What is BYOC? Definition and benefits

In a rapidly evolving communication landscape, businesses are seeking greater flexibility and control over their telephony systems. Bring your own carrier (BYOC) is a solution that empowers organizations to select their preferred carriers while integrating them seamlessly with their existing communication platforms. This approach provides cost savings and enhances the quality and reliability of your communication infrastructure.

In this post, we’ll explore BYOC, how it works, and the key benefits it offers businesses looking to optimize their communication strategy.

What is BYOC (bring your own carrier)?

BYOC is a telecommunications strategy that allows organizations to choose their telephony provider for public switched telephone network (PSTN) calling within their unified communications (UC) platform.

BYOC enables companies to have more control over their voice and messaging communications. It also gives them the option to choose the carrier services that best meet their specific needs regarding cost, coverage, and quality of service.

Top benefits of bringing your own carrier to your communications platform

BYOC offers several key benefits for organizations that choose it over traditional telephony:

Cost savings

BYOC allows businesses to choose the most cost-effective carrier for their needs. They can negotiate better rates or continue using an existing carrier with favorable pricing, reducing overall communication costs.

Flexibility

Companies can select carriers that best fit their requirements, such as coverage, quality, and pricing. This flexibility allows them to adapt quickly to changing business needs or geographic expansion.

Control

BYOC gives businesses more control over their communication infrastructure. They can manage relationships with carriers directly, ensuring better service quality and faster issue resolution.

Global reach

Businesses with a global presence can mix and match carriers to ensure optimal service across different regions. This approach ensures they always have the best possible connectivity.

Scalability

As businesses grow, they can easily scale their communication services by adding new carriers or expanding existing ones, without being tied to a single provider's limitations.

Integration

BYOC allows for seamless integration with existing communication systems and software. This makes it easier to implement new technologies without overhauling the entire communication infrastructure.

By keeping control over carrier choice, businesses can optimize their communication strategies. With BYOC, you can improve service quality and reduce costs, all while maintaining the flexibility to adapt to future needs.

Why do UC platforms enable BYOC?

You might be wondering why, if “communications” is in the name, a UC platform would allow you to bring your own carrier. The simple answer is that UC platforms know they can’t meet all the telephony needs of modern businesses.

Best case, using built-in calling plans to connect to both customers and employees around the world can be expensive. Worst case, connecting can be impossible for UCs with limited geographic coverage in different countries.

To meet the needs of companies around the world, many UC platforms have created ways for telephony providers to provision PSTN services within their platforms. While BYOC can lead to having two different calling systems—a UC platform and traditional PBX (private branch exchange)—it enables robust, high-quality, cost-effective calling.

3 pain points BYOC can help you solve

If you’ve found some difficulties or disappointments with your UC platform calling experience, BYOC can help you bridge potential service gaps. Below, we’ll discuss some of the pain points you can relieve by using BYOC.

1. Limited global coverage

While remote workforce numbers are down from their pandemic peak, they still sit solidly above pre-pandemic levels (22.4% in 2019 compared to 26% in 2022). As a result, organizations need reliable tools that can connect employees no matter where they are.

More and more frequently, those employees are spread across the globe. The benefits of remote teams—larger talent pools, diverse opinions, and potential cost savings—made organizations nearly 25% more open to hiring people in different countries.

Team members in more places puts different pressures on UC platforms to connect a more globalized workforce, especially in areas with poor internet connections. But UC platforms aren’t telecommunications companies, which means they don’t have direct PSTN access or extensive inventories of numbers in local areas. Often, their native calling plans have limited coverage outside the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe. For connectivity in growing markets like eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, you must partner with a provider for reliable coverage.

Bringing your own carrier with a worldwide number inventory to your UC platform can help connect your employees to each other and to your customers regardless of their location.

2. Expensive calling rates

Even in places where UC platforms can provide coverage, telco companies with direct PSTN access tend to offer more advantageous calling rates. Whether your pricing plan is based on a calling bundle or usage, carriers can often offer better value for domestic and international calling over UC platforms’ native calling plans.

The pay-as-you-go solutions offered by most carriers mean you don’t have to pay by your number of seats or for a pre-paid number of minutes, as you do with many UC platforms. As a result, carriers’ pricing methods often end up being less expensive than native UC calling plans.

3. Fluctuating call quality

Unbundling telephony from your UC platform doesn’t have to mean a decrease in call quality. In fact, it could enhance your calling experience. With direct PSTN connectivity over a wider coverage area, BYOC can mean fewer dropped calls and less frequent freezing up or sound delays.

In addition, businesses can gain more control over their call routing by choosing a carrier that gives them transparency over their Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) connectivity. That way, if issues arise, organizations can identify the problem and take direct steps to correct it rather than waiting on their UC platform to fix it.

Use one provider for calling

Embracing BYOC can give businesses greater control, flexibility, and cost efficiency in their communication systems. By choosing the carriers that best align with their needs, companies can build a communication infrastructure that truly supports their goals, whether that means expanding globally, enhancing service quality, or scaling operations smoothly. Ultimately, BYOC empowers businesses to stay agile in a rapidly changing market, ensuring they’re always one step ahead.

When it comes to implementing BYOC, choosing the right partner is crucial. With its industry-leading SIP trunking platform, and seamless integrations with Microsoft Teams and Zoom Phone, offers a robust and flexible platform designed to meet the diverse needs of modern businesses. With the Telnyx platform, you can gain access to:

• Global connectivity through deep number inventory.
• High-quality voice calling on our private VoIP network.
• Easy migration and management.
• Flexible, direct-to-carrier pricing.
• Dedicated customer support.