Microsoft Teams PhoneYour staff already live in Teams. Put the phone in there too.
Teams Phone turns the Teams app your people already use into the business phone system: a dial pad on the laptop, the mobile app on the road, a desk handset for reception if you want one, and your existing numbers ported across. The analogue phone network closes in January 2027, so most businesses still on a line are moving anyway. We choose the right way to connect Teams to the phone network, build the call flows and support it with the rest of your Microsoft 365.
Who this is for
Businesses on Microsoft 365 whose staff work from more than one place, that have a handful of inbound numbers and want calls to reach the right person without a receptionist juggling diverts, and that would rather have one app and one supplier than a separate phone platform. If your team spends the day in Teams and the phones sit on desks nobody is at, this is the fix.
What Teams Phone is
Teams Phone is Microsoft's cloud calling service built into Teams, with a 99.999% uptime commitment from Microsoft. It gives each user a business phone number, voicemail with transcription, call transfer, hold, forwarding and simultaneous ring, and it runs on the desktop app, the mobile app, a web browser and certified desk phones.
The licence is the part that puts a dial pad in Teams. Connecting that dial pad to the public phone network is a separate decision, and it is the one that determines what you pay per month and who you call when a number stops ringing.
Three ways to reach the phone network
Microsoft documents three main options. We pick one for you after seeing how calls flow and what you already have.
- Calling Plans: Microsoft is your phone operator and supplies the numbers, the minutes and the support. The simplest option, sold as a bundle with the licence. Right for most businesses with ordinary UK calling patterns.
- Operator Connect: a certified UK carrier that has already integrated with Teams supplies the numbers, the connection and the SLA, and you manage it from the Teams admin centre. Often cheaper per minute than a Calling Plan and better for porting complicated number ranges.
- Direct Routing: any carrier, connected through a certified Session Border Controller that a provider runs for you. The most flexible and the most to go wrong; it suits businesses with existing SIP contracts, analogue door entry or fax to keep, or multiple countries.
What the licences cost
At Microsoft's UK prices on 2 October 2026, per user per month on an annual commitment and excluding VAT:
- Teams Phone Standard: £7.70. The dial pad, with the phone network connected by Operator Connect or Direct Routing.
- Teams Phone with Pay-as-you-go Calling: £9.20. Microsoft supplies the numbers and bills the minutes used.
- Teams Phone with Domestic Calling: £13.10, including 3,000 UK minutes a month per user, pooled across the business.
- Teams Phone with Domestic and International Calling: £26.10.
Source: Microsoft Teams Phone pricing (Microsoft UK), Microsoft 365 add-on plans and pricing (Microsoft UK)
Business Premium does not include it
Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium include Teams for chat and meetings but not Teams Phone. It is an add-on on top of whichever plan you hold. Of the enterprise plans, only Microsoft 365 E5 includes Teams Phone Standard, and even then the phone network connection is separate. We quote the add-on alongside your existing licences so the total is on one line.
Source: Microsoft 365 Business Premium add-ons (Microsoft UK)
Call queues, auto attendants and reception
The main number does not belong to a person. It rings a call queue, which rings the sales team or the service desk in turn or all at once, with a message and music while they wait, and overflows to voicemail or a mobile out of hours. An auto attendant in front of it answers with your opening hours and a menu, and sends callers to the right queue.
Microsoft licenses the resource accounts behind queues and attendants for free, and the staff answering them do not need a separate licence beyond Teams Phone. Outbound calls from a queue on a Microsoft Calling Plan number do need pay-as-you-go calling or Communications Credits, which is the sort of detail that catches people out after go-live, so we set it up at the start.
Source: Auto attendant and call queue licensing (Microsoft Learn)
999 calls and emergency addresses
In the UK and the rest of Europe, Microsoft requires an emergency location to be registered for every number it supplies or that is ported in, and 999 calls from Teams are screened for the caller's current location before being routed to the emergency call centre. We register your installation addresses against each number during setup, and your terms and conditions explain the limitation that calls over the internet do not work in a power cut or outage, so a mobile phone should always be to hand.
Source: Emergency locations and call routing (Microsoft Learn)
Teams Phone or a hosted VoIP platform?
Teams Phone is right when staff already spend the day in Teams and you want one app and one supplier. A dedicated hosted platform is better for reception-heavy businesses, contact-centre style reporting, wallboards and call recording on every call. Both are supported by us and both port your numbers; our business VoIP page covers the hosted option, and we will tell you which fits after seeing how calls flow.
