ECN Review
ECN is a Midrand telecoms operator, part of the JSE-listed Reunert group since it was founded in 2005, selling voice, fibre, wireless and cloud PBX to corporate and wholesale buyers from three regional offices. Its one written commitment is a voice uptime number; everything else, including price, is settled at quote stage.
Is ECN worth shortlisting?
Yes, if you are buying voice, connectivity and a PBX together and a parent company on the JSE matters to your procurement team. ECN earns the slot on infrastructure and breadth, not on price: nothing on its website carries a Rand figure, and the 99.73% uptime guarantee comes without a service credit. Ask for three reference customers in your sector and the SLA remedies in writing before you sign.
- Registered asECN, a division of Reunert Limited
- Trading sinceJanuary 2005; ECS and ECNS licences since 2009
- Based inMidrand, with offices in Mount Edgecombe and Bellville
- NetworkOwn points of presence in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town
- Starting costNot published; every product is quoted
- Public rating4.2 on Google from 92 reviews at the head office
Strong on paper, quiet on price, uneven in the review feed
ECN was one of the first new entrants to interconnect directly with Telkom and the three mobile networks, and it still runs its voice over its own points of presence rather than a reseller’s. The catalogue is wide for a company this size: BusinessCall SIP voice, a 0860 shared-cost number, virtual fax and conferencing, enterprise and business fibre, wireless, a cloud PBX with its own softphone and web dialer, on-premise IP PBXs and the handsets to go with them. For a multi-site business that wants one supplier and one account manager, that is the case for ECN.
Two things weaken it. Commercially, the buyer has no way to benchmark before the first call, and the cloud PBX does not say which platform it runs on. Publicly, the visible Google feeds do not match the head-office average: the top of the Midrand list is about porting and cancellation friction, the Cape Town list carries an ICASA caller-ID complaint, and the KwaZulu-Natal office listing is unclaimed with the wrong phone number on it.
Is ECN likely to suit you?
Tick what applies to your business.
Pros and watch-outs
What ECN does well, and where to push back at quote stage.
- Direct bilateral interconnects with Telkom, Vodacom, MTN and Cell C, so calls are not handed through a third carrier
- Voice is billed per second from the first second with no minimum call charge
- Free web access to a telephone management system that reports cost down to extension level
- Eleven products across voice, data, cloud and PBX let one contract cover a whole site
- A channel partner programme for resellers and IT companies that want to sell the same network
- No published price for anything, so a quote is the only way to compare
- The uptime guarantee has no service credit or measurement method attached to it
- The cloud PBX platform vendor is not named anywhere on the site
- The website states both a 24/7 helpdesk and office hours of Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm; ask which applies to fault logging
- Public reviews at the Cape Town office include an ICASA caller-ID compliance complaint that ECN has not answered publicly
Score breakdown
Five categories that decide whether ECN earns a slot on your shortlist. The headline is the weighted sum, so you can check the arithmetic.
Nothing on ecn.co.za carries a Rand figure: voice, cloud PBX, IP PBX, fibre, wireless, 0860, fax, conferencing and call recording are all quote-only, so a buyer cannot benchmark before the first call. Per-second billing with no minimum charge is the one published commercial term.
Eleven products across voice, data, cloud telephony and PBX, delivered over the company’s own points of presence, with a softphone app and web dialer for the cloud PBX. Held back because the platform vendor is undisclosed and no feature matrix is published.
4.2 across 92 Google reviews on the Midrand head-office listing, re-read 6 September 2026. Held back because the Cape Town office sits at 3.6 across 11, the unclaimed Mount Edgecombe listing at 1.5 across 4, and the most visible head-office reviews are one star.
Individual ECS and ECNS licences since 2009, points of presence in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town with automated failover, Reunert Limited as parent and a published 99.73% voice uptime guarantee. Held back because the network runs over capacity leased from the incumbents and no service-credit remedy or measurement basis sits behind the number.
A technical support line and address separate from sales, a network operations centre that dispatches field staff from the regional offices, and a stated 24/7 helpdesk. Held back because no response-time or escalation commitment is written down, and the visible reviews describe porting and cancellation friction rather than resolution.
Pricing: what to ask for at quote stage
ECN publishes no rates. These are the lines to have itemised on the quote so you can compare it with published-rate suppliers.
| Cost area | Rate shown | Buyer question | Risk level |
|---|---|---|---|
| BusinessCall voice | Quote-only; per-second billing from the first second, no minimum charge | Per-channel rental, per-minute rates by call type, porting fees? | Confirm at quote |
| Cloud PBX | Quote-only | Per-extension monthly, and which platform is it built on? | Confirm at quote |
| IP PBX and handsets | Quote-only | Outright versus lease, maintenance, and who owns the hardware at term end? | Confirm at quote |
| Enterprise and Business Fibre | Quote-only | Contracted speed, SLA tier and install lead time at each of our sites? | Confirm at quote |
| Business Wireless | Quote-only | Coverage at our sites, contracted speed and failover to fibre? | Confirm at quote |
| Smart 0860, Virtual Fax, Teleconferencing | Quote-only | Monthly per product and any bundled minute or page allowance? | Confirm at quote |
| Hosted Call Recording | Quote-only | Per-extension monthly, retention period and POPIA terms? | Confirm at quote |
| SLA terms | 99.73% voice uptime guaranteed with automated failover | Service credits on breach, and how is uptime measured? | Published signal |
What real customers say
Unedited Google reviews from ECN’s three office listings, read on 6 September 2026: Midrand 4.2 across 92, Cape Town 3.6 across 11, Mount Edgecombe 1.5 across 4.
