any security-desk notification accordingly, and it is supported across all four PSTN options, though Direct Routing needs extra configuration.[7] For staff working from home, Teams can use device location sharing so a remote worker's emergency call still carries a current address.[7]
\nHow much of this you configure yourself depends on the PSTN option. With a Microsoft Calling Plan the emergency screening service and the registered address are included and managed by the Teams admin, whereas with Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, and Direct Routing the carrier or your own team takes on more of it.[2][7] United States deployments also carry regulatory emergency-calling obligations, and because the setup differs by PSTN option, Microsoft documents the emergency-calling considerations for each one.[2][7]
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":8},{"id":"e003ed99-4881-4817-a57d-1a41718cec84","sectionKey":"trade_offs","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Trade-offs and limits worth knowing","introMarkdown":"Teams Phone runs on your internet connection and inside the Microsoft 365 service, and that shapes a few limits worth planning around.\n\n### The license is not the whole bill\n\nA Teams Phone Standard license on its own cannot call the outside world, so the real cost includes a PSTN option on top of it, whether that is a Microsoft Calling Plan, an Operator Connect subscription, or the SBC and carrier contract behind Direct Routing.[4][8] Budgeting only for the phone license understates what a working deployment costs.\n\n### Calling Plan coverage is uneven\n\nMicrosoft's own Calling Plan is sold in a limited set of countries, so a company with offices outside that list often ends up combining connectivity types by region.[2]\n\n### It depends on internet and power\n\nBecause calls travel as data, a Teams Phone call needs a working internet connection and power at the user's location, unlike a legacy analog line that draws power from the phone company. Emergency location accuracy also depends on keeping each user's registered address current, which matters most for people who move between sites.[7]","introHtml":"Teams Phone runs on your internet connection and inside the Microsoft 365 service, and that shapes a few limits worth planning around.
\nA Teams Phone Standard license on its own cannot call the outside world, so the real cost includes a PSTN option on top of it, whether that is a Microsoft Calling Plan, an Operator Connect subscription, or the SBC and carrier contract behind Direct Routing.[4][8] Budgeting only for the phone license understates what a working deployment costs.
\nMicrosoft's own Calling Plan is sold in a limited set of countries, so a company with offices outside that list often ends up combining connectivity types by region.[2]
\nBecause calls travel as data, a Teams Phone call needs a working internet connection and power at the user's location, unlike a legacy analog line that draws power from the phone company. Emergency location accuracy also depends on keeping each user's registered address current, which matters most for people who move between sites.[7]
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":9},{"id":"17d08acc-3186-4510-abb9-68abe5343f50","sectionKey":"what_it_is_not","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"What Teams Phone is not","introMarkdown":"Teams Phone is the calling layer of Microsoft 365, not a standalone app or a phone carrier, and a few common mix-ups are worth clearing up.\n\n### It is not the same as basic Teams calling\n\nEvery Teams user can already call another Teams user over the internet without Teams Phone.[1] The Teams Phone license is the separate piece that adds PBX features and, with a PSTN option, the ability to dial real phone numbers.[1][3]\n\n### It is not a phone carrier by itself\n\nTeams Phone provides the phone system, but it does not supply the numbers or the connection to the outside network on its own. That comes from a PSTN option, and with three of the four options a third party rather than Microsoft is your actual carrier.[2]\n\n### It is not a Calling Plan\n\nA Microsoft Calling Plan is one way to add PSTN service to Teams Phone, not another name for it. You can run Teams Phone with Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, or Direct Routing and never buy a Microsoft Calling Plan at all.[2][4]\n\n### It is not Skype for Business\n\nTeams Phone is the successor to the voice features once delivered through Skype for Business Online, which Microsoft retired on July 31, 2021.[9] The older name Phone System refers to the same product, so some documentation and license lists still use it.[4][10]","introHtml":"Teams Phone is the calling layer of Microsoft 365, not a standalone app or a phone carrier, and a few common mix-ups are worth clearing up.
