What Microsoft licences do you need for Microsoft Teams calling?
3/11/2026
To make and take phone calls in Microsoft Teams, you need two things from two suppliers. Microsoft licenses the phone system, through a Teams Phone licence. A phone provider such as Lightwire supplies the calling: your phone numbers and the connection to the phone network. The licence requirement is the same in New Zealand and Australia, and the same whether you connect through Operator Connect or Direct Routing.
What does a working phone in Microsoft Teams need?
Think of it as four layers. The first three come from Microsoft, through your IT provider, a licensing partner or Microsoft directly. The fourth comes from your phone provider.
How do I check what I already have?
Three questions tell you what, if anything, you need to add. Your IT provider can answer them in a couple of minutes, or you can check in the Microsoft 365 admin centre under Billing, then Your products.
- Which Microsoft 365 plan are your users on? Business Basic, Standard or Premium; an E3, E5 or E7 plan; a frontline F plan; or Teams Essentials on its own. No plan at all? You need one first.
- Does your plan include the Teams app? Some plans are sold in a "(no Teams)" version, and the plan name in your admin centre says so. If yours is one, add Microsoft Teams Enterprise for each user.
- Does your plan include Teams Phone? Only the top Enterprise tiers, E5 and E7, include it. Every other plan needs Teams Phone Standard added for each user who needs a phone number. Frontline F1 and F3 users can use the lower-cost Teams Phone Standard for Frontline Workers.
Which Microsoft plans include Teams Phone?
Find your plan in the left column. The last column shows what to add from Microsoft for each user who needs a phone number.
Only the people who need a phone number need Teams Phone. Staff who use Microsoft Teams just for chat and meetings carry on as they are.
What do Microsoft's plans actually include?
Microsoft sells the same core bundle (email, Office apps, the Teams app and file storage) in tiers. Going up a tier mostly buys more security and device management, not more phone. That's why Teams Phone is an add-on on almost every plan.
Business plans stop at 300 users, so larger organisations are on Enterprise plans. And Office 365 and Microsoft 365 aren't the same: Office 365 is the productivity apps, while Microsoft 365 adds Windows and device and identity management.
Is the licence different for Operator Connect and Direct Routing?
No. Every way of adding phone calling to Microsoft Teams needs the same Teams Phone licence, including Direct Routing. Direct Routing is not a way around Microsoft licensing. What changes between them is how the calling connects:
- Operator Connect: you select your phone provider in the Microsoft Teams admin centre, and calling connects with nothing to configure.
- Direct Routing: calling connects over the provider's own voice network, configured by you or your IT provider, and Lightwire prices it per channel.
- Microsoft Calling Plans: you buy calling from Microsoft itself, per country. Minutes can't be pooled across New Zealand and Australia.
See how Operator Connect makes business calling simpler, or read more about Operator Connect and Direct Routing.
What about auto attendants, call queues and shared phones?
Not every call goes to a person, and these are easy to forget until setup day.
Auto attendants and call queues. An auto attendant is the menu callers hear ("press 1 for sales"). A call queue rings a team until someone answers. Each one runs on its own resource account, and each resource account needs a Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account licence. Microsoft doesn't charge for it, but it isn't automatic: you "buy" it at zero cost in the Microsoft 365 admin centre and assign one to each resource account. Without it, the menu or queue won't answer.
Count them before you start. A 15-person business with reception, sales, accounts and an after-hours line needs four resource accounts, not one.
Shared and common area phones. Phones at reception, in a warehouse or on a loading dock need a number and a handset, but nobody signs in to them. Microsoft licenses these per device with the Microsoft Teams Shared Space licence, called Teams Shared Devices before April 2026. A business with 20 staff and 4 shared phones needs 20 user licences and 4 shared device licences, not 24 user licences. Microsoft sells more than one Shared Space licence, so check yours includes Teams Phone.
Audio Conferencing is not calling. Dial-in numbers for Teams meetings are a separate feature. Having them doesn't mean your people can make phone calls.
