Operator Connect vs. Direct Routing

Most Teams Phone conversations start with a simple goal: “We want PSTN calling in Microsoft Teams.”
Then someone asks, “Operator Connect or Direct Routing?” and suddenly the meeting becomes a personality test.

Here’s the honest truth: both models can work well. The difference isn’t whether one is “better.” The difference is what you’re choosing to own—dayone and day 500.

Because voice is not like email. Email can be broken for ten minutes and people grumble. Voice breaks forten seconds and suddenly it’s “all hands.”

So let’s talk about what’s actually at stake—and how to choose without regrets.

The Decision Nobody Says Out Loud

Operator Connect vs. Direct Routing is really this question:

Do we want voice to be a product we use… or a platform we operate?

If your team doesn’t want to manage SBCs, certificates, routing logic, carrier nuance, and the occasional, “why are calls failing only from this one region,” that’s not a failure. That’s clarity.

On the other hand, if you do need control—because of routing complexity, multi-carrier design, legacy interoperability, or specialized requirements—then yes, Direct Routing can be the right move. You just want to walk into it withyour eyes open.

Operator Connect: The “Reduce the Moving Parts” Model

Operator Connect tends to be attractive for one reason: it reduces the number of things IT has to run.

You’re still responsible for Teams policies, user enablement, governance, and outcomes. But you’re not signing up to build and maintain the full PSTN interconnect layer inside your own environment.

For many mid-market teams, that’s the point. They don’t want to become telecom operators. They want Teams calling to work—and keep working—without a separate mini-project for infrastructure maintenance.

And while Operator Connect simplifies the telephony side, it also brings the focus back to where it belongs:

• Is the network ready for real-time voice?
• Are we provisioning numbers cleanly?
• Do we have a support workflow that doesn’t turn every call issue into a scavenger hunt?

If you’ve ever thought, “we’re not short on tools, we’re short on time,” Operator Connect is usually the model that respects that reality.

Direct Routing: The “We Need Control” Model

Direct Routing isn’t inherently harder—it’s just more responsibility-rich.

It gives you control over routing behavior, carrier strategy, and how voice flows in your environment. And that flexibility is exactly why organizations choose it.

But the tradeoff is operational: Direct Routing is not a one-and-done configuration. It’s something you sustain. Certificates expire. Firmware updates happen. Routing evolves. Carrier requirements shift. And troubleshooting often involves multiple layers.

None of that is a dealbreaker. It’s just part of what you’re selecting.

A good way to think about it:

Direct Routing is powerful when your environment is unique.

If your environment is mostly standard and your goal is reliability at scale, Operator Connect is often the path of least resistance.

What Doesn’t Change (No Matter What You Choose)

Here’s the part many teams underestimate: your network owns call quality.

You can choose the best PSTN model on paper, but if your sites have congestion, unmanaged Wi-Fi, or no resilience plan, your users won’t care what you picked—they’ll just say “Teams calling is bad.”

That’s why this decision tends to go better when it’s treated as a communications + connectivity plan, not just a voice feature decision.

If you want Teams calling to feel boring (in the best way), you typically need:

• A network that prioritizes real-time traffic
• A resilience plan (secondary circuit, LTE backup, or SD-WAN strategy)
• A clean operational model for provisioning and support

A Simple Way to Choose Without Overthinking It

If you want a fast gut-check:

• If your priority is speed, simplicity, and fewer operational burdens, Operator Connect is usually the better fit.
• If your priority is maximum flexibility and you’re prepared to own the moving parts, Direct Routing can be worth it.

And if you’re unsure, that’s common—because the “right” answer depends less on Teams and more on your reality: staffing, risk tolerance, complexity, and how standardized your sites are.

Where Fusion Connect Fits

Fusion Connect supports both Operator Connect and Direct Routing as part of its Teams Calling Services practice, which means you don’t have to force your requirements into one model just because that’s what a provider sells.

A productive next step isn’t picking a side—it’s clarifying:

• what you want IT to own,
• what you want to outsource,
• and what level of resiliency and visibility you need across your sites.

Because the win here isn’t “choosing the correct model.”
The win is building a Teams calling experience that feels reliable enough that nobody talks about it.

And honestly? That’s the dream.