South Africa: SIP providers and connecting a number to your PBX

We do not issue phone numbers: the venue buys a South African number from a provider and connects it to its own PBX as a trunk. Everything that is the same in every country — trunk modes, form fields, network requirements and connectivity checks — is covered in the overview “Connecting a provider's number to your PBX”. This page covers only the South African part: where to get a number, what to enter in the admin panel and what people trip over in this country.

The data was collected on 10 September 2026 from provider websites, documents of the regulator ICASA and the certification lists of PBX vendors (Yeastar, 3CX); links are in the “Sources” section.

In brief#

• You can buy a trunk for your own PBX in South Africa: the licence is required from the seller, not from the venue. Under the Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005 the ECS/ECNS licence is held by whoever sells the communications service; a customer's corporate PBX needs no licence. Numbers from the national numbering plan are assigned only to holders of an individual licence — that is, to the provider.
• The first candidate is Switch Telecom: the only local provider with a fully published SIP trunk price list (4 channels on the usage-based plan — R100 a month, a number — R10), month-to-month contract, no setup fee, registration mode. The provider does not print the server address on its website — it arrives in the e-mail with the trunk credentials.
• The main local pitfall is that almost nobody publishes trunk parameters. Telkom, Vodacom, MTN, Vox, Wanatel and Saicom hand out the host and port only after the contract is signed. Public addresses exist only for ISP VoIP lines: sip.afrihost.com (Afrihost) and talk.webafrica.co.za (Webafrica) — single-line accounts that are handy for a first test of the setup.
• “Certified for PBXs” does not mean “compatible”. ECN, ECOTEL, GeekBox and Imply I.T. list only G.729 and GSM in their Yeastar certification, while our PBX speaks G.711 and G.722 — without G.711 the call will not go through. Demand G.711 (a-law/u-law) in writing before you pay.
• A geographic number is assigned only with an address in that area (Numbering Plan Regulations, 2016, reg. 15(2)). Without an address in Cape Town you will not get a 021 number — the working option for a company without a local office is the non-geographic 087 (VoIP) range.
• Paperwork for the number is mandatory: under RICA (section 40) the provider collects and verifies subscriber details — company registration and proof of address.

Numbers in South Africa#

The country code is +27. A national number always starts with 0 and has 10 digits: 0 + a two-digit area code + a 7-digit subscriber number. The international prefix from South Africa is 00.

• In “Lines” the number can be entered in any form — the PBX compares the last seven digits. The 3CX templates for South Africa require the trunk number in E.164 (27XXXXXXXXX), so the incoming number often arrives that way; some providers may send the national form with a leading 0. The last seven digits are the same in both cases.
• ⚠️ The seven-digit tail equals the subscriber part of the number. 011 123 4567 (Johannesburg) and 021 123 4567 (Cape Town) are indistinguishable for a line. If you add several numbers from different areas, check that their last seven digits differ.
• “Show as” for outgoing calls — only a number issued by the provider or ported to it, in E.164 without the plus (27XXXXXXXXX): this is how most local templates accept it.
• Emergency numbers: 112 — the single number for all emergency services, 10111 — police, 10177 — ambulance. Do not block them with outgoing rules.

Who sells a number with a SIP trunk#

Below are cards for the three providers whose server address is known in advance, followed by the contract-only trunks. The full list of questions for the account manager is in “What to ask the provider”; in South Africa add one more: the provider's ECS licence number (the independent market review WhichVoIP recommends asking it first — a provider that cannot give a licence number is a risk).

Switch Telecom — VoIP SIP Trunk#

A carrier from Bryanston (Johannesburg), founded in 2006, holding IECNS and IECS licences since 2009, with its own network. The website describes the trunk explicitly as a service “used together with a Switch Telecom Hosted Switchboard or a VoIP PBX” — that is, for someone else's PBX. Prices excluding VAT as of 10.09.2026:

• usage-based plan: 4 channels — R100 a month, each additional one — R25, up to 1000 channels;
• unlimited bundles: 4 / 8 / 16 outgoing channels — R1,000 / R2,500 / R5,000 a month; twice as many incoming channels (8 / 16 / 32);
• numbers: R10 per number, R50 per block of 10, R250 per block of 100; 1 to 10,000 numbers per trunk;
• no setup fee, month-to-month contract.

The server address is not published on the website. According to the provider's support answer quoted on the MyBroadband industry forum (10.09.2026), SIP accounts register to sip.switchtel.co.za, port 5060; sip1.switchtel.co.za and sip2.switchtel.co.za are mentioned for redundancy. Check the exact host against the e-mail that brings the trunk credentials.