\nEvery Teams user can already call another Teams user over the internet without Teams Phone.[1] The Teams Phone license is the separate piece that adds PBX features and, with a PSTN option, the ability to dial real phone numbers.[1][3]
\nTeams Phone provides the phone system, but it does not supply the numbers or the connection to the outside network on its own. That comes from a PSTN option, and with three of the four options a third party rather than Microsoft is your actual carrier.[2]
\nA Microsoft Calling Plan is one way to add PSTN service to Teams Phone, not another name for it. You can run Teams Phone with Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, or Direct Routing and never buy a Microsoft Calling Plan at all.[2][4]
\nTeams Phone is the successor to the voice features once delivered through Skype for Business Online, which Microsoft retired on July 31, 2021.[9] The older name Phone System refers to the same product, so some documentation and license lists still use it.[4][10]
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":10},{"id":"8b780af0-afbe-476b-90cb-44c215f529bf","sectionKey":"contributor_perspective","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"How this answer was researched","introMarkdown":"The definitions, features, licensing, and connectivity details here come primarily from Microsoft's own Teams documentation on Microsoft Learn and from the Teams Phone product pages, which are the authoritative source for how the product is licensed and what it does.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Pricing was checked against Microsoft's published figures and corroborated with an independent pricing guide current to April 2026, and the history around the Phone System name and the Skype for Business Online retirement is drawn from Microsoft's lifecycle documentation and an independent industry explainer.[6][8][9][10] Microsoft changes Teams licensing, pricing, and feature availability regularly, so the specific dollar figures and license names here reflect what the cited pages stated on the verification date. Practitioners who deploy, administer, or support Teams Phone at scale are welcome to suggest corrections or additions, which are checked against Microsoft's primary documentation before any update.","introHtml":"The definitions, features, licensing, and connectivity details here come primarily from Microsoft's own Teams documentation on Microsoft Learn and from the Teams Phone product pages, which are the authoritative source for how the product is licensed and what it does.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Pricing was checked against Microsoft's published figures and corroborated with an independent pricing guide current to April 2026, and the history around the Phone System name and the Skype for Business Online retirement is drawn from Microsoft's lifecycle documentation and an independent industry explainer.[6][8][9][10] Microsoft changes Teams licensing, pricing, and feature availability regularly, so the specific dollar figures and license names here reflect what the cited pages stated on the verification date. Practitioners who deploy, administer, or support Teams Phone at scale are welcome to suggest corrections or additions, which are checked against Microsoft's primary documentation before any update.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":"This answer was written and reviewed by the AnswerStack Editorial Team, which has no commercial stake in the products, companies, or methods discussed. Every claim is cited inline and verified on the dates shown.","noteHtml":"This answer was written and reviewed by the AnswerStack Editorial Team, which has no commercial stake in the products, companies, or methods discussed. Every claim is cited inline and verified on the dates shown.
\n","sortOrder":11}],"citations":[{"title":"What is Teams Phone","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/what-is-phone-system-in-office-365","excerpt":"Teams Phone allows you to replace your existing PBX system with a set of features delivered from the same platform that provides your enterprise productivity tools.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Teams Phone definition as Microsoft's call control and PBX technology in Microsoft 365; internal Teams calls stay native and off the PSTN; license plus PSTN solution both required; replaces an existing PBX","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft Learn"},{"title":"Microsoft - PSTN connectivity options","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/pstn-connectivity","excerpt":"In order to use PSTN telephony services with Teams Phone, the user account must be licensed with the Teams Phone application and also be equipped with a PSTN solution from your PSTN service provider of choice.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"The four PSTN connectivity models (Microsoft Calling Plan, Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, Direct Routing), what each manages, 99.999% Calling Plan SLA, Survivable Branch Appliance, and that a tenant can combine options","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft"},{"title":"Teams Phone features - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/here-s-what-you-get-with-phone-system","excerpt":"The Microsoft Teams Enterprise license includes native calling features, and the Teams Phone license unlocks even more features.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Feature split between Teams Enterprise native calling and the Teams Phone license; auto attendants, call queues, cloud voicemail, call park, call delegation, external caller ID, call forwarding and simultaneous ring","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft Learn"},{"title":"Microsoft Teams add-on licenses - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-add-on-licensing/microsoft-teams-add-on-licensing","excerpt":"Teams Phone Standard is an add-on license to Teams that provides a hosted telephone service. This service provides Private Branch Exchange (PBX) capabilities, such as cloud voicemail, call forwarding, call transfer, auto attendants, call queues, and caller ID.