You’ve decided to deploy Microsoft Teams Phone. Now comes the next question: how do you connect it to the PSTN?
Microsoft gives you three options — Calling Plans, Operator Connect, and Direct Routing. Each has different implications for cost, control, and complexity. But there’s one factor that should weigh heavily in your decision: how each option handles 911.
If compliance and control matter to your organization, Direct Routing is the clear winner. Here’s why.
The Three PSTN Options
A quick overview before we dive into 911:
Microsoft Calling Plans. Microsoft is your carrier. You buy phone numbers and calling minutes directly from Microsoft. Simplest to deploy, but limited control, limited geographic availability, and you’re locked into Microsoft’s infrastructure.
Operator Connect. A certified carrier provides PSTN connectivity through a direct integration with Teams. Easier than Direct Routing, but you’re dependent on your carrier’s E911 capabilities — which vary widely.
Direct Routing. You connect your own Session Border Controller (SBC) to Teams, using any carrier you choose. Most flexibility, most control, and the ability to integrate best-in-class E911 solutions.
Why Direct Routing Wins for 911
Full Control Over Emergency Call Routing
With Calling Plans or Operator Connect, you’re dependent on Microsoft or your carrier for 911 routing. You get what they provide — nothing more.
With Direct Routing, you control how emergency calls are handled. You can:
- Choose carriers based on their PSTN quality and reliability
- Integrate with dedicated E911 platforms that specialize in location accuracy
- Implement custom routing rules for emergency scenarios
- Build redundancy into your emergency calling infrastructure
When someone dials 911, you’re not hoping Microsoft or a carrier gets it right. You’ve built the infrastructure to ensure it’s right.
Integration with Dedicated E911 Solutions
This is the key advantage. Direct Routing allows you to pair Teams with purpose-built E911 platforms that solve the problems Teams wasn’t designed to solve:
Dynamic location detection. Know where users actually are — not just where they were registered months ago.
Remote worker coverage. Automatically determine location for work-from-home employees without relying on them to self-update.
Enhanced notification. Alert security teams with context about the emergency, not just that a call was placed.
Compliance reporting. Document your 911 infrastructure for audits and regulatory requirements.
Calling Plans and Operator Connect limit your ability to integrate these solutions. Direct Routing opens the door.
Carrier Flexibility
With Direct Routing, you choose your carrier — or multiple carriers. This matters for 911 because:
- You can select carriers with proven PSTN reliability in your regions
- You can implement failover between carriers for emergency calls
- You’re not locked into a single carrier’s E911 limitations
- You can change carriers without changing your E911 infrastructure
If your Operator Connect carrier has weak E911 capabilities, you’re stuck with them or you’re ripping out your PSTN integration. With Direct Routing, your E911 solution is independent of your carrier choice.
The Limitations of Calling Plans and Operator Connect
Calling Plans: Simple but Constrained
Microsoft Calling Plans work for small, simple deployments. But for 911 compliance, the limitations are significant:
Location management is basic. You register addresses in the Teams Admin Center. That’s it. No advanced location detection, no automation, limited integration options.
Remote workers are your problem. Microsoft provides user self-service for updating emergency addresses. Adoption rates are terrible. Most remote workers never update their location.
Notification is minimal. You can configure Teams to notify certain users when a 911 call is placed. But you get a basic alert — not integration with security systems, mass notification platforms, or incident management tools.
No flexibility. You get what Microsoft provides. If it doesn’t meet your requirements, there’s no path to fix it within the Calling Plans model.
For a 50-person company with one office, Calling Plans might be sufficient. For anything larger or more complex, the E911 gaps become problematic.
Operator Connect: Carrier Dependent
Operator Connect improves on Calling Plans in some ways — carrier-grade reliability, better geographic coverage, simpler management than Direct Routing. But for E911, you’re now dependent on your carrier.
The problem: E911 capabilities vary dramatically between Operator Connect carriers.
- Some carriers have robust E911 management portals. Others provide minimal tools.
- Some integrate with third-party E911 platforms. Others don’t.
- Some handle location data well. Others push the responsibility entirely to you.
Before choosing an Operator Connect carrier, you need to deeply evaluate their E911 approach. And even then, you’re limited to what they offer. If their capabilities don’t meet your requirements, your options are to live with the gaps or switch carriers — which means rearchitecting your PSTN connectivity.
Direct Routing + Dedicated E911: The Enterprise Approach
For organizations serious about 911 compliance, the pattern that works is Direct Routing paired with a dedicated E911 platform.