What is included
The right connection
Calling Plan, Operator Connect or Direct Routing chosen and set up for your call patterns, number ranges and budget, with the licences quoted and supplied through our distributor.
Numbers ported, nothing lost
Existing numbers moved under your authority, with the old line kept live until Teams answers. Main numbers, DDIs and non-geographic numbers are planned together so nothing lapses.
Call flows built
Auto attendants, call queues, opening hours, holiday messages, voicemail and overflow set up to match how the business actually answers the phone, and changed by a helpdesk request afterwards.
Users and devices
Every user licensed, enabled and assigned a number, with the Teams mobile app set up on phones and certified handsets or headsets supplied and configured where you want them.
Emergency addresses
Installation addresses registered against every number so a 999 call from Teams can be located, and staff told what to do when the internet is down.
The network underneath
Quality of service set on your firewall and switches so a large download does not garble a call, and a 4G backup so the phones stay up when the broadband does not.
Support from the same helpdesk
Teams, the licence, the carrier and the network are all ours to chase. There is no second supplier to ring when a call drops.
What is not included, and why
- Calls in a power cut or internet outage. Teams Phone runs over your connection and the mobile app over mobile data. Desk handsets stop with the internet, and 999 will not go through from them. Keep a mobile phone to hand.
- Usage outside the plan. Calling Plans include a UK minute allowance; international, premium-rate and calls beyond the allowance are billed at the carrier's rates on your quotation.
- Microsoft 365 itself. Teams Phone is an add-on to a plan that includes Teams. We quote it alongside Business Premium or whichever plan you hold.
- Contact-centre features. Wallboards, skills-based routing, recording every call and supervisor tools need a dedicated platform or a certified add-on, which we quote separately where the business needs them.
What it costs
Teams Phone Standard is £7.70 per user per month and Teams Phone with Domestic Calling is £13.10, at Microsoft's UK prices on 2 October 2026, excluding VAT, on an annual commitment. Operator Connect and Direct Routing minutes are billed by the carrier at the rates on your quotation. Setup, porting and call-flow design are quoted as a fixed project based on users and numbers, and ongoing support is included in managed IT support or quoted per user: get in touch or book a call.
How it starts
- 1Free IT Health CheckA short online check that benchmarks your security and business risk and tells you where you stand.
- 2Discovery callAn engineer, not a salesperson. What you have, what is broken, what it would cost to fix, in writing.
- 3OnboardingEverything moves across on a plan, with no gap in cover and nothing lost.
Questions people ask before signing
How much does Microsoft Teams Phone cost in the UK?
Teams Phone Standard is £7.70 per user per month, Teams Phone with Pay-as-you-go Calling £9.20, with Domestic Calling £13.10 and with Domestic and International Calling £26.10, all at Microsoft's UK prices on 2 October 2026, annual commitment, excluding VAT. Operator Connect and Direct Routing replace the Microsoft calling element with a carrier's own charges.
Is Teams Phone included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium?
No. Business Basic, Standard and Premium include Teams for meetings and chat but not Teams Phone, which is an add-on. Only Microsoft 365 E5 includes Teams Phone Standard, and that still needs a phone network connection.
Can we keep our existing phone numbers?
Yes. Numbers are ported under your authority with the old service left running until Teams answers. Delays on the losing provider's side are common, so we start the port early and plan the main number, DDIs and any non-geographic numbers together.
Calling Plan, Operator Connect or Direct Routing?
Calling Plan if you want Microsoft to supply everything and your calling is ordinary UK business use. Operator Connect if you want a UK carrier's rates and SLA with the same Teams admin experience, which is what we recommend for most clients. Direct Routing if you have existing SIP contracts, analogue devices to keep, or several countries. We choose after seeing how calls flow.
Do we need desk phones?
Only if you want them. Most businesses use headsets with the desktop app and the mobile app, and keep one or two certified handsets for reception or a meeting room. Existing SIP handsets usually cannot be reused with Teams, which is one reason to check before buying.
What happens to 999 calls?
They work normally while the connection is up and Microsoft screens them for the caller's location first. We register installation addresses against every number. In a power cut or outage the desk phones are down, so keep a mobile phone available.
When is the analogue phone switch-off?
Openreach is retiring the analogue and ISDN networks with the final switch-off set for January 2027. New analogue lines can no longer be ordered, so a business still on one needs a plan this year.