“By far the best VOIP provider I have ever dealt with in South Africa. Fast, proficient and cost effective. Queries gets resolved quickly (resulting in less downtime) and their team of technicians are well experienced and knowledgeable.”
“We are a licensed ISP who started small with ECN back in 2010. Now we are requesting to port our numbers to an alternative provider and they come up with all kinds of excuses. The experience from start to finish with them was not good.”
“They have caused my business damaged due to line issues created by not applying the ICASA regulations, which means ECN CLI’s are no longer allowed to be sent directly from ITC Globals’ platform. Their support in this matter has been non existing!”
Read the three listings together. The head-office average is respectable for a business telco, but Google sorts the newest and most-engaged reviews to the top, and at Midrand those are one-star reviews about porting out and cancelling. The Mount Edgecombe listing is the KwaZulu-Natal office, still unclaimed and still showing the Midrand switchboard number rather than the 031 number on ecn.co.za. If you buy in Cape Town or Durban, ask who supports you locally and raise the caller-ID complaint directly so you have ECN’s answer on record.
The ECN product line
What you can actually put on the contract.
BusinessCall, 0860, fax and conferencing
BusinessCall is SIP voice for an existing PABX or a full IP migration, carried end to end on ECN’s network with direct interconnects to Telkom, Vodacom, MTN and Cell C. Billing is per second with no minimum, and the web-based telephone management system reports cost to extension level at no charge. Smart 0860 shared-cost numbers, virtual fax to email and a teleconferencing service sit alongside it, and geographic number porting is supported.
Enterprise Fibre, Business Fibre and Wireless
Two business fibre tiers, Enterprise for larger sites and Business for smaller offices, plus a wireless service for sites where a fibre install is impractical, all delivered from points of presence in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town over capacity leased from the incumbent operators. The network operations centre monitors the links and dispatches field staff from the three regional offices.
Cloud PBX, IP PBX, hardware and partners
The cloud PBX ships with an ECN softphone app and a browser web dialer, with a feature guide and quick-reference guide published as PDFs; the platform it runs on is not named. Hosted call recording is a separate add-on. Businesses that prefer hardware on site can buy an on-premise IP PBX with handsets and headsets through ECN, and a channel partner programme lets resellers and IT companies sell the same services.
Choose ECN if
- You are consolidating voice, connectivity and PBX for several sites under one account manager
- Your procurement policy favours suppliers with a listed parent and a written uptime commitment
- You are a reseller or IT company looking for a carrier to white-label
- You are comfortable negotiating the SLA and checking references yourself
Consider another if
- You only need a cloud PBX and want to compare rates the same day
- You need to know which PBX platform you are buying before you commit
- Your tender requires service credits behind the uptime number
- The public review record is the deciding factor for your stakeholders
Alternatives to compare
Three providers worth quoting alongside ECN, each stress-testing a different decision driver.
Saicom Voice
A voice-only operator on its own interconnect fabric with the strongest public customer evidence in the category. Quote it if voice quality and a clean review record matter more than a single supplier for everything.
Centracom
The closest like-for-like: a South African operator with a managed PBX, a 24/7 service desk and quote-on-request commercials, but with a 99.9% uptime figure published. Quote it to test ECN’s SLA and support terms against a direct peer.
Switch Telecom
The opposite commercial model: every price on the website, month-to-month, on a licensed network of its own. Quote it if you want a benchmark figure in hand before ECN’s sales call.
Peers scored on the same rubric sit side by side on Compare VoIP providers and Compare fibre providers.
South African essentials
Four local signals to verify before signing.
ECN states that its VANS licence became individual ECS and ECNS licences in January 2009, the pair a network operator needs. Ask for the licence numbers and check them on the ICASA register.
Geographic number porting is supported, but no fee, timeline or process is published, and porting out is what the newest head-office reviews complain about. Get the porting terms in writing both ways.
Technical support is 010 590 0050 or [email protected], separate from sales. The site states a 24/7 helpdesk and office hours of 8am to 5pm; confirm which covers after-hours faults.
No term, notice period or hardware clawback is published. Have the minimum term, exit notice and any multi-product discount written into the quote before you sign.
How this score was built
Scores are editorial guides, not guarantees. ECN’s 6.3 is the weighted sum of the five dimension scores above: 0.25×5.0 + 0.25×7.0 + 0.20×6.5 + 0.15×7.5 + 0.15×6.0. ECN is not a sponsor, and sponsorship does not move a score.
