Phone systems • Buyer’s checklist

10 questions to ask a business phone system provider before you sign

The sales pitch will not volunteer any of this. The 2026 checklist covers ICASA licences, POPIA call recording, per-second billing, AI features that actually exist, porting timelines and exit costs, with what a good answer sounds like for each.

Last verified 18 August 2026 By the WhichVoIP editorial team 9 min read

10 questionsthat expose a weak provider fast

7 working daysthe maximum for a number port under ICASA rules

R10mthe top POPIA administrative fine

R360/monthverified 10-extension cloud PBX + trunk, excl. VAT

The short answer

What should you ask a business phone system provider before signing?

Ask for the ICASA licence number, per-second call rates in writing, a full first-invoice breakdown, the porting plan for your existing number, POPIA-compliant call recording, fraud spending caps, a live AI feature demo, open-SIP hardware support, measurable SLA times and a month-to-month option. A provider who dodges any of these is telling you something.

working days: the legal maximum for a number port (ICASA)

US$ lost to telecom fraud globally in 2025 (CFCA)

Rand: maximum POPIA administrative fine (s109)

R/month excl. VAT: 10 extensions + 4-channel trunk at Switch Telecom, before calls

South African business owner reviewing a printed phone system checklist at a boardroom table at dusk — Number porting is regulated: ICASA caps the process at seven working days from request submission, and some providers complete individual geographic ports in three.

Why the 2026 checklist looks different

The questions that mattered in 2020 were about call rates and feature lists. The ones that matter now are about regulation, billing mechanics and whether the AI on the brochure actually ships.

Four things changed. POPIA enforcement stopped being theoretical: the Information Regulator fined the Department of Basic Education R5 million in December 2024 for ignoring an enforcement notice, and your call recordings are personal information under the same Act. Telecom fraud hit US$41.82 billion globally in CFCA’s 2025 survey, up from US$38.95 billion in 2023, and hijacked PBXs are a favourite entry point. AI receptionists and call transcription moved from roadmap slides to shipping products, which means you can now demand a demo instead of a promise. And month-to-month cloud PBX pricing is mainstream, so a 36-month lock-in deserves a much harder look than it used to get.

One thing dropped off the list: load shedding as a lead question. Every provider in the country operates under the same grid, so “what happens at Stage 6” tells you little. Uptime commitments in a written SLA tell you more.

The ground rule: every answer below must arrive in writing. A verbal “yes, of course” from a salesperson is worth exactly what it costs to say.

The 10 questions to ask

Work through them in order: the early ones protect your legal position, the rest protect your money and your time after go-live.

Are you ICASA-licensed, and can I verify it?Selling voice services requires an ECS licence; running their own network requires ECS plus ECNS; handsets need ICASA Type Approval. ICASA publishes licensee lists you can check yourself. A good answer gives you the licence category and number unprompted. Switch Telecom, for example, has held ECNS and ECS licences since 2007.

How long will porting my number take, and what will it cost?Your number is the asset; ICASA caps ports at seven working days from request submission. A good answer is a written timeline with the donor-operator caveat and a fixed fee, like Switch Telecom’s up-to-three working days and R160 excl. VAT once-off per individual geographic number. “Just fill in a form” is not a porting plan.

Do you bill per second, and from which second?Billing increments quietly decide your bill. One provider can sell both models: Switch Telecom’s Package 1 charges mobile calls at R0.43/min excl. VAT in 30-second increments with a 60-second minimum, while Package 2 charges R0.52 per second from the first second. On a 10-second call that is R0.43 versus roughly 9c. Wanatel bills per second too. A good answer names the increment in writing.

Is this month-to-month, and what does leaving cost?Month-to-month cloud PBX with free setup exists in this market, so a 36-month lock-in needs a reason. A good answer is month-to-month with no exit penalty, or a fixed term only where financed hardware justifies it, with the settlement formula spelled out before you sign.

What will my first invoice look like, and my thirteenth?Setup fees, porting fees, hardware and year-two escalations hide behind the seat price. Demand a line-item quote for both invoices. For scale: Switch Telecom’s Hosted Switchboard is R260/month per 10-extension block, but it cannot be bought alone; every deployment needs a Switch VoIP SIP Trunk alongside it, so 10 extensions plus a 4-channel trunk at R100 comes to R360/month before calls, excl. VAT. Trunk channels size to concurrent calls, not headcount. See our cloud PBX cost guide for the full market picture.

How does your call recording comply with POPIA?Recordings contain personal information, and the Information Regulator can fine up to R10 million. A good answer covers where recordings are stored, retention periods, who can access them, and how a deletion request is handled. “Recordings are free, keep them forever” is a liability dressed as a feature. Our POPIA call recording checklist covers what compliant looks like.

How do you detect and cap toll fraud?Hijacked phone systems feed a US$41.82 billion global fraud problem, and the invoice lands on you. A good answer includes international call barring by default, per-extension spending caps, real-time alerts, and a straight statement of who carries the loss if their platform is breached. Read our VoIP fraud prevention guide before this conversation.

Which AI features work today, and what do they cost?AI receptionists, live transcription, automatic call summaries and AI-assisted routing are real in 2026, but plenty of what is sold as AI is still a roadmap slide. A good answer is a live demo on your own number plus per-user or per-use pricing, and an answer to where the voice data is processed, which loops back to POPIA. Most PBX platforms already use AI somewhere; make them show you which parts.