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Teams Phone Standard as a hosted PBX add-on with cloud voicemail, call forwarding, transfer, auto attendants, call queues, caller ID; Calling Plan and bundle options; Microsoft 365 and Office 365 E5 include Teams Phone","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft Learn"},{"title":"Set up Teams Phone in your organization - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/setting-up-your-phone-system","excerpt":"For each user who uses Teams Phone, you must assign a Teams Phone license to that user. In addition to licensing, the users must be voice enabled.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Deployment steps: buy and assign a Teams Phone license, choose a PSTN option, get and assign numbers, voice enable users; service numbers on resource accounts handle many simultaneous calls","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft Learn"},{"title":"Microsoft Teams Phone","url":"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/microsoft-teams-phone","excerpt":"Teams Phone Standard $10.00 user/month, paid yearly.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Teams Phone Standard listed at $10.00 per user per month paid yearly; 99.999% uptime; Copilot in Teams Phone, intelligent recap, and Teams Premium captions and transcripts","domain":"microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft"},{"title":"Plan and manage emergency calling - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/what-are-emergency-locations-addresses-and-call-routing","excerpt":"Dynamic emergency calling for Microsoft Calling Plans, Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, and Direct Routing provides the capability to configure and route emergency calls and notify security personnel based on the current location of the Teams client.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Emergency addresses, validated locations and geo codes, registered (static) address versus dynamic emergency calling across all four PSTN options, security-desk notifications, and per-option emergency setup responsibility","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft Learn"},{"title":"Microsoft Teams Phone System Pricing & Plans: Full Guide for 2026","url":"https://www.cloudtalk.io/blog/microsoft-teams-phone-system-pricing/","excerpt":"Teams Phone Standard, $10/user/mo. No calling plan included, must add separately. Teams Phone with Calling Plan, $17/user/mo.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Independent corroboration current to April 2026 of Teams Phone Standard at $10 per user per month and Teams Phone with Calling Plan at about $17 per user per month; Standard has no calling plan included","domain":"cloudtalk.io","publisherName":"CloudTalk"},{"title":"Skype for Business Online retirement - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/skype-for-business-online-retirement","excerpt":"On July 31, 2021, Microsoft retired Skype for Business Online. This retirement was announced in July 2019 to give customers two years advance notice to plan their upgrades to Microsoft Teams.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Skype for Business Online was retired on July 31, 2021, with Microsoft Teams as the successor for calling and collaboration","domain":"learn.microsoft.com","publisherName":"Microsoft Learn"},{"title":"What is the Microsoft Teams Phone System?","url":"https://www.uctoday.com/unified-communications/what-is-the-microsoft-teams-phone-system/","excerpt":"the technology available for companies to enable call control and PBX (Private Branch Exchange) capabilities in the Microsoft 365 cloud.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Independent explainer describing Teams Phone (formerly Phone System) as cloud PBX call control in Microsoft 365 and a replacement for legacy phone systems, with Calling Plan, Operator Connect, and Direct Routing connectivity","domain":"uctoday.com","publisherName":"UC Today"},{"title":"7 Microsoft Teams Phone System Features Your Business Needs","url":"https://www.atlantech.net/blog/microsoft-teams-phone-system","excerpt":"Microsoft Teams Phone is natively integrated with Microsoft 365, businesses can click-to-call directly from Outlook contacts.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"SUPPORTING","verifiedAt":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","supportsText":"Business-facing view of Teams Phone as a cloud phone system integrated with Microsoft 365, including click-to-call from Outlook contacts; corroborated by [3] and [6]","domain":"atlantech.net","publisherName":"Atlantech Online"}],"revisions":[],"relatedAnswers":[{"id":"9cfa6183-815b-4644-861d-2bfe543492cc","slug":"how-does-teams-phone-work","question":"How does Teams Phone work?","publishedAt":"2026-07-18T03:47:27.534","confidenceScore":93,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"teams-phone","label":"Teams Phone","description":"Microsoft Teams Phone: licensing, PSTN connectivity, calling plans, and setup.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Teams Phone turns Microsoft 365 into a cloud phone system: a call-control service in the cloud acts as the PBX, internal calls run over the internet, and a Teams Phone license plus a PSTN connection (Microsoft Calling Plan, Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, or Direct Routing) let users dial real phone numbers. Admins assign numbers, voice enable users, and build auto attendants and call queues, while call audio flows over the most direct path it can find, encrypted with SRTP.","url":"/q/how-does-teams-phone-work"},{"id":"8317c7a7-d7a6-4a7c-8428-441b19177913","slug":"how-do-i-choose-a-pstn-connectivity-option-for-teams-phone","question":"How do I choose a PSTN connectivity option for Teams Phone?","publishedAt":"2026-07-18T03:43:05.249","confidenceScore":92,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"teams-phone","label":"Teams Phone","description":"Microsoft Teams Phone: licensing, PSTN connectivity, calling plans, and setup.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Teams Phone needs a PSTN connection on top of the phone license, and Microsoft offers four ways to provide it: a Microsoft Calling Plan, Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, and Direct Routing. The right pick depends on whether Calling Plans are sold in your countries, whether you want to keep a current carrier, how much infrastructure you want to run, and any emergency-calling or continuity needs. A single tenant can combine options by region or by type of worker.","url":"/q/how-do-i-choose-a-pstn-connectivity-option-for-teams-phone"},{"id":"67fc8518-2dba-4c3b-8029-0a39c59afd28","slug":"what-is-the-difference-between-teams-phone-and-a-calling-plan","question":"What is the difference between Teams Phone and a Calling Plan?","publishedAt":"2026-07-18T03:41:44.225","confidenceScore":95,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"teams-phone","label":"Teams Phone","description":"Microsoft Teams Phone: licensing, PSTN connectivity, calling plans, and setup.