What to enter in the admin panel (Telephony → “Trunks & pairings” → “Add provider”):

What to set up on the provider's side: pick a plan (for a small venue the 4-channel usage-based plan almost always beats the unlimited bundles) → order numbers (087, geographic or port your own) → ask for written confirmation of G.711 (a-law/u-law) — codecs are not stated on the website → make sure the trunk is registration-based → point the numbers at the trunk → ask whether they need your PBX's static IP for an allowlist.

Pitfalls ⚠️

• The address comes from a forum, not from the website. Check the host against the provider's e-mail before the first save; vpbx.switchtel.co.za is the address of their own hosted PBX and is not needed for a trunk.
• Channels are asymmetric: 4 outgoing = 8 incoming. Size the load by outgoing channels.
• The number is still issued against documents — company registration and proof of address (see “Rules and paperwork”).

Source: Switch Telecom — VoIP SIP Trunk — 10.09.2026.

Afrihost Pure VoIP — a line with a published address#

A large South African internet provider. The “Pure VoIP” line is sold with its internet service or on its own, with an 087 number or a ported landline. It is a single-line SIP account, not a multi-channel trunk, but the PBX registers to it exactly as to a trunk. Afrihost prints the server address in its own setup guides for Yealink phones: SIP Server — sip.afrihost.com, transport — TCP. The login and password arrive by e-mail and are kept in the ClientZone account.

What to enter in the admin panel:

What to set up on the provider's side: order Pure VoIP (an 087 number or port your own) → collect the credentials in ClientZone → ask support which codecs are enabled (the knowledge base does not say; you need G.711) and how many concurrent calls the account allows.

Pitfalls ⚠️

• This is a retail line without a business SLA. For several concurrent calls you need several accounts — each is added on our side as a separate trunk.
• Registration fails over UDP — check that TCP is selected in the form, as in the provider's guide.

Sources: Afrihost — Yealink SIP-T33G setup, Yealink T54W, VoIP on a smartphone — 10.09.2026.

Webafrica Voice — a line with a published address#

An internet provider from Cape Town (since 1997, took over the Mweb subscriber base in 2023), ICASA-licensed. The voice product is a free 087 number or a ported landline. Like Afrihost, it is a single-line VoIP account. The Webafrica knowledge base gives the credentials directly in its guide for the Zoiper softphone: Domain / Host — talk.webafrica.co.za, Username — the product login, Password — the VoIP password, Caller ID — your number.

What to enter in the admin panel:

What to set up on the provider's side: activate Voice in the Customer Zone → take an 087 number or port your own → collect the credentials → confirm the codecs (you need G.711) and the number of concurrent calls per account.

Pitfalls ⚠️

• Extra spaces. The Webafrica guide specifically warns: no spaces before or after the username, password or server address — they tend to stick when copied from the dashboard.
• A prepaid retail product without a business SLA; several concurrent calls mean several accounts.

Source: Webafrica — How to Configure your VoIP for Zoiper — 10.09.2026.

Contract-only trunks: Vox, BitCo, Liquid, Wanatel, Saicom, ICTGlobe#

These providers sell a trunk for someone else's PBX as a standard product, but the host, port and login are issued by the account manager after the contract is signed — so there is no table of ready values. The mode and codecs below come from the providers' own documents and from the Yeastar and 3CX certification lists. Once the credentials arrive, fill in the form following the overview (“Step 1”) and check connectivity (“Step 2”).

