Can I keep my existing phone number when I switch to VoIP?

Yes. Geographic numbers, toll-free numbers, and most existing business numbers can be ported (transferred) to a new VoIP provider through a formal, ICASA-governed process, without any interruption to your ability to receive calls during the transition.

How Number Porting Actually Works

Porting is the regulated process of moving a phone number from one telecommunications provider to another while the number itself stays exactly the same. It's a right established under South African telecommunications regulation specifically to prevent providers from locking customers in by holding their number hostage. The process is handled through your new provider submitting the request on your behalf to your current (losing) carrier.

Typical Timeline

Number porting typically takes 10 to 20 business days from submission to completion, depending largely on how responsive your current carrier is in processing the request. This isn't downtime, your number remains fully live and functional on your existing system throughout, the actual switch happens instantly at a scheduled cutover moment, not gradually over those weeks.

The Most Common Cause of Delays

By far the most frequent reason a porting request gets rejected and has to restart is a mismatch between the account holder name on the port request and the name on record with the losing carrier. If your business has changed its registered name, merged, or if the phone account happens to be registered under a former employee's name rather than the company, this mismatch will cause a rejection. Checking this detail before submitting saves real time.

What Information You'll Need

Typically: the exact account holder name as it appears with your current provider, the account number with the current provider, and the specific numbers you want ported. Having your most recent bill from the current provider on hand usually covers everything needed.

Toll-Free and Special Numbers

Toll-free (0800) numbers and other special number ranges generally follow the same porting principle, though the specific process can involve slightly different steps given the different underlying routing arrangements for these number types. Worth flagging any toll-free numbers specifically when starting the porting conversation.

What Happens the Day of Cutover

On the scheduled port date, the number switches from your old provider's network to the new one, typically with a very brief window (often just minutes) where the switch is propagating. Well-planned ports schedule this for outside peak business hours specifically to minimise any impact.

Our Approach

We handle the entire porting process on your behalf as part of a hosted PBX migration, submitting the paperwork, tracking progress with the losing carrier, and scheduling cutover for a low-impact time. We also start this process early in a migration project specifically because it's outside our direct control once submitted, and building in buffer time avoids it becoming the bottleneck for an otherwise-ready system.