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Teams Phone and a Microsoft Calling Plan are two different purchases that most organizations buy together. Teams Phone is the cloud phone system, the per-user license that adds PBX features like auto attendants, call queues, and PSTN dialing. A Calling Plan is one of four ways to connect that phone system to the public phone network; it makes Microsoft your carrier and supplies the numbers and minutes. Internal Teams calls need neither, and a Calling Plan cannot work without a Teams Phone license underneath it.","url":"/q/what-is-the-difference-between-teams-phone-and-a-calling-plan"},{"id":"dc0dd213-a7d5-4cd3-95e3-5457b9308922","slug":"what-teams-phone-license-do-i-need","question":"What Teams Phone license do I need?","publishedAt":"2026-07-18T03:41:33.762","confidenceScore":93,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"ff619d7c-d7d7-485e-a05a-53fba07f33ed","slug":"telecommunications","label":"Telecommunications","description":"Business voice, fiber, UCaaS, and network services"},"topic":{"slug":"teams-phone","label":"Teams Phone","description":"Microsoft Teams Phone: licensing, PSTN connectivity, calling plans, and setup.","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Teams Phone licensing comes in layers. Every user needs a base Microsoft 365 or Teams subscription, then a Teams Phone license, then a PSTN connection for external calls. E5 plans already include Teams Phone; lower tiers add Teams Phone Standard at about $10 per user per month. A Microsoft Calling Plan, Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, or Direct Routing supplies the outside line, and only the Microsoft Calling Plan route needs its own extra license.","url":"/q/what-teams-phone-license-do-i-need"}],"contributorStats":{"verifiedAnswers":224,"openDisputes":0},"schemaJson":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Question","name":"What is Microsoft Teams Phone?","text":"What is Microsoft Teams Phone?","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/q/what-is-microsoft-teams-phone","answerCount":1,"datePublished":"2026-07-18T03:24:54.673","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"AnswerStack Editorial Team","worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AnswerStack"},"url":"https://www.answerstack.io/contributors/answer-stack"},"about":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Teams Phone"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"Telecommunications"}],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Microsoft Teams Phone is the cloud-based phone system, or private branch exchange (PBX), built into Microsoft Teams and the wider Microsoft 365 service, where it handles call control so an organization can run its business calling inside the Teams apps people already use.[1] Calls between Teams users in the same organization stay on the internet and never touch the traditional phone network, while a Teams Phone add-on license plus a separate connection to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) lets those users dial and answer regular phone numbers.[1][2] The license adds enterprise calling features such as auto attendants, call queues, cloud voicemail, call transfer, and external caller ID on top of the basic calling already included with Teams.[3] Microsoft offers four ways to connect Teams Phone to outside numbers: its own Calling Plan, Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile, and Direct Routing.[2] Teams Phone was previously named Phone System, and it succeeds Skype for Business Online, which Microsoft retired on July 31, 2021.[9]","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/q/what-is-microsoft-teams-phone","upvoteCount":0,"datePublished":"2026-07-18T03:24:54.673","dateModified":"2026-07-17T00:00:00","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"AnswerStack Editorial Team","worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AnswerStack"},"url":"https://www.answerstack.io/contributors/answer-stack"},"citation":[{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"What is Teams Phone","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/what-is-phone-system-in-office-365"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Microsoft - PSTN connectivity options","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/pstn-connectivity"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Teams Phone features - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/here-s-what-you-get-with-phone-system"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Microsoft Teams add-on licenses - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-add-on-licensing/microsoft-teams-add-on-licensing"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Set up Teams Phone in your organization - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/setting-up-your-phone-system"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Microsoft Teams Phone","url":"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/microsoft-teams-phone"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Plan and manage emergency calling - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/what-are-emergency-locations-addresses-and-call-routing"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Microsoft Teams Phone System Pricing & Plans: Full Guide for 2026","url":"https://www.cloudtalk.io/blog/microsoft-teams-phone-system-pricing/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Skype for Business Online retirement - Microsoft Teams","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/skype-for-business-online-retirement"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"What is the Microsoft Teams Phone System?","url":"https://www.uctoday.com/unified-communications/what-is-the-microsoft-teams-phone-system/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"7 Microsoft Teams Phone System Features Your Business Needs","url":"https://www.atlantech.net/blog/microsoft-teams-phone-system"}]}}}