UC Channel Update – March 2026

In this update: (March 2026)

• Upcoming events March/April 2026
• 3CX’s Latest Product News
• Yealink Product News
• Grandstream Product News
• Fanvil Product News
• Jabra Product News
• CommBox Product News
• Demo Equipment
• Case studies – stories sell products!
• Join our LinkedIn UC community to see the news first

Upcoming events March/April 2026

25th March – Yealink Happy Hour: this event is happening later today – March 25th from 3.30pm – You’ve still got a short window to register and attend to catch up with our team over drinks and nibbles. You’ll hear from Brandon Zhou of Yealink the latest trends in the MTR space for 2026. To register click here.

30th March – 3CX Webinar: AI Partner Sales Presentation – this webinar will be hosted by Jasmin Dinev, 3CX’s Channel Manager Australasia. During this session, you’ll learn more about how 3CX Partners can lead the market with the latest intelligent features from 3CX. This webinar is essential for 3CX partners who want to move beyond traditional telephony and increase their margins by becoming high-value technology advisors. Choose the 5pm session and register at this 3CX link.

16th April – Yealink Headset Webinar: Yealink are hosting this webinar to unveil their new BH78 Bluetooth Wireless headset. This is Yealink’s first foldable headset with a discreet boom arm. They’ll also be covering the new WH64 and WH68 Workstation models. The webinar will be at 1pm NZT and you can reserve your spot here.

28th and 29th April – 3CX Technical trainings: bookings are now open to attend the upcoming 3CX Basic Technical Training on 28th April and the 3CX Advanced Technical Training on 29th April. These are all day online sessions. We’re delighted to have Nicholas Paras the CEO and Technical Trainer of Paratech running our upcoming April sessions. Many of you will be familiar with Nicholas who was formerly the 3CX Technical Trainer for over 10 years. Nicholas now specialises in 3CX training and services, and we have secured him to deliver these sessions for our NZ partners.

Day 1 = Tuesday 28th April Basic Training – 8.45am to 4.30pm – register here. 

Day 2 = Wednesday 29th April Advanced Training – 8.45am to 4.30pm – register here. 

Please note the pre-requisite reading that is required prior to attending the sessions. These spots are very limited and allocated on a first come basis. Please ensure to block out your diaries for these dates as many will miss out on spots – we will also operate a waiting list.

3CX Latest Product News

Below is a summary of 3CX’s latest information during March.

NEW – Update 9 Alpha:

Overnight 3CX released the Alpha of Update 9 which focuses on a new look for the Web Client; enterprise queue features; and further AI enhancements.  Please note that an Alpha is not suitable for production, perfect to test on your tests systems though.  The Web Client UI update is a major overhaul designed to make moving calls smoother.  Some key changes to Queue behaviour – we know many partners will be excited to see some of these that have been asked for coming to fruition.  See the full announcement here and check out the change log from within the blog.

Update 8 went live in February bringing the end of the beta of the 3CX AI transcription that had been in Beta since update 4. The beta officially ended 9th March and this blog has that information. It’s important that you understand which editions of 3CX support which AI features – the best place to see this is on the product comparison page here. If you’re unsure, do reach us on uc@bluechipit.co.nz to confirm.

Update 8 was a culmination of many months of development and is the leap forward with Agentic AI. You will have seen above an upcoming sales webinar on Monday 30th March which will give insights on how to strategically use these features to win you new sales. 3CX has released a YouTube video recording on configuring the 3CX AI Agents with OpenAI – you can view it here.

AI Receptionists are here in 2026 – this blog from 3CX looks at why organisations will move beyond the traditional IVR and to an AI receptionist. Jasmin will touch on many of these themes in her webinar on Monday 30th March.

Avoiding rate limits for AI agents – with this new evolution, there is learning for everyone about fitting agents into the correct tier of OpenAI usage. This blog explores what this looks like with guidelines from 3CX.

Looking to host 3CX AI in house? Read this blog on how to build a high-performance transcription rig in-house and the specifications required.

Security is not optional – prevention is everything

This latest blog from 3CX focuses on security – it’s up to 3CX partners to ensure systems are secured correctly. Sometime ago they released a set of educational blogs “Don’t be that guy” and they’ve now updated these across v20 and a great time to relook at this and share with your teams. View the blog here which contains the links to each of the videos.

New product Editions

Following on from the announcements of the Enterprise Plus Edition for 8-SC and 16-SC instances, 3CX has also announced 3CX Basics which is a cutdown edition that purely focuses on being a no-frills telephony system. Basics has launched – key features include:

• Reliable, secure, and easily manageable modern architecture.
• Core telephony features like Intercom, Paging, and BLFs (Busy Lamp Fields).
• User synchronization with Google or Microsoft.
• Basic Reports and Single Sign-On (SSO) capability.
• Available at a significant discount – we anticipate up to 20% off – compared to our PRO Edition.

After announcing Enterprise Plus (Ent+) for the 24-SC and 32-SC last month, 3CX has expanded their Enterprise Plus (Ent +) to also be available for 48-SC and 64-SC licenses effective immediately. The 48-SC features 180,000 transcription minutes and the 64-SC features 240,000 transcription minutes giving full call transcription via the 3CX AI Cloud to those limits. New SKUs will appear very shortly in our systems and pro-rated upgrades are also available. See the full announcement of these larger licenses here. Each Ent+ license includes a set number of 3CX Cloud call transcription minutes, note that voicemail transcription does not consume your call transcription minutes. This is outlined in a very good blog found here – each edition contains:

• 8-SC = 30,000 minutes
• 16-SC = 60,000 minutes
• 24-SC = 90,000 minutes
• 32-SC = 120,000 minutes
• 48-SC = 180,000 minutes
• 64-SC = 240,000 minutes

Should your client run out of minutes, they can upgrade to the next size license, and they get a full allocation of minutes until the end of their term. For example, they start with an 8-SC and 4 months in they run out of their transcription minutes, they upgrade to the 16-SC and get the full 60,000 transcription minutes that come with that – there is no taking away what they’ve already used!

You can visit the feature comparison page on the 3CX website to check out what’s included in each edition. 

3CX has introduced and will allow downgrades of editions by Distributors at point of renewal. This is as long as the Simultaneous Call Count remains unchanged – currently Ent/AI can be downgraded to Pro but once Basics also launches this will become an option to consider. 3CX are committed to allowing customers the choice of the right edition for them.

3CX has also re-introduced a Free Edition which will be the Basics 4-SC FREE for up to 10 extensions. No IP phones, just apps and you’ll need to self-host the solution. Check out more here on the blog.

For customers with SMB, there are changes to portal access and in the future this edition will be scaled back – see the announcement here.

IMPORTANT FOR V18 USERS: version 18 has been EOL since the end of 2024, if you still have customers running on v18 it’s imperative you make a plan to migrate them to v20. More features within v18 will stop working very soon including the 3CX SMTP service which ends 1st May 2026. Please review this blog.

New firmware for Fanvil X Series – a new firmware release has interop and IP phones can now be updated. See the blog here.

Yealink Product News

2026 will be another big year of solutions that make customers more effective whether it be personally with IP phones and headsets, or video conferencing that embraces the hybrid world we live in to create inclusive meetings.

Like all vendors, we are expecting to see some price increases during Q2 due to the pressure on component pricing along with the global fuel issues. We have a warehouse with plenty of SIP, Headset, and Video Conferencing solutions. If you have in particular SIP phone projects coming up – reach out to us as we’ll be able to advise you what stock we have on hand and inbound which is beating those price increases so we can assist with your projects.

You will have seen in the Events section above that Yealink will soon be launching their new BH78 Bluetooth headset which is their first foldable solution – here’s a first look image – be sure to join the webinar in mid-April to hear about the great new features. The webinar will also cover the newly released WH64 and WH68 Workstation models.

For meeting room devices, we have an A25 with CTP25 and A40 with CTP25 bundle within our demo equipment available to borrow or you can visit our Ellerslie office where we have three spaces equipped with Yealink MTR solutions. We have a small, medium and large space configured with equipment. You are welcome to visit or bring customers to view by appointment – just reach out to your Partner Success Manager (Andre or Chris) to arrange a time where the rooms are available and we can host you.

Our team looks forward to hosting you and your colleagues or customers to explore these fantastic technologies. Don’t hesitate to reach out to uc@bluechipit.co.nz for any assistance with Yealink technologies.

Grandstream Product News

We are anticipating price increases across the range in Q2 due to the increased components pricing and also the current fuel situation. If you have projects you’re working on, please contact us to discuss what stock is in country or in transit so we can work with you across projects.

When Grandstream released their GWN7302 Point-to-Point and Point-to-MultiPoint device we covered this much anticipated release for those wanting to extend reliable wireless connectivity over long distances. Grandstream has released a short two-minute video that walks through pairing installation and antenna alignment in a simple and easy to follow way. Watch the video to see how quick it is to get up and running – if you’d like to borrow units for testing, please let us know on uc@bluechipit.co.nz.

We recently released a blog looking at Wi-Fi 7 and how it’s different, then why it’s a good fit in specific situations, and how Grandstream fits with this including their Wi-Fi 7 models of WAPs that are available. If you’d like to discuss more or take a unit for a test drive reach out to uc@bluechipit.co.nz and we’ll be happy to assist. See the blog here.

If you’d like to know more about any of the Grandstream range, reach our UC Team on uc@bluechipit.co.nz.

Fanvil Product News

From 1st April you’ll notice some price increases across the range – this is due to the sharp rise in components and the global fuel issues. If you have projects in progress – reach out and we can advise what stock is in country or already in transit and has avoided some of these costs so we can work with you on project pricing.

We have most of the Fanvil IP phones within our demo stock – reach us on uc@bluechipit.co.nz if you’d like to test drive any of the units. Many of the IP phones can also act as SBC router phones for 3CX deployments.

Jabra Product News

Last month we previewed the new Evolve3 75 and 85 models from Jabra – first stock is now in NZ. All SKUs are in our reseller portal and available to order now. These are the key highlights:

• Sound sharp anywhere – stay focused everywhere with Jabra’s ClearVoice which uses breakthrough AI-powered deep learning technology to isolate your voice and remove background noise.
• Perfect voice pickup for seamless AI interactions.
• Busylight that is easy to see!
• Microphone arm-free design – looks sleek!
• Made for music too!
• Sleek design, featherlight for on-ear comfort.
• And so much more!

Reach out to uc@bluechipit.co.nz if you’d like more info.

Commbox Product News

A reminder of the key ranges from CommBox for commercial displays in meeting room spaces:

• • MR = Meeting Room Displays, commercial displays from 43” to 98” available
  • A11 Intelligent = displays with Android intelligence on board (great for signage!), also available from 43” to 98”
  • S5 Classic = full touch/interactive solution with its own OS. Four sizes available – 65”, 75”, 86”, and 98”.

Demo Equipment

Here at Bluechip Infotech New Zealand, we hold a demo pool of Yealink, Grandstream, Jabra and Fanvil products which are available to borrow. We have video conferencing solutions, IP phones, DECT phones, headsets, WiFi Access Points, facility access and more available to borrow and test. It’s a great way to be able to test out units and see if they meet the needs of your clients. A great way to evaluate new offerings ahead of purchase. If you’d like to borrow anything, please reach out to Megan Twentyman our BDM – UC in the first instance.

Case Studies – stories sell products!

