What is VoIP and how does it work for a South African business?+
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) routes your calls through the internet instead of the traditional telephone network. You get a real geographic SA number (011, 021, 031, etc.) but calls travel over your broadband or fibre connection. You receive calls on a softphone app or desk phone. Main advantages: lower call rates, flexibility to work from anywhere, built-in business features like call forwarding.
Which South African area codes can I get?+
Hopetel VoIP offers: 087 (National), 011 (Johannesburg), 012 (Pretoria/Tshwane), 013 (Mbombela), 014 (Rustenburg), 015 (Polokwane), 016 (Vereeniging), 021 (Cape Town), 022 (Worcester), 028 (Hermanus), 031 (Durban/eThekwini), 033 (Pietermaritzburg), 035 (Richards Bay), 039 (Port Shepstone), 041 (Gqeberha), 043 (East London), 044 (George), 045 (Komani), 047 (Mthatha), 051 (Bloemfontein), 053 (Kimberley), 054 (Upington), 057 (Welkom) and 018 (Mahikeng).
How many minutes are included and what happens if I go over?+
Starter: 150 minutes. Business: 500 minutes. Pro: 1 000 minutes per month. Additional minutes are billed at a per-minute rate confirmed at sign-up. Unused minutes do not roll over. We email you when you reach 80% of your monthly allocation.
What equipment do I need?+
No special hardware required. A smartphone or computer with a free softphone app (Zoiper or Linphone) is enough. Any SIP-compatible IP desk phone also works — Yealink and Grandstream are widely available in South Africa. We email you the SIP server address, username and password once, and you're done.
Can I keep my existing business phone number?+
Yes — number porting is available for South African numbers as a paid add-on: R250 once-off, typically completed within 3 working days of us receiving your documents. You'll need to supply: (1) your most recent invoice from your current provider showing the number and proof it's paid up, (2) a copy of your ID, and (3) proof of residence. Your existing number keeps ringing normally right up until the port completes.
Is there a contract or minimum term?+
No. All Hopetel VoIP plans are month-to-month with no fixed-term contract, no cancellation fee, and no setup fee. Cancel any time — service continues until the end of your paid month.
How reliable is VoIP compared to a traditional landline?+
Call quality on a stable fibre or LTE connection is indistinguishable from a traditional landline. We recommend at least 1 Mbps upload speed per simultaneous call. If your internet goes down, calls can be forwarded to your mobile number automatically.