How does it add up for a real business?
A 12-person accounting practice on Business Standard, with a reception menu and a front desk queue: 12 Teams Phone Standard licences and 2 free resource account licences from Microsoft; 12 users, 2 resource accounts and 13 numbers from the phone provider.
A 40-person distributor with a warehouse: 30 office staff on Business Premium, 10 warehouse staff on F3, and 3 wall phones. From Microsoft: 30 Teams Phone Standard, up to 10 Teams Phone Standard for Frontline Workers, 3 Teams Shared Space licences and 4 free resource account licences for a menu and three queues. From the phone provider: a number for each user, wall phone and the main number.
A 6-person plumbing business in Hamilton on Business Basic. The owner, an office manager and four plumbers who spend the day on the road. Callers hear a short menu on the main number, with bookings going to a queue that rings the office manager and the owner. The plumbers take calls in the Microsoft Teams app on their mobiles, so nobody needs a desk phone. From Microsoft: 6 Teams Phone Standard licences and 2 free resource account licences, one for the menu and one for the queue. From the phone provider: 6 users, 2 resource accounts and 7 numbers, one for each person and the main number.
Your checklist before you set up calling
- We know which Microsoft 365 plan each of our users is on.
- Our plan includes the Teams app, or we've added Microsoft Teams Enterprise.
- Everyone who needs a phone number has Teams Phone, in their plan or as an add-on.
- We've counted our reception menus and team numbers, and have a free Teams Phone Resource Account licence for each.
- We've counted our shared phones, and have a Teams Shared Space licence that includes Teams Phone for each.
- We know who looks after our Microsoft licensing: our IT provider, a licensing partner, or Microsoft directly.
- We have a Microsoft 365 Global Administrator available for the one-off setup consent.
Frequently asked questions
What licence do I need to make phone calls in Microsoft Teams?
You need a Microsoft Teams Phone licence for each person who makes and takes phone calls, plus calling from a phone provider. Teams Phone is included in Microsoft 365 E5 and E7. On every other plan, including Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium, you add Teams Phone Standard.
Does everyone in my business need Teams Phone?
No. Only the people who need a phone number need a Teams Phone licence. Staff who use Microsoft Teams only for chat and meetings don't.
Do I need Teams Phone for Direct Routing?
Yes. Direct Routing needs the same Microsoft Teams Phone licence as Operator Connect. The licence is the phone system; Direct Routing and Operator Connect are two ways of connecting the calling to it.
Do auto attendants and call queues need a licence?
Yes. Each auto attendant and call queue runs on a resource account, and each resource account needs a Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account licence. Microsoft doesn't charge for it, but you have to add it in the Microsoft 365 admin centre and assign it.
Can I add Teams Phone to Microsoft Teams Essentials?
Yes, but only to the version of Teams Essentials linked to a work account through Microsoft Entra ID. The version linked to a personal Microsoft account can't take Teams Phone.
Does Lightwire sell Microsoft licences?
No. Lightwire supplies the phone numbers and calling in New Zealand and Australia. We work with IT and licensing partners who sell Microsoft licences, and we can introduce you to one if you don't already have an IT provider.
Talk to our sales team
Not sure what you have, or what you need to add? Tell us your Microsoft 365 plan and how many people need a number, and we'll help you work it out, and introduce you to a licensing partner if you need one.
NZ: 0800 534 567
AU: 1300 016 678
sales@lightwire.co
Microsoft licence names and inclusions reflect Microsoft's published information in September 2026 and may change. For prices and final licensing advice, talk to your licensing partner or Microsoft. Lightwire Calling for Microsoft Teams is delivered via Operator Connect, carried on Telesmart's Microsoft-certified Operator Connect platform. Telesmart is part of the Lightwire group. Microsoft, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Teams Phone, Office 365, Microsoft Entra, Microsoft Copilot, Power BI, Windows, Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Operator Connect are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Lightwire is an independent provider and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Microsoft.
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