Lightwire Calling for Microsoft Teams
Delivered via Operator Connect, on Telesmart’s Microsoft-certified platform. Make and take business calls inside the Teams app your team already uses.
How does Operator Connect work?
Find us in Teams
In your Microsoft Teams admin centre, open the Operator Connect list and select us. The tile reads Telesmart, our group company and the Microsoft-certified operator, and carries both the Telesmart and Lightwire logos. Microsoft passes your details through to us.
Set up your service
Confirm your plan, your numbers and where your users are located. Bringing numbers from another provider? We port them across for you.
Assign numbers and start calling
Give each person a number inside Teams. Calls work on desktop, mobile and Teams-certified desk phones straight away. Best for businesses with low outbound calling needs.
Why run your business phones through Microsoft Teams?
- One app, not two: Calls sit beside the chat and meetings your team already runs in Teams.
- We stay out of your tenancy: Lightwire connects the calling. Your Microsoft environment stays yours, with no third party inside your Teams admin.
- New Zealand and Australia on one account: If you operate on both sides of the Tasman, that is one provider and one bill, not two.
- No minimum term: Our Call plans are open term, so there is no minimum contract period and no early termination charge.
- Support from people you can reach: Talk to our team on 0800 534 567 in New Zealand and 1300 016 678 in Australia, or email support@lightwire.co.
What do I need before I can start?
Your team needs Microsoft Teams Phone licences from Microsoft. Teams Phone is the part that turns Teams into a phone system, and it is licensed by Microsoft rather than by us.
Lightwire supplies the calling that connects to it. If you are not sure what you hold today, your IT provider can check, or talk to us and we will walk you through it.
- Each call queue or auto attendant also needs its own Microsoft resource account licence. Microsoft charges nothing for these, but they do have to be added in your admin centre.
- Shared devices such as reception or meeting room phones are licensed per device rather than per user.
What does Operator Connect cost?
Lightwire's Call plans are priced per user per month, with a phone number included for each user.
We have multiple plans including a Pay As You Go, and included minutes options covering national and mobile calling across New Zealand and Australia, subject to our fair use policy.
All plans are open term with no setup fee and no early termination charge. Prices are excluding GST. Talk to us for pricing for your team.
Operator Connect or Direct Routing, which should I choose?
Both Microsoft Teams Phone and 3CX deliver modern, cloud-based telephony - but the right choice depends on how your business or your customers work.
Not sure? Compare both on our Microsoft Teams Phone page or talk to us.
Frequently asked questions
Have a look through our most frequently asked questions. Can’t find what your looking for?
Check out our knowledge base or reach out to our friendly support team.
Operator Connect is a Microsoft framework that lets an approved telecommunications operator connect phone calling to a business's Microsoft Teams tenancy.
The customer selects their operator from a list inside the Microsoft Teams admin centre, and calling is enabled without separate calling software or on-site equipment.
Both add phone calling to Microsoft Teams.
Operator Connect is set up from within the Microsoft Teams admin centre and is priced per user.
Direct Routing connects calling over the provider's own SIP infrastructure, is configured by engineers, and Lightwire prices it per channel.
Operator Connect is usually faster to set up; Direct Routing gives more control where a business has existing SIP services or devices to keep.
Yes. Microsoft Teams Phone licences come from Microsoft and are separate from Lightwire's calling. Lightwire supplies the calling; Microsoft supplies the phone system it plugs into.
Yes. Lightwire supplies Operator Connect calling in both countries on a single account. Microsoft's own calling plans pool minutes only within one country, so a business operating on both sides of the Tasman cannot get one combined allowance from Microsoft directly.
Yes. We port numbers across from your current provider in both New Zealand and Australia. Tell us the numbers you want to bring and we will handle it.
No. Our Call plans are open term. There is no minimum period, no setup fee and no early termination charge.
Yes. We offer a 14 day free trial. There is nothing to pay during the trial, and what the trial covers is set out in the trial terms.
Telesmart is Lightwire's group company and the Microsoft-certified operator behind our Teams calling, so Telesmart is the name Microsoft shows in the Operator Connect list.
The tile carries both the Telesmart and Lightwire logos.
Your account, your bill and your support all come from Lightwire.
Select us as your operator in your Microsoft Teams admin centre — the tile reads Telesmart, our group company — then continue your setup using the button on this page. If you would rather talk to someone first, call us or send an enquiry and we will take you through it.
Get Setup With Calling For Microsoft Teams
Make and take business calls inside the Teams app your team already uses.
Offering Teams calling to your own customers?
Lightwire supplies Microsoft Teams calling wholesale to MSPs and IT providers across New Zealand and Australia. You hold the customer, the billing and the margin.
