Parramatta is now Sydney’s second CBD, and the businesses that fill its towers, Church Street shopfronts and Harris Park and Rosehill office parks are still paying for phone systems designed twenty years ago. If your monthly telco bill includes line rental for a handful of copper services, a “business bundle” you have never reviewed, and call charges that change every quarter, this article is for you. It explains the difference between a PABX and a VoIP system, what each costs to run, and which one suits a Parramatta business in 2026.
PABX and VoIP in one paragraph each
A PABX (private automatic branch exchange) is a phone system installed on your premises. It connects your handsets to each other for internal calls and to the outside world through your phone lines. Traditional PABX systems used copper ISDN or PSTN lines. Modern ones use the internet, which technically makes them IP PABX systems.
VoIP (voice over internet protocol) is simply making phone calls over an internet connection instead of a dedicated phone line. A VoIP system can be a physical unit in your comms room or a hosted service in the cloud with nothing on site except the handsets.
In practice, almost every new business phone system installed in Australia today is VoIP-based. The real decision is between an on-premise IP PABX you own and a hosted (cloud) VoIP service you rent.
Why the copper network forced the change
With the NBN rollout complete, the old copper phone network has been switched off across Parramatta and the surrounding suburbs. Any business still using ISDN lines has already been migrated or is running on borrowed time. That means the question is not whether to move to VoIP, but which kind, and who supports it.
On-premise IP PABX: own the system
- Upfront cost, low ongoing cost. You buy the system and handsets once. Ongoing costs are your internet connection and a SIP trunk for calls, which is usually a fraction of old line rental.
- Full control. Call routing, auto-attendant, voicemail-to-email, call recording and after-hours rules are configured to suit you, not a carrier’s standard plan.
- Keeps working during internet outages for internal calls. Handsets still ring each other, and a 4G failover can keep external calls alive.
- Best for: businesses with 8 or more handsets, medical and legal practices with strict call handling needs, and anyone who has been stung by a long carrier contract.
Hosted VoIP: rent the system
- Low upfront cost, monthly per-user fee. Most small businesses pay about $20 to $50 per user per month (published plans range from about $10 to $75), plus handsets.
- Nothing to maintain on site. Updates and features are handled by the provider.
- Easy for multiple locations and remote staff. A Parramatta head office and a Penrith branch appear as one system with free internal calls.
- Depends entirely on your internet connection. A cheap NBN plan with poor upload speed will cause dropouts and echo. Budget for a business-grade connection.
- Best for: small offices with 2 to 8 users, businesses with staff who work from home, and anyone who wants to start small and scale.
What it costs a typical Parramatta business
Consider a 10-person professional services firm on Macquarie Street still paying for a legacy carrier bundle. On published 2026 pricing, a hosted system for 10 users runs roughly $200 to $500 a month, depending on the plan and whether calls are included, plus about $110 to $360 per desk handset if you buy them outright. An on-premise IP PABX swaps most of that monthly fee for an upfront cost for the system, handsets and installation, plus SIP trunk rental (one published plan charges about $40 to $60 a month for four to eight simultaneous calls). Which option pays back faster depends on your number of users and how long you keep the system, so compare three- and five-year totals. Our business phone system cost guide has the published prices, and our PABX and VoIP systems page covers what we install.
Features that matter for most businesses
- Auto-attendant that answers with your greeting and routes by department.
- Voicemail delivered to email as an audio file.
- Call forwarding to mobiles for staff on the road, and after-hours routing.
- Call queues and ring groups so a customer never hears a busy tone.
- Call recording for compliance in finance, real estate and legal practices.
- Porting your existing numbers so customers notice nothing.
The cabling underneath it all
VoIP handsets run over your data network. In older Parramatta buildings the existing structured cabling is often the real bottleneck, with Cat5 runs installed in the 1990s and a patch panel nobody has labelled. A phone system project is the right time to test and, if needed, upgrade the cabling so that every handset has a reliable connection.
Local supply, installation and support
Mac-Tek Telecom began in 2013 installing PABX systems and has supplied and supported phone systems for offices across Parramatta, Harris Park, Westmead, Granville and Rosehill since. We design the system, supply the handsets, port your numbers, install and configure everything, and remain available for changes long after go-live.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my existing phone numbers?
Yes. Numbers are ported to the new service. Plan for a two to four week porting window and keep the old service active until the port completes.
What internet speed do I need for VoIP?
Allow around 100 kbps upload and download per concurrent call. Ten simultaneous calls need roughly 1 Mbps each way, which any NBN business plan provides. Stability and low jitter matter more than raw speed.
Do I need a new internet connection?
Not usually, but we recommend a business-grade plan with a static IP and, for on-premise systems, 4G failover.
Book a free consultation and bring your current phone bill. We will show you what the same features cost on a modern system.
Related guide: Business phone system cost in Australia (2026)
