TPG Business Phone Alternatives After the Vodafone Merger (2026)

If your business phone is bundled with your TPG or iiNet broadband, you almost certainly have a basic analog phone adapter service -- not a business phone system. This guide explains what happened to TPG's phone products after the Vodafone merger, what that means for your business, and how to get a proper phone setup without touching your internet connection. Prices are in AUD including GST.

What Happened: The TPG-Vodafone Merger and Your Phone

TPG and Vodafone merged in 2020 to form TPG Telecom. Since then, the combined group has been rationalising its product portfolio -- which includes phone services under the TPG, iiNet, Internode, and Vodafone brands.

For small businesses, the practical result has been messy. Legacy home phone and business phone add-ons have been discontinued, migrated, or quietly changed. Some customers were moved to different plans without much notice. Others found their service grandfathered -- still working, but no longer supported or available to new customers.

If you signed up to TPG or iiNet broadband years ago and grabbed their bundled phone option, that plan almost certainly no longer exists in its original form. What you have now is likely one of two things: a basic ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) service provided through your modem, or nothing at all.

Legacy Products That Were Discontinued or Migrated

TPG Telecom has discontinued or migrated several phone products that small businesses relied on. The affected products included:

• TPG Home Phone add-on (PSTN and NBN voice)
• iiNet Phone (bundled with iiNet broadband, NBN voice and PSTN)
• Internode NodePhone
• Naked DSL phone services (now moot since PSTN copper shutdown)

The PSTN copper network was shut down across Australia in 2025. That means any service that ran on the old copper phone line is now gone. Full stop. If you were on a legacy copper-based plan and haven't been migrated already, your service may simply stop working at any time.

Customers who were migrated got moved to an NBN voice service -- which means a phone that runs through the same NBN connection as your internet. That might sound fine, but there's a critical difference between what TPG provides and what a proper business phone system delivers.

What You're Actually Getting: The ATA Service Explained

When TPG or iiNet bundles a phone line with your broadband, what they're providing is an ATA service. Here's what that means in plain English.

Your NBN modem has a phone port on it -- sometimes it's green, sometimes it's labelled 'Tel 1' or 'Phone'. You plug your existing handset (the kind you'd buy at Officeworks) into that port. The modem converts the analog signal from your handset into digital voice calls that travel over your NBN connection.

The modem is doing all the work. The VOIP credentials -- the account details that make calls actually connect -- are programmed directly into the modem firmware by TPG. You don't own them. You can't access them. If you call TPG and ask for your SIP credentials so you can move your service to a different system, the answer will almost certainly be no -- and the support person you speak to may not even know what SIP credentials are.

This setup is called an ATA service. It works for making and receiving calls. But that's the beginning and end of what it does. Learn more about how ATA adapters work in our ATA adapter guide for Australian businesses.

Having a Phone Line vs Having a Phone System

There's a meaningful difference between "having a phone line" and "having a phone system." Most small businesses that are on a bundled ISP phone plan have the former. What they actually need is the latter.

A phone line lets you make and receive calls. One call at a time. No features beyond what your handset provides. If you're on a call and a second customer rings in, they hear engaged. That second call -- and everything that comes with it -- is gone.

A phone system is a different category of product. It manages calls as a system: routing them, queuing them, playing hold music, distributing them across staff, and handling them differently based on time of day. The technical term is a PBX (Private Branch Exchange), but in 2026 most small businesses access this through a cloud-hosted service rather than hardware on site.

The difference is not about the phone on your desk. It's about the intelligence that sits between the phone network and your team. An ATA service has none of that intelligence. A proper business phone system is built around it. For a deeper comparison, see our guide on VOIP vs traditional phone for Australian businesses.

What a Proper Business Phone System Gives You

Here's what you get with a cloud phone system that you simply don't get from a bundled ISP phone line:

• Multiple simultaneous calls. Two customers can call at the same time. Both are answered -- one goes to a queue or voicemail while you're on the first call.
• Ring groups. Multiple staff can ring at the same time when a call comes in. Whoever picks up first takes the call. This means a 2-person business can handle calls properly without a receptionist.
• IVR (auto-attendant). The "press 1 for sales, press 2 for support" menu you hear when calling a professional business. Inexpensive and quick to set up.
• After-hours call routing. Outside business hours, calls go to voicemail, a mobile, an after-hours message, or any combination. Customers calling at 7pm don't get a ring-out.
• Voicemail to email. Missed calls arrive as audio files in your inbox. You can listen from your phone, forward to a colleague, or save for follow-up.
• Mobile app (softphone). Staff can take business calls on their mobile without using their personal number. The caller sees the business number.
• Call recording. Record inbound and outbound calls for training, compliance, or dispute resolution.
• 1300 and 1800 numbers. Attach a national number to your phone system so customers don't pay to call you.

None of these features are exotic. They're standard inclusions in most cloud business phone plans. And none of them exist in a bundled ISP ATA service.

How to Switch Without Touching Your Internet

This is the part most businesses don't realise: you can completely change your phone setup without changing your internet provider.

Your broadband and your phone are separate services. Even if they're both on a TPG invoice right now, they don't have to be. A cloud business phone system connects to your internet connection at the network level -- it doesn't go through your ISP's phone port at all. You keep your TPG broadband exactly as it is, and a separate VOIP provider handles your phone service.

