What is Microsoft Teams Operator Connect?

Operator Connect is a Microsoft-certified method for adding public switched telephone network (PSTN) calling to Microsoft Teams. It connects Teams Phone to a certified carrier so organizations can make and receive external calls natively inside Teams, without managing on-premises hardware or Session Border Controllers (SBCs).

Operator Connect is one of three PSTN connectivity options Microsoft offers for commercial Microsoft 365 environments, alongside Microsoft Calling Plans and Direct Routing. The certified carrier manages all voice infrastructure, SBCs, and PSTN services on the customer's behalf. Phone numbers are provisioned and assigned entirely within the Microsoft Teams Admin Center, which means IT teams manage telephony through the same console they already use for Teams administration. Operator Connect is available for commercial Microsoft 365 only and is not available in Government Community Cloud (GCC) High environments, which require Direct Routing exclusively.