- Pricing value, 25%Rate transparency, setup friction, contract flexibility
- Feature set, 25%Controls, analytics, integrations, admin usability
- Customer reviews, 20%Aggregate rating and volume on Google and HelloPeter, treated as directional, never definitive
- Reliability and uptime, 15%Infrastructure ownership, hosting location, published uptime evidence
- Support quality, 15%Support hours, location, and what customer reviews say about resolution
FAQ
Short answers for the questions buyers typically ask before requesting quotes.
Who owns ECN?
ECN is a division of Reunert Limited, an industrial group listed on the JSE. It was founded in January 2005 and is headquartered at 628 James Crescent, Halfway House, Midrand, with regional offices in Mount Edgecombe and Bellville.
How much does ECN cost?
ECN publishes no prices. Voice, cloud PBX, IP PBX, fibre, wireless, 0860, fax, conferencing and call recording are all quoted individually. The one published commercial term is that voice is billed per second from the first second with no minimum call charge. Ask for each product itemised at your headcount, plus any discount for bundling several lines.
What is ECN’s uptime SLA?
ECN guarantees 99.73% uptime for voice services with automated failover if equipment fails. The website does not say how uptime is measured or what remedy applies if the figure is missed, so ask for service credits to be written into the contract.
Is ECN licensed by ICASA?
Yes. ECN states that its original VANS licence was converted to an individual ECS licence and an individual ECNS licence in January 2009, and that it interconnects directly with Telkom, Vodacom, MTN and Cell C. Confirm the licence numbers on the ICASA register at quote stage.
What products does ECN offer?
Eleven products in four groups: voice and fax (BusinessCall SIP voice, Smart 0860, virtual fax, teleconferencing), data (Enterprise Fibre, Business Fibre, Business Wireless), cloud (cloud PBX with a softphone app and web dialer, hosted call recording) and PBX (on-premise IP PBX with handsets and headsets).
Where does ECN operate?
Nationally, from points of presence in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town and offices in Midrand, Mount Edgecombe and Bellville. Fibre and wireless coverage still has to be confirmed site by site before you sign.
How does ECN compare with other South African telcos?
Against Centracom, its closest peer, ECN publishes a lower uptime figure, 99.73% against 99.9%, and is less clear about support hours; against Saicom Voice it has a wider catalogue but a weaker public review record; against Switch Telecom it has no rate card to compare. The alternatives section above links to all three reviews.
Sources, disclosure and what changedWhere this review’s facts come from, how WhichVoIP gets paid, and the update history
- ECN about pageUsed for the 2005 founding, the Reunert parent, the 2009 licence conversion, the points of presence, the incumbent interconnects, the 99.73% uptime guarantee, the NOC and the office hours. Verified 6 September 2026. Open source →
- ECN voice solutions pageUsed for BusinessCall, per-second billing, the telephone management system, number porting and the 24/7 helpdesk statement. Verified 6 September 2026. Open source →
- ECN cloud PBX and products pagesUsed for the softphone app, the web dialer, the eleven-product catalogue and the absence of published pricing. Verified 4 and 6 September 2026. Open source →
- ECN contact pageUsed for the sales and technical support numbers and the Midrand, Mount Edgecombe and Bellville offices. Verified 6 September 2026. Open source →
- Google Business Profile, MidrandUsed for the primary rating, 4.2 from 92 reviews, and the Daniel van den Berg quote. Read 6 September 2026. Open source →
- Google Business Profile, Cape TownUsed for the 3.6 from 11 reviews and the Hugo and Anza Fischer quotes. Read 6 September 2026. Open source →
- Google Business Profile, Mount EdgecombeUsed for the 1.5 from 4 reviews and the unclaimed-listing finding. Read 6 September 2026. Open source →
ECN is not a WhichVoIP sponsor. This review was researched and written by WhichVoIP’s editorial team from primary sources: the provider website and its Google Business Profiles. WhichVoIP may receive a referral fee when you request quotes through our platform. All facts shown were verified at source on the “Last verified” date. Read our full editorial policy and scoring methodology.
- 6 September 2026Page rebuilt in the updated review layout. ecn.co.za re-read: per-second billing, the free telephone management system, the incumbent interconnects, the softphone and web dialer, and the published office hours were added; the 99.73% guarantee, 2005 founding, Reunert parent and quote-only pricing were confirmed. All three Google listings re-read and their current figures and quotes used. Score unchanged at 6.3.
- 4 September 2026Re-scored on the five-dimension rubric from 7.0 to 6.3 and the vendor site read live. Support quality moved from 5.5 to 6.0 for the dedicated technical support line, the NOC and the stated 24/7 helpdesk; the Mount Edgecombe listing was identified as the KwaZulu-Natal office.
- 19 May 2026Migrated to the current review format. Found that ECN runs three Google listings and surfaced the regional split; the Cape Town caller-ID complaint was raised as a procurement question.
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