Architectural Limitation: Move LBR from Gateway to Voice Routes for Shared Trunks
The Problem: Currently, Location-Based Routing (LBR) in Microsoft Teams is hard-locked to the root OnlinePSTNGateway object (e.g., via -GatewaySiteLbrEnabled). This creates two major administrative roadblocks: Derived Trunk Limitations: For organizations utilizing multi-tenant partner architectures and derived trunking models (such as AudioCodes Live Pro/Express), the underlying global gateway configuration is owned and managed by the provider. Because administrators lack root modification rights over these shared gateway objects, they cannot enable or configure LBR. https://imgur.com/a/RzTE4nu Managing gateways via the Teams Admin Center (Voice > Direct Routing > SBCs) results in restricted or failing LBR configurations. Rigid Global Enforcement: Forcing LBR as a strict hardware-level switch creates deployment roadblocks, such as entirely blocking unmapped or remote workers. This is overly restrictive in regions like North America, where strict anti-toll-bypass compliance is not a legal mandate (unlike regions like India). The Proposed Solution: Decouple LBR from the Gateway Object: Shift LBR evaluation away from the root hardware gateway switch toggle and allow it to occur at the Voice Route, PSTN Usage, or Calling Policy layer. Support Derived & Shared Trunks: This decoupling will instantly make LBR compatible with multi-tenant SBC models, allowing enterprises to manage geographic routing via distinct voice routes (which are already peered with gateways), bypassing the need for root gateway property access. Regional Flexibility & Compliant Enforcement: Enable regional flexibility so enterprises can bypass unnecessary toll-bypass blocks in regions where they aren't mandated (like North America) without breaking calls for "Unknown" network sites. Crucially, for heavily regulated regions like India, system-enforced policies should automatically lock LBR on to strictly maintain local country regulations without relying on manual overrides. Business Impact: This enhancement will unlock advanced routing flexibility for thousands of enterprises utilizing modern cloud-hosted and derived trunking architectures. It bridges the gap between legacy PBX design constraints and modern multi-tenant cloud voice management, significantly reducing deployment friction for global organizations.