Northern Telecom
Northern Telecom (nortel.co.za) is a Bellville, Cape Town-based business communications company founded in 1981 and among the first PBX resellers in South Africa to receive an ICASA licence to maintain and operate private PBX systems. The company is a certified reseller of Mitel and NEC PBX platforms and specialises in IP-based and unified communications solutions, SIP trunking, VoIP, local area networking and structured cabling. A solar division for inverters, lithium batteries and solar panels was also launched recently.
Key facts
| Founded | 1981 |
| ICASA Licensed | Among the first SA PBX resellers to receive ICASA licence to maintain and operate private PBX systems |
| Starting Price | Quote-based; contact Northern Telecom for PBX, VoIP and networking pricing |
| Contracts | Confirm contract terms during consultation |
| Billing | Monthly |
| Best For | Western Cape businesses seeking certified Mitel or NEC PBX supply, installation and ongoing support from an established local integrator |
| Coverage | Western Cape — headquartered in Bellville, Cape Town; national supply through associated reseller channel |
| Listed In | Cloud PBX Providers |
Northern Telecom has been supplying and maintaining PBX systems in the Western Cape since 1981
Four decades of PBX experience makes Northern Telecom one of the longer-standing voice resellers in the Western Cape. The company focuses on open-standards, IP-based solutions using Mitel and NEC platforms while still supporting analogue and digital legacy systems where customers need continuity. The product range covers unified communications, SIP trunking, VoIP, mobility, local area networking and structured cabling — enough to handle a full business communications build or a targeted upgrade to an existing installation. Northern Telecom also maintains a national supply and support channel through associated resellers for clients outside Cape Town. Pricing is quote-based across all product categories.
- Does Northern Telecom offer cloud PBX or only on-premise systems?Northern Telecom focuses on IP-based and unified communications solutions. Ask the team whether your preferred Mitel or NEC platform is available in a cloud-hosted, hybrid or on-premise configuration, and which best suits your team size and existing infrastructure.
- What happens to calls if my internet line goes down on a hosted system?VoIP and SIP trunking both rely on the internet connection at each site. Discuss failover options — such as PSTN fallback or mobile SIM routing — with Northern Telecom during the design phase, and confirm what the SLA covers during an outage.
- Can Northern Telecom support multiple offices on a single PBX?Multi-site deployments are a core use case for Mitel and NEC platforms. Confirm with Northern Telecom how extensions, direct-dial numbers and voicemail behave across branches, and what the licensing model looks like per site.
- Does Northern Telecom work with existing on-site PBX hardware?Northern Telecom supports both analogue/digital legacy systems and modern IP platforms. If you have existing hardware, ask the team whether it can be integrated with a new IP or cloud layer, extended with additional licences, or whether a migration plan makes more sense.
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Commonly asked questions
What does Northern Telecom specialise in?
Northern Telecom is a Cape Town-based telecommunications company founded in 1981 that specialises in business PBX systems, VoIP, SIP trunking, unified communications and networking. The company is a certified reseller of Mitel and NEC platforms and focuses on IP-based solutions while continuing to support legacy analogue and digital installations. It is among the first PBX resellers in South Africa to have received an ICASA licence to maintain and operate private systems.
Does Northern Telecom support businesses outside Cape Town?
Northern Telecom’s primary base and support team are in Bellville, Cape Town. The company states it can supply and support PBX installations nationally through its associated reseller channel. If your business is outside the Western Cape, confirm what remote support, on-site response times and escalation paths look like for your location before committing.
Which PBX brands does Northern Telecom sell and support?
Northern Telecom is a proud reseller of Mitel and NEC PBX systems. Both are well-established enterprise platforms with IP, unified communications and cloud-hosted deployment options. The company also supplies complementary networking and structured cabling infrastructure. If you have an existing system from a different vendor, ask the Northern Telecom team whether integration or migration is feasible before purchasing new hardware.