Direct Routing provides:
- PSTN connectivity with full control
- Carrier flexibility and redundancy
- The ability to integrate specialized solutions
- Independence between your voice infrastructure and your E911 infrastructure
A dedicated E911 platform provides:
- Accurate location management at scale
- Dynamic location detection for in-office users
- Remote worker location solutions
- Enhanced notification with emergency context
- Compliance documentation and reporting
This separation of concerns is important. Your SBC and carrier handle voice connectivity. Your E911 platform handles location accuracy and emergency notification. Each component does what it’s designed to do.
Trying to get complete E911 coverage from Calling Plans or Operator Connect means asking those platforms to do things they weren’t built for. Direct Routing lets you bring in the right tool for the job.
What to Look for in a Direct Routing E911 Partner
If you go the Direct Routing route (and you should), choosing the right E911 platform matters. Look for:
Native Teams integration. The solution should work seamlessly with Teams — not require clunky workarounds or separate user experiences.
Comprehensive location management. Support for office locations (down to floor and room), remote workers, and mobile users. Not just address registration, but actual location intelligence.
Automatic location detection. Network-based detection for office users, with solutions for remote workers that don’t depend entirely on user self-service.
Rich notification. Alerts that tell your security team what kind of emergency is happening — not just that a 911 call was placed. Integration with your existing security and notification infrastructure.
Compliance support. Documentation, audit trails, and reporting that demonstrate your 911 compliance posture.
No per-user fees that break the budget. E911 is infrastructure, not a luxury. Pricing should make sense for enterprise-wide deployment.
Why 9Line Is the Choice for Teams Direct Routing E911
When it comes to pairing Direct Routing with a dedicated E911 platform, 9Line stands out as the clear choice for Microsoft Teams environments. Built from the ground up for Teams Direct Routing, 9Line delivers everything on the checklist above — and then some.
9Line integrates natively with Microsoft Teams, providing seamless E911 functionality without requiring users to change their workflow or adopt a separate application. The platform offers dynamic location detection that automatically determines where users are — whether they’re in the office, working remotely, or moving between locations. This eliminates the single biggest point of failure in enterprise 911: outdated or inaccurate location data.
For organizations with Direct Routing deployments, 9Line provides enhanced emergency notification that goes beyond a basic alert. Security teams receive rich context about the emergency, including the caller’s precise location down to the floor and room level, enabling faster and more effective response. 9Line also integrates with existing security infrastructure and mass notification systems, so emergency information flows where it needs to go.
Critically, 9Line is designed to work independently of your carrier choice. Because it sits alongside your Direct Routing infrastructure rather than inside it, you can swap carriers, add redundancy, or change your SBC configuration without touching your E911 setup. That independence is exactly what makes the Direct Routing approach so powerful — and 9Line is purpose-built to take full advantage of it.
With enterprise-friendly pricing, comprehensive compliance reporting, and a solution architected specifically for the Teams Direct Routing model, 9Line is the E911 partner that checks every box. When you’re building a Teams voice deployment the right way, 9Line is the piece that makes your 911 infrastructure complete.
Making the Decision
The Teams PSTN decision involves many factors — cost, complexity, existing carrier relationships, geographic requirements, technical capabilities. 911 compliance should be high on that list.
Choose Calling Plans if you’re small, simple, and can accept Microsoft’s E911 limitations. Understand that you’re trading control for convenience.
Choose Operator Connect if you find a carrier with strong E911 capabilities that meet your specific requirements. Verify before you commit.
Choose Direct Routing if compliance matters, you need flexibility, and you want to pair Teams with a dedicated E911 solution that actually solves the hard problems. This is the enterprise approach.
For organizations with multiple locations, remote workers, regulatory requirements, or dedicated security operations, Direct Routing isn’t just the better choice — it’s the only choice that gives you the control you need.
The Bottom Line
911 compliance isn’t optional. Kari’s Law and Ray Baum’s Act apply to your Teams deployment whether you use Calling Plans, Operator Connect, or Direct Routing.
The question is whether you want to work within the limitations of Microsoft’s native capabilities and carrier dependencies — or take control with Direct Routing and a dedicated E911 platform.
For most enterprises, the answer is clear. Direct Routing gives you the flexibility to do 911 right. Pair it with the right E911 partner, and you’re not just compliant — you’re confident that when someone dials 911, help goes to the right place.
Teams handles collaboration. Direct Routing handles connectivity. 9Line handles 911. Each tool doing what it does best.
