5 Ways to Use A Free SIP Account

A SIP account opens the door to free HD voice and video calling on platforms such as iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows.

Besides the free voice/video perks, a SIP account also allows you to customize the way you communicate with your family, friends, co-workers, and business contacts. Here are the top 5 ways to get the most out of a free SIP address.

What is a SIP Account?

A SIP account is a set of credentials that allows users to make voice and video calls over the Internet using VoIP technology. A SIP address is the 'SIP' version of a telephone number - a unique identification (e.g. davis@tonypizza.onsip.com) that allows you to make and receive calls. A SIP address looks like an email address, with a username and domain. In the example above, the username would be "davis" and the domain is "tonypizza.onsip.com".

When you create new users on your SIP account, each person is assigned a unique SIP address. One of the main reasons to create a SIP account is that SIP-to-SIP calls - calls made between two SIP addresses over the Internet - are typically free. Calls to landline and mobile phones, on the other hand, come with per minute costs.

You can use SIP addresses on a variety of compatible devices/phones, including laptops, tablets, smartphones, and business phones. Free SIP accounts are available with some VoIP providers, including OnSIP. Click the button below to sign up for a free SIP account.

Make Free Long Distance Calls

Since SIP-to-SIP calling is free, it's a cost-effective way to make calls that would otherwise rack up hefty long distance or international calling fees. Simply sign up for a free SIP account, then create a new user for each of your friends or family members. As long as everyone has access to a SIP-enabled device (such as OnSIP's desktop and mobile apps), you can make free voice and video calls at any time.

One of the main advantages to using a SIP account for free calling is the high voice and video quality. SIP-to-SIP calls are in HD voice, which has twice the audio range and quality of a landline phone. The quality of video chats is also much higher than most free services.

Call External Business Contacts For Free

Many organizations and institutions already employ SIP-based phone systems. If you're constantly making calls to an outside contact who uses a business VoIP phone system, you can potentially call them for free by finding out their SIP address.

With the help of an IT staff member, you can add their external SIP address to your SIP account. You can then assign an extension to that contact for easier calling. Instead of dialing the public phone number and racking up the associated charges, you can now make outbound calls to that contact for free.

This bypasses the Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) altogether. If you call an institution frequently, especially if it's overseas, you could save a significant amount of money by doing this.

Gain Business Phone Features with Softphone Apps

Most business softphone apps, such as OnSIP's mobile app, Bria for iPhone, or Grandstream Wave, are intended for business VoIP users, and require a SIP account to use. They typically operate over both wireless and data networks, giving users flexibility in on-the-go communications.

These softphone apps also offer powerful business phone functionality that's not necessarily included with many free voice/video platforms on the market, or even your own cellphone. Many softphones aim to replace desk phones entirely, with features such as blind and attended transfers, dialpads, multi-party calls, call recording, HD output, video conferencing, encryption, and more.

With softphones, you're getting an advanced phone interface for your SIP address. You can manipulate the call like a standard business call, and partake in higher quality conversations via codecs that are superior to those of platforms such as Skype.

Collaborate with Video Chat and Messaging

By signing up for a free SIP account for your organization, you're creating an internal cloud-based communications network for everyone in your office. Extension dial your co-workers, use presence to track their availability in real-time, collaborate through video conferencing, and communicate with your own chosen devices. Some providers even allow integrations with third-party platforms, such as Slack for messaging.

By giving everyone a webphone app, every employee in your company can make free internal voice and video calls - no hardware needed! This is ideal for remote employees, or organizations with multiple office locations. With a SIP address, you can use any device to stay connected to the office and collaborate with co-workers.

Remote Device Handling

Did you know that door locks, door bells, intercoms, pagers, and a host of other devices can run off SIP? With advances in VoIP technology, you can open doors, check to see who's ringing, and make loudspeaker announcements with a SIP account. With help from a professional, you can configure these devices to work remotely and monitor them using a SIP interface on your smartphone.

Essentially, you are configuring these devices to communicate with each other in a similar way to setting up a VoIP phone. Powering these devices by SIP can save money, increase security, and bolster efficiency. For more on how to set these up, visit our prior blogs and manufacturer sites on the topic:

Free SIP Address: Why Not?

From calling international relatives to building relationships with co-workers, a SIP account can do quite a lot. That's not bad for something that's yet to become a household name in America. If you're using the Internet on a daily basis, there's no harm in seeing what a free SIP address can really do for you. At the very least, try to see if that awesomely obscure sci-fi username has been taken yet.