The process looks like this:

1. Choose a cloud phone provider and set up your account.
2. Your existing business number gets ported across (transferred). This takes 5-10 business days and requires you to stay with your current provider during the process.
3. Once ported, your number rings on the new system. Your old TPG phone service is cancelled.
4. Your internet keeps working exactly as before. Your TPG broadband bill drops slightly because you're no longer paying for the phone add-on.

Number porting is a regulated process in Australia. Under ACMA rules, your current provider cannot block or unreasonably delay a port request. For full details on how porting works, see our number porting guide for Australian businesses.

For setup guidance on connecting a VOIP service to your NBN connection, see our NBN VOIP setup guide.

What Does It Cost Compared to What You're Paying Now?

A TPG or iiNet phone add-on typically costs $10-$20/month incl. GST on top of your broadband plan. For that, you get one phone line with no business features.

A basic cloud business phone system for 1-3 people typically costs $30-$70/month incl. GST in total -- that includes the phone service, all the features listed above, and often a physical handset or app.

The gap is often smaller than people expect. Especially once you factor in the cost of the missed calls that a basic ATA service produces.

To model the numbers for your specific situation, use our VOIP cost calculator. It takes your team size, call volume, and current setup and produces a monthly cost estimate you can compare against your current bill. You can also see a broader breakdown of what VOIP actually costs in our VOIP cost guide for Australian businesses.

What Most Businesses Get Wrong

Three mistakes come up repeatedly when businesses try to upgrade from a bundled ISP phone plan:

Mistake 1: Trying to use the ISP's ATA port with a VOIP handset. A Yealink or Grandstream handset connects via ethernet cable to a VOIP service. It does not plug into the green phone port on your modem. The green port accepts a standard analog handset only. Plugging a VOIP handset into the green port won't work. You need a proper VOIP service (and usually a separate handset or softphone app) -- not a hardware upgrade plugged into your existing setup.

Mistake 2: Cancelling your existing service before porting is complete. If you cancel your TPG phone line before the number port finishes, you lose the number. It's gone. The correct sequence is: set up the new service, initiate the port, wait for confirmation the port is complete, then cancel the old service. Never cancel first.

Mistake 3: Buying a phone system based on what a competitor or friend uses. Every business has different call patterns. A 1-person trades business answering 3-5 calls a day needs a completely different setup to a 10-person professional services firm handling 50+ calls a day. Use the sizing wizard or talk to a specialist before committing to a plan.

Your Next Steps

Here's a practical checklist to move from a bundled ISP phone plan to a proper business phone system:

1. Write down your business number and check it's currently active. You'll need to port it -- make sure you know which provider holds it.
2. Count how many people need to make or receive business calls. This is your seat count.
3. Estimate your average call volume per day (rough is fine). This determines what plan tier you need.
4. Decide which features matter most: ring groups, IVR, after-hours routing, mobile app, call recording.
5. Run your numbers through the VOIP cost calculator.
6. Get a recommendation from a specialist provider. Describe how your business actually operates -- not just the headcount.
7. Once you've signed up, initiate the number port. Do NOT cancel TPG until the port confirmation arrives.
8. Test the new system thoroughly before going live. Make test calls, check voicemail, confirm after-hours routing.

Can I keep my existing phone number when I switch away from TPG?

Yes. Your phone number is portable under Australian telecommunications regulations. When you sign up with a new VOIP provider, you initiate a number port request. The process takes 5-10 business days. Do not cancel your TPG service until you receive confirmation that the port is complete -- cancelling early means the number is lost.

Will changing my phone system affect my TPG broadband?

No. Your broadband and phone are separate services. A cloud phone system runs over your existing internet connection -- it doesn't go through the phone port on your modem. You keep your TPG broadband exactly as it is. If you currently pay a bundled price for broadband and phone together, cancelling the phone portion will reduce your bill slightly.

What is an ATA and why is it a problem for my business?

An ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) is the phone port built into your NBN modem. It lets you plug in a standard handset and make calls over your internet connection. The problem is that the ATA service provided by ISPs like TPG is designed for home users -- one call at a time, no features beyond basic calling. It has no ring groups, no hold, no after-hours routing, and no voicemail to email. For a business taking more than a handful of calls per day, that's a real constraint.

Can I plug a Yealink or other VOIP handset into my TPG modem?

No. The phone port on your NBN modem (the green port or 'Tel 1' port) accepts a standard analog handset only. A VOIP handset like a Yealink connects via ethernet cable directly to your router and communicates with a separate VOIP service. To use a VOIP handset, you need a cloud phone service -- you can't use the modem's ATA port as a workaround.

How much does a proper business phone system cost compared to my TPG plan?

A TPG or iiNet phone add-on typically costs $10-$20/month incl. GST. A basic cloud business phone system for 1-3 people typically costs $30-$70/month incl. GST in total, covering all features. For larger teams, expect $25-$50 per seat per month. Use the VOIP cost calculator to model your specific situation before committing.

What happened to my TPG or iiNet phone plan after the merger?

After TPG merged with Vodafone in 2020, the combined group began rationalising legacy phone products across all brands including TPG, iiNet, and Internode. Many home phone add-ons were discontinued or migrated to NBN voice services. The PSTN copper shutdown in 2025 also affected any remaining copper-based phone plans. If your plan is still active, it's likely grandfathered -- working, but no longer sold to new customers and potentially unsupported.

Do I need to change my internet provider to get a better phone system?

No. A cloud business phone system is completely separate from your internet provider. It runs over your existing broadband connection without any involvement from TPG. You set up an account with a specialist VOIP provider, port your number across, and your phone system runs over the same NBN connection you already have. Your TPG broadband stays untouched.