Breaking Down the Basics: PBX, PSTN, SIP, and SignalWire

When exploring the world of voice communications, it's easy to get lost in a sea of acronyms. This episode helps clear the fog by defining key components in traditional and modern telephony, then showing how SignalWire ties it all together.

Let’s recap the core concepts:

• PBX (Private Branch Exchange): Think of this as the brains of your phone system. It’s what handles the routing of internal and external calls.

• PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network): This is the global system that routes traditional landline calls. It’s the infrastructure that connects phones around the world.

• PRI Lines (Primary Rate Interface): These are physical lines that connect a PBX to the PSTN. They're reliable but costly and rigid.

• SIP (Session Initiation Protocol): SIP replaces the need for physical PRI lines. It allows you to route calls through the internet—between SIP endpoints or to traditional phone numbers via the PSTN.

Where SignalWire Fits In

With SignalWire, SIP is simple. You can create, edit, and manage SIP endpoints directly from the dashboard or through APIs. That means you can scale and adapt your voice infrastructure with just a few clicks or lines of code. SignalWire also supports a variety of codecs and encryption settings, giving you full control over voice quality and security.

By moving away from physical infrastructure and embracing SIP with SignalWire, developers and businesses gain flexibility, reliability, and lower costs.