• Vox Telecom — a large internet provider and carrier (Bryanston), the only South African company on the 3CX Preferred list for South Africa, Yeastar-certified as well. Products: Business Uncapped Voice (unlimited calls within South Africa, billed by the number of concurrent calls — 2, 5, 10 or 15) and Cristal Voice (pay-as-you-go); own geographic ranges 010, 021, 031, number porting. The product sheet: “Vox facilitates both the G729a and G711 Codecs”; per Yeastar — a registration-based trunk, ulaw, alaw, g722, g729a, DTMF RFC 4733; per 3CX — no TLS (we do not need it), the trunk number in E.164. Ask for: the host and port; G.711 enabled — the sheet lists G.729a first, and a G.729-only trunk will not work with us; whether they accept a trunk to a PBX in the cloud — Uncapped Voice is designed around Vox's own last mile.
• BitCo Telecoms — a Johannesburg carrier and internet provider (since 2006). Per Yeastar — a registration-based trunk, codecs alaw, ulaw, G722, G729a, DTMF RFC 4733: a full match with our set. BitCo's storefront pushes its own cloud PBX for 2–30 lines — ask explicitly for a SIP trunk for your own PBX, it is a different product. No price list, everything on quote.
• Liquid Intelligent Technologies — a pan-African carrier with its own data centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town. In the Yeastar South Africa certification Liquid is listed as “DID Based” — a trunk without registration, that is, our IP mode; codecs alaw, ulaw, G722, G729a. The type comes from the Yeastar card, not from a Liquid document — confirm it in the contract. Hand over the PBX's static IP from the “Server” tab for the allowlist and get their gateway address for the “SIP host” field in return. If the PBX moves to another address, the trunk stops until Liquid updates the list. Sales are corporate, connection takes weeks.
• Wanatel — a Cape Town carrier (since 2003), licences IECNS 0308IECNS/MAR/09 and IECS 0308IENS/MAR/09. Its main model is wholesale and white-label (the KEVO reseller programme), but you can open an account directly; the trunk goes up to 100 concurrent channels. Per Yeastar — a registration-based trunk, codecs ulaw, alaw, gsm, speex, g729a, ilbc: ask for alaw/ulaw to be enabled on your trunk. There is no retail price list on the website — get a written quote.
• Saicom — a Bryanston carrier (since 2003), IECNS and IECS licences: cloud PBX, SIP trunking, Microsoft Teams Direct Routing. The product page says: “Our technology works with all major PBXs”. The authorisation mode (registration or IP) is not stated publicly — ask when connecting; for IP mode hand over the PBX's static IP. No price list.
• ICTGlobe — a wholesale voice platform working through reseller partners, an ICASA licence holder, 3CX-certified for South Africa (no TLS, the trunk number in E.164). Parameters are issued when the trunk is set up; support goes through the partner, so the service level depends on the intermediary. The related brand Dataphone from the same 3CX list also lives on ICTGlobe's pages.

Major carriers: Telkom, Vodacom, MTN#

All three have a trunk, but they publish no parameters, work only under a corporate contract and build the service around their own network — a PBX in a third-party cloud is a non-standard scenario for them. Ask the account manager not only for the host and login but also whether they accept a trunk to a PBX outside their network (over the internet rather than over their last mile).

• Telkom Business / BCX — the national fixed-line carrier: IP Voice (a copper-line replacement), BizTalk bundles, SIP trunking for PBXs; the premium option goes through BCX over Metro Ethernet with a managed router. Its connection procedure is the longest on the market. Telkom is phasing out its copper network — when a number moves to IP, its technical platform may change.
• Vodacom Business — the largest mobile carrier: SIP trunking, Hosted IP PBX, Teams Operator Connect. Per the Yeastar certification — a registration-based trunk, codecs G729, alaw, ulaw, DTMF RFC 2833. Prices on request, contracts usually for 24–36 months; the carrier does not guarantee quality for a PBX outside the Vodacom network.
• MTN Business — the second mobile carrier: SIP trunking, managed IP PBX, prices on request. MTN is not on the Yeastar and 3CX South Africa lists. MTN is the wholesale voice supplier for many local VoIP providers, so a trunk from such a provider is usually faster and cheaper than going direct.

For a venue with 5–20 staff all three are more expensive and slower than Switch Telecom or Vox.

Who will not work: trunks without G.711 and cloud PBXs#

• ECN Telecommunications — a serious carrier: the first alternative operator with two-way interconnection to all South African networks (Telkom, Cell C, MTN, Vodacom), points of presence in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. But its Yeastar certification lists only g729 in the codec column. Our PBX works with G.711 a-law/u-law and G.722 and has no G.729 — there will be no common codec and the call will not go through. If ECN confirms alaw/ulaw on your trunk in writing, connect it in registration mode with the credentials from the contract.
• ECOTEL (gsm, g729a), GeekBox (gsm, g729), Imply I.T. (g729a) — the same story: all three are on the Yeastar South Africa list, all without G.711.
• Euphoria Telecom, Telviva, Othos, Voys SA — cloud PBXs (UCaaS): they sell their own PBX with numbers included; a trunk to someone else's PBX is not in their line-up. If the venue is on such a platform, its number can reach our PBX only by porting it to a provider that offers a trunk (see “Number porting”).

