Three deployment models. One Microsoft Teams.
The right one depends on geography, carriers, and complexity.

A typical mid-market Teams Phone deployment is 8-12 weeks end-to-end. Phase 1 discovery + design: 1-2 weeks. Phase 2 provisioning: 2-3 weeks (longer for Direct Routing because of SBC setup). Phase 3 number porting + parallel run: 2-4 weeks (porting timelines are carrier-driven and the most common source of project delay). Phase 4 cutover + stabilization: 1 week. Phase 5 optimization: ongoing. Calling Plans deployments at the small end can compress to 4-6 weeks; complex Direct Routing deployments with multi-region SBCs can extend to 16+ weeks.

Operator Connect with Bell, Telus, or Rogers as the carrier is the most common Canadian mid-market choice. Reasons: existing carrier relationships are usually with one of those three; Operator Connect lets you preserve them while moving the calling experience to Teams; in-country number pooling and E911 jurisdictional coverage are best with the major Canadian carriers; cross-border US connectivity can be added via Lumen or AT&T as a second Operator Connect carrier on the same tenant. Microsoft Calling Plans work in Canada but the per-number pricing is usually less competitive than Bell/Telus/Rogers wholesale.

Direct Routing is the right answer when you need: (1) carrier flexibility beyond the Operator Connect partner list (specialty SIP trunk providers, regional carriers in countries Operator Connect does not cover, or organizations with negotiated wholesale SIP trunk pricing); (2) custom call routing logic that requires SBC scripting (complex IVRs, conditional routing based on caller data, integration with on-prem PBX during a phased migration); (3) Survivable Branch Appliance pattern — sites that must continue to make/receive PSTN calls during a Microsoft 365 outage (legal requirement in some industries); (4) MSP-operated deployments where the MSP runs the SBC infrastructure for multiple customer tenants. For most other cases, Operator Connect is simpler and equally capable.

E911 routing is automatic in Teams — emergency calls route based on the user’s registered emergency address (location) at the time of the call. For Calling Plans, Microsoft handles the carrier-side E911. For Operator Connect, the carrier handles it in their jurisdiction. For Direct Routing, the customer handles E911 — typically via integration with Intrado, Bandwidth, or RedSky. The Kari’s Law requirement (direct 911 dialing without a prefix) and RAY BAUM’s Act Section 506 requirement (dispatchable location at room-level granularity) are satisfied via Teams’ dynamic emergency calling policies, which map subnet / Wi-Fi BSSID / Ethernet switch port to the dispatchable location. Most modern offices use Wi-Fi BSSID as the location signal because it identifies the floor / room within a building.

Yes. Number portability (LNP — Local Number Portability) is supported across Calling Plans, Operator Connect, and Direct Routing. Process: submit a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to your losing carrier authorizing the port; coordinate the port date with the gaining carrier (Microsoft / Operator Connect partner / SIP trunk provider) and the losing carrier; configure Teams to receive the ported numbers. Porting timelines vary: simple US ports can complete in 5-10 business days; Canadian ports typically 10-15 business days; complex multi-number ports across carriers can extend to 30+ days. Number porting is THE most common source of project delay — plan it explicitly with calendar holds and pilot validation.