Am I locked into your handsets, or is it open SIP?Proprietary hardware is a soft lock-in: leave the provider and the phones become paperweights. A good answer supports any ICASA type-approved SIP handset, provisions it for you, and lets you take the hardware with you if you go. Softphone-first setups sidestep the question entirely.

What are your SLA times, and who answers after hours?“Great support” is not a number. A good answer states response and resolution times by severity, service credits when they miss, and honest support hours. Honest beats impressive: Switch Telecom publishes Mon–Fri 08:00–17:00 support with weekend standby on its Business and Corporate SLAs, which is a clearer commitment than a vague promise of 24/7.

Which ICASA paperwork should your provider hold?

The checklist is not about catching providers out. It is about finding the one who answers all ten in writing without flinching.

WhichVoIP editorial view

Red flags vs green flags

Score the answers you get against this table. Two or more red flags on money questions means walk.

You asked about	Green flag answer	Red flag answer
ICASA licence	Licence category and number offered unprompted; you verify it on ICASA’s list	“We’re fully compliant”, nothing in writing
Number porting	Written timeline inside the 7-working-day cap, named contact, fixed fee	“Just fill in the form, it’s quick”
Billing increments	Per-second from the first second, full rates table attached	“Our per-minute rates are very competitive”
Contract term	Month-to-month, exit costs stated as zero in the agreement	36-month term with a “standard” cancellation fee
Call recording	Documented POPIA retention, access and deletion controls	“Recordings are included free, keep them forever”
Toll fraud	Default international barring, spend caps, real-time alerts, liability stated	“We’ve never had a problem with fraud”
AI features	Live demo on your number with per-use pricing	“That’s coming in next quarter’s release”
Support SLA	Severity-based response times with service credits	“Our support team is award-winning”

Hands comparing two written telecom quotes beside an IP desk phone and laptop in a South African office — Comparable written quotes are the whole game: a 10-extension hosted PBX with its mandatory trunk starts at a verified R360/month excl. VAT before calls in this market.

Our verdict

The power balance in this purchase favours you more than it ever has. Porting is regulated with a seven-working-day ceiling, per-second billing is published and comparable, month-to-month deals with free setup are verifiable at the R360/month mark for a 10-extension system with its mandatory trunk, and POPIA gives you a hard compliance test that lazy providers fail on the spot. The honest caveat: a perfect answer sheet does not guarantee perfect service. Salespeople answer questions; operations teams keep phones ringing, and you only meet the second group after you sign. That is why the month-to-month answer matters more than any other single item on this list. It converts a bad choice from a three-year sentence into a 30-day inconvenience.

Our recommendation: shortlist a few providers, email all ten questions before any sales call, and discard anyone who answers by phone only. Then compare the written answers next to comparable quotes, not next to the brochure.

Put the ten questions to real providers

Tell us your size and needs once, and get free comparable quotes from South African phone system providers, so the written answers land side by side.

Get free comparable quotes See what cloud PBX costs

Frequently asked questions

How long does number porting take in South Africa?

ICASA’s rules cap porting at a maximum of seven working days from request submission. In practice individual geographic numbers often move faster; Switch Telecom quotes up to three working days depending on the donor operator, with a once-off fee of R160 excl. VAT per number. Only mobile and geographic numbers are currently portable.

How do I check if a VoIP provider is licensed with ICASA?

ICASA publishes downloadable lists of individual and class ECS and ECNS licensees on icasa.org.za. A reseller needs an ECS licence, a provider running its own network needs ECS plus ECNS, and any handset sold to you must carry ICASA Type Approval. Ask for the licence number and look it up yourself.

Is it legal to record business calls in South Africa?

Businesses record calls routinely and lawfully, but the recordings are personal information under POPIA, so storage, access, retention and deletion all carry obligations. The Information Regulator can issue administrative fines of up to R10 million, and it has been actively fining since late 2024. Ask any provider how their recording feature supports compliance before switching it on.

What is per-second billing and why does it matter?

Per-second billing charges only for the exact seconds you talk, while increment billing rounds up. On Switch Telecom’s published rates, a 10-second mobile call costs R0.43 on the 60-second-minimum package but roughly 9c on the per-second package. Across hundreds of short business calls a month, the increment decides the bill.

Should I sign a 36-month phone system contract in 2026?

Rarely. Month-to-month hosted PBX with free setup is openly available in the SA market, so a long lock-in only makes sense where it finances hardware you want, and then the exit settlement formula belongs in writing. Treat any unexplained fixed term as margin protection for the provider, not for you.

Can I keep my existing Telkom number if I switch to VoIP?

Yes. Geographic numbers are portable under ICASA’s Number Portability Regulations, and the number itself is a state-managed resource, not the property of your current operator. Never cancel the old service before the port completes, or the number can be lost.

Do 2026 business phone systems really include AI features?

Yes, and usefully so: AI receptionists that answer and route calls are shipping on several platforms sold in South Africa, alongside live transcription and automatic call summaries. The test is a live demo on your own number with clear pricing. Anything only available “on the roadmap” should be priced at zero in your comparison.

Keep reading

Questions SMEs should ask when choosing a PBX Hidden VoIP costs in South Africa Number porting: keep your number on VoIP POPIA-compliant call recording checklist

Sources: ICASA (numbering and number portability; lists of ECS/ECNS licensees), CFCA Global Fraud Loss Survey 2025, Michalsons (POPIA offences and administrative fines), ITWeb (Information Regulator fine, December 2024), switchtel.co.za, wanatel.co.za. Verified 18 August 2026.