International providers with South African numbers#

South African numbers are also sold by international providers — the route for a company without a local legal entity, but with document checks. What the providers' documents confirm as of 10.09.2026:

• didlogic — runs a SIP proxy in Johannesburg with local routing of signalling and media (“All-local RTP media and SIP signalling”). Local numbers for Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein and national ones — USD 2.34 a month, Pretoria — USD 4.68; “any area code available for provisioning”.
• Twilio — South African numbers are available; South African VoIP numbers require proof of address, and a PO Box is not accepted where a local address is required. Twilio is also on the 3CX South Africa list.
• Telnyx, DIDWW — local South African numbers are listed; the document requirements are shown in the dashboard when ordering.
• AVOXI — has a separate “South Africa SIP Trunking” page; confirm the available number ranges when ordering.

Trunk parameters at international providers are standard and are covered by the admin panel catalogue cards: for most it is registration with a login and password from the dashboard, for some — IP authorisation.

⚠️ An international number removes the RICA paperwork and the “address in the area” issue (the number is often non-geographic), but not the latency: if both the PBX and the provider are outside South Africa, the call crosses the ocean twice. According to didlogic itself, international routes out of South Africa are sometimes indirect (to the US via Brazil) with 300 ms and more; a proxy in Johannesburg shortens only the “provider ↔ South African phone network” leg.

Number porting#

• All number types can be ported — geographic, non-geographic (080, 086, 087) and mobile. The procedure is set by the Number Portability Regulations, 2018; the operation itself is administered by the Number Portability Company (NPC).
• The receiving provider files the request on the subscriber's behalf. Allow up to 7 working days; the receiving provider will give the exact timing.
• Fees. Licensees must support portability, but providers set their own one-off service fee: Switch Telecom ports a number as part of the connection, Euphoria charges R250 per number.
• ⚠️ A number registered to a private person (often a former employee) is ported only on that owner's request. For venues this is the most common delay.
• ⚠️ A geographic number stays tied to its area after porting: the company's address must match the number's area code (reg. 15(2) of the numbering plan).
• After porting, confirm with the provider that emergency calls (112, 10111, 10177) go through from your trunk: they must work from any trunk.

Rules and paperwork#

If it does not work#

1. Registered, the call connects, but there is silence. Almost always codecs: Vox, Vodacom and Wanatel include G.729 in their set, ECN and three more certified providers offer only that. We need G.711 a-law/u-law or G.722 — ask the provider to enable G.711 on your trunk.
2. No registration at Afrihost. Check the transport: the Afrihost guide says TCP. At Webafrica — check for spaces in the login, password or server address after copying from the dashboard.
3. Switch Telecom answers “server not found” or rejects. The host is not published on the website — use the one from the e-mail with the trunk credentials (sip., sip1. or sip2.switchtel.co.za), not vpbx.switchtel.co.za.
4. The call landed on the wrong line. Lines are matched by the last seven digits, and for South African geographic numbers seven digits are the whole subscriber part: 011 123 4567 and 021 123 4567 collide. Choose numbers with different tails.
5. The Liquid trunk stopped working after the server moved. It is IP mode: give the provider the new address from the “Server” tab.
6. Audible delay, people talk over each other. The dedicated PBX is outside South Africa, and international routes out of the country are sometimes indirect; PBX settings cannot fix this. Among international providers, didlogic states local media routing through Johannesburg.

The general table of symptoms and causes is in the overview, section “If calls do not go through”.

Frequently asked questions#

Can a South African number be connected to my own PBX at all?#

Yes. In South Africa the seller of the communications service is licensed (ECS/ECNS), while a venue's corporate PBX needs no licence. The venue buys a number and a trunk from a licensed provider and connects them to its PBX in registration or IP mode.

Where to start if I need a trunk for several lines?#

With Switch Telecom: a published price list, 4 channels for R100 a month on the usage-based plan, numbers at R10, month-to-month contract, registration mode. If you need a guarantee on codecs, Vox (G.711 confirmed in the product sheet) or BitCo (G.711 and G.722 per Yeastar certification) will do; for IP mode — Liquid.

Can I get a Cape Town or Johannesburg number without an office there?#

Under the numbering plan — no: a geographic number is assigned only with a business or postal address in that code's area. Without a local address take a non-geographic VoIP number 087 — it has no such requirement — or a number from an international provider.

How can I test the setup quickly before a trunk contract is signed?#

Take an ISP VoIP line: Afrihost (sip.afrihost.com, TCP) or Webafrica (talk.webafrica.co.za). It is one call per account, but the server address is published and the login and password are in the dashboard — you can test connectivity the same day.

How long does the connection take?#

With VoIP trunk providers (Switch Telecom, Wanatel, BitCo, ICTGlobe) — from one working day to a week after the documents. With carriers (Telkom, Vodacom, MTN, Liquid) — weeks and a corporate contract. Number porting adds up to 7 working days.

Sources#

• ICASA — Numbering Plan Regulations, 2016 (number length, area codes, the 087 range, reg. 15(2), emergency numbers) — https://www.icasa.org.za/uploads/files/NumberingPlanReg.pdf (10.09.2026)
• ICASA — Individual ECS and ECNS licences — https://www.icasa.org.za/individual-ecs-and-ecns-licences (10.09.2026)
• ICASA — Number Portability Regulations, 2018 — https://www.icasa.org.za/legislation-and-regulations/number-portability-regulations-2018-1 (10.09.2026)
• Ellipsis — Customer registration (RICA, section 40; secondary legal overview) — https://www.ellipsis.co.za/isp-issues/customer-registration/ (10.09.2026)
• Yeastar — Certified SIP Trunk Providers, South Africa (modes, codecs, DTMF, Wanatel licences) — https://www.yeastar.com/itsp-partners/south-africa/ (10.09.2026)
• 3CX — SIP Trunk Providers, South Africa (Vox, ICTGlobe, Dataphone, Kinetix, SkyWire, Twilio; E.164, no TLS) — https://www.3cx.com/partners/sip-trunks/south-africa/ (10.09.2026)
• Switch Telecom — VoIP SIP Trunk (prices, channels, numbers) — https://www.switchtel.co.za/voip-sip-trunk/ (10.09.2026)
• MyBroadband — Switchtel server settings (secondary: a quoted support answer about the sip.switchtel.co.za addresses) — https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/threads/switchtel-server-settings.840460/ (10.09.2026)
• Afrihost — Yealink SIP-T33G setup (sip.afrihost.com), Yealink T54W setup (TCP transport), VoIP on a smartphone (credentials in ClientZone) — https://help.afrihost.com/entry/how-to-setup-the-yealink-sip-t33g-voip-phone/ · https://help.afrihost.com/entry/how-to-setup-your-yealink-t54w-voip-phone/ · https://help.afrihost.com/entry/can-i-use-my-voip-account-on-my-smartphone/ (10.09.2026)
• Webafrica — How to Configure your VoIP for Zoiper (talk.webafrica.co.za) — https://knowledge.webafrica.co.za/index.php/knowledge-base/how-to-configure-your-voip-for-zoiper/ (10.09.2026)
• Vox Telecom — Uncapped Voice product sheet (G.729a and G.711, 2/5/10/15 calls) and Business Voice — https://www.vox.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/4458.1-Voice-Product-Sheet-Updates-Uncapped-Voice-RGB-V1-FA.pdf · https://www.vox.co.za/business-voice/ (10.09.2026)
• Wanatel — https://www.wanatel.co.za/ (10.09.2026)
• Liquid Intelligent Technologies — https://liquid.tech/ (10.09.2026)
• BitCo — VoIP — https://www.bitco.co.za/voip-and-consumer-interaction/ (10.09.2026)
• Saicom — SIP Trunk and VoIP — https://saicom.io/solutions/voip-sip-trunk/ (10.09.2026)
• ICTGlobe Connect — https://ictglobe.com/ictglobe-connect/ (10.09.2026)
• Telkom Business — https://www.telkom.co.za/business (10.09.2026)
• Vodacom Business — https://www.vodacombusiness.co.za/ (10.09.2026)
• MTN Business — https://www.mtn.co.za/business/ (10.09.2026)
• ECN Telecommunications — https://www.ecn.co.za/ (10.09.2026)
• Euphoria Telecom · Telviva — https://euphoria.co.za/ · https://telviva.co.za/ (10.09.2026)
• didlogic — South Africa SIP Trunk Provider (Johannesburg proxy, number prices) — https://didlogic.com/international/south-africa/ (10.09.2026)
• Twilio — South Africa: Regulatory Guidelines and Regulatory Docs Changelog (proof of address for South African VoIP numbers) — https://www.twilio.com/en-us/guidelines/za/regulatory · https://www.twilio.com/docs/phone-numbers/regulatory/changelog (10.09.2026)
• AVOXI — South Africa SIP Trunking — https://www.avoxi.com/south-africa-sip-trunking/ (10.09.2026)
• WhichVoIP — SIP trunking in South Africa (secondary market review: the ECS licence number question) — https://whichvoip.co.za/voip/sip-trunking-south-africa/ (10.09.2026)

Related pages#

• Connecting a provider's number to your PBX — general steps, trunk modes, network, connectivity check.
• Setting up SIP phones — how to connect desk phones, DECT and gateways to extensions.