Why Lumen SIP Customers Are Moving to IPComms
Lumen is a strong fiber and networking company that has decided voice is not its business. That decision, not call quality, is why its trunking customers are shopping.
A Platform in Run-Off
Lumen said it "will continue to support our existing commitments," and it will. But a product with no new sales gets no new investment. Adds, changes and new locations become hard, and at term your service converts to month-to-month with no rate protection.
Paying for Capacity, Not Calls
Lumen priced trunks per concurrent-call path on a term contract, so you sized for your busiest hour and paid for it every month. IPComms charges per minute and per number, with $0 per channel and no set call limit. Stop worrying about SIP trunk capacity. We have you covered.
No Migration Plan From Lumen
Lumen published no end-of-life date and no migration program. IPComms runs the move for you: we submit the ports, coordinate dates with Lumen, provision E911 per number, and keep both trunks live until the last number has moved.
IPComms vs Lumen: Feature-by-Feature
SIP trunking capabilities, pricing model and service, as they stand after Lumen's August 2026 end of sale.
| Feature | IPComms | Lumen |
|---|---|---|
| Accepting new SIP trunking customers | Yes, since 2002 | No. End of sale Aug 1, 2026 |
| Contract renewals | Month-to-month, nothing to renew | No renewals; rolls to month-to-month at term |
| Signup Process | Self-service, minutes | Account team (no longer quoting voice) |
| Published Pricing | Full pricing online | Never published; per-trunk term quotes |
| Inbound Rate (US) | $0.009/min | Bundled into trunk and plan fees |
| Outbound Rate (US) | $0.010/min | Bundled into trunk and plan fees |
| Local DID Numbers | $1.50/mo | Per-number monthly fee, quote-based |
| Channel / concurrent-call fees | $0 per channel, no set limit | Priced per concurrent-call path |
| Contracts Required | No contracts | Multi-year terms were standard |
| Time to First Call | Minutes | Weeks (provisioning intervals) |
| Number Porting | Handled for you, $5 per number | Port-out on request; you manage it |
| E911 with dispatchable location | Included, 933 test calls | Included on existing service |
| STIR/SHAKEN | Included | Included |
| Encryption | TLS 1.3 + SRTP | TLS + SRTP (platform dependent) |
| Redundancy | East + West PoPs, DNS SRV failover | Sonus / Broadsoft platforms in run-off |
| PBX Compatibility | Any SIP PBX or device | Any SIP PBX (certified list) |
| Phone Support | All customers, US-based | Enterprise tiers |
| Voice roadmap | Only business we are in | Exited voice; investing in fiber and AI networking |
Lumen column reflects publicly reported end-of-sale notices to channel partners (July 2026) and Lumen's historical per-trunk contract model. Lumen has not published customer-level pricing; confirm your own contract terms with your account team.
Usage Pricing vs Per-Path Contracts
A 10-line office with normal call volume, priced two ways.
IPComms
PublishedExample: 10 DIDs, 5,000 outbound min, 3,000 inbound min
Month-to-month. Port in, test, and pay only for what you use.
Lumen
No new quotesSame office on a legacy per-path trunk contract
Since Aug 1, 2026 Lumen is not writing new voice contracts, so this is the last price you will see from them.
Which Path Is Right for You?
Move to IPComms now if you:
- Have a Lumen or CenturyLink voice contract ending in the next 12 months
- Run a SIP-capable PBX (Asterisk, FreePBX, 3CX, Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, Grandstream)
- Are paying per concurrent-call path for capacity you rarely use
- Need to add a location, trunk or toll-free number Lumen can no longer sell you
- Want the port, E911 and cutover handled by the new carrier
Staying on Lumen for now makes sense if you:
- Are mid-term with early-termination fees that outweigh the savings (port at term instead)
- Buy Lumen fiber, wavelengths or SD-WAN, which are unaffected and worth keeping
- Run a contact center on Lumen toll-free and need a 6 to 12 month plan before moving
- Have not yet confirmed in writing which of your circuits are on the end-of-sale list
Switching From Lumen in Three Steps
Keep your numbers and your PBX. Change only the carrier. Full detail in the Lumen migration guide.
Sign Up & Point Your PBX
Create your IPComms account and add a second trunk on your PBX with our credentials or IP authentication. Under 10 minutes; Lumen keeps working.
Test and Register E911
Make real inbound and outbound test calls, set dispatchable addresses per number, and confirm with a 933 test call before any production number moves.
Port Your Numbers
We submit the port to Lumen with a firm date, toll-free by RespOrg transfer. Numbers arrive on the IPComms trunk on port day, then Lumen is closed out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions from Lumen and CenturyLink SIP trunking customers.
Is Lumen really discontinuing SIP trunking?
Lumen told channel partners that SIP trunking, Voice Complete and hosted voice for Microsoft Teams and Zoom became ineligible for new sales and renewals on August 1, 2026. Existing contracts are honored and roll to month-to-month at term. No end-of-life date has been published, so service continues, but there is no Lumen voice product to renew into.
How does IPComms pricing compare to Lumen SIP trunking?
IPComms publishes everything: $0.009/min inbound, $0.010/min outbound, $1.50/mo per local number, and $0 per channel with no set concurrent-call limit. Lumen priced SIP trunking per concurrent-call path inside a term contract and never published rates, so most customers paid for capacity they only used a few hours a month. Moving to usage-based pricing typically lowers the bill for offices with normal call patterns.
Can I keep my Lumen or CenturyLink phone numbers?
Yes. Local numbers port to IPComms in about 7 to 14 business days and toll-free numbers move by RespOrg transfer. We submit the port request to Lumen and coordinate the date; the number simply starts arriving on your IPComms trunk on port day. Do not disconnect Lumen first, because a disconnected number cannot be ported.
Do I need a new phone system to leave Lumen?
No. Your PBX talks to Lumen over SIP today; it can talk to IPComms the same way by registration or IP authentication. Asterisk, FreePBX, 3CX, Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, Grandstream and Yeastar all work unchanged. Only a PRI-only PBX needs a gateway, and Lumen SIP customers already have SIP-capable equipment.
When should a Lumen customer start the move?
Twelve months before the contract term ends for multi-site or contact-center deployments, and at least 90 days out for a single site. The technical cutover takes an afternoon; the calendar is driven by porting and E911 re-registration. Once a Lumen contract lapses to month-to-month you lose rate protection, so the goal is to port before term, not after.
Does IPComms replace Lumen Voice Complete and hosted Teams voice too?
For the SIP trunking and PSTN connectivity layer, yes: IPComms SIP trunks connect to any SIP PBX and to Microsoft Teams via a certified SBC (Direct Routing). If you used Lumen for hosted seats rather than trunks, our Hosted PBX product covers extensions, voicemail, IVR and ring groups with the same per-minute calling rates.