Wireless Communications Blog
Connecting Radio and Phone Systems: SIP Gateways, PoC Apps and Microsoft Teams Integration
SIP gateways, PoC apps, and Microsoft Teams integration mean a site radio user and an office Teams user can speak on the same network.
- SIP — Gateway technology
- MS Teams — Integration possible
- One PTT — For all devices
The split communications problem
Most organisations operate two entirely separate communications systems: a radio network for field staff, and a telephone or UC platform — typically Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, or a conventional PBX — for office staff. A site foreman with a radio cannot call a project manager’s desk phone directly. An operations coordinator cannot join a radio channel from their laptop. Information moves slowly between the two worlds, often through a human intermediary.
Radio-to-telephony bridging eliminates that gap. Modern SIP-based gateways and cloud dispatch platforms have made it accessible, affordable, and straightforward to configure.
How SIP gateways bridge radio and telephony
A radio-SIP gateway connects a radio channel to a SIP trunk, making the radio channel appear as a telephone extension on the PBX. A phone user can dial into the radio channel, and radio users hear the call through their radios. The gateway handles audio codec conversion, PTT signalling, and half-duplex/full-duplex bridging automatically.
For Microsoft Teams integration, platforms such as Omnitronics and Zetron provide certified Direct Routing connectors that bring radio channels into Teams as callable extensions — a supported, production-grade integration used by utilities, transport operators, and local authorities.
Key consideration: Radio channels are half-duplex. When phone or Teams users join a radio channel, the gateway enforces this discipline — phone audio is queued and transmitted during a channel break, preventing simultaneous transmissions.
PoC apps for office and mobile staff
Staff who don’t need a dedicated radio install a PoC app on their existing smartphone and join the same talk groups as field radio users. Press the button, speak, release. Platforms such as Hytera SmartOne, Motorola WAVE PTX, and Zello Business support both dedicated radio hardware and smartphone clients on a single cloud-managed platform.
Unified communications architecture
Dispatch console for control rooms
A software dispatch console provides a supervisor with simultaneous visibility of all radio channels, the ability to monitor and join any talk group, initiate individual calls, patch channels together, and manage emergency alerts — all from a browser-based desktop interface with a standard headset.
Facilities management
Maintenance teams on radio, office coordinators on Teams — one system, no relay calls.
Transport operators
Drivers on vehicle radios, control room on dispatch console, management on PoC app.
Hospitality
Housekeeping on radio, front desk on PBX extension — bridged seamlessly.
Construction
Site teams on DMR, project managers on PoC app, client calls patched in via SIP.
Unify your radio and office communications
Yesway designs and implements radio-to-telephony integrations, PoC platforms, and dispatch console solutions. Let’s connect your whole team on one network.
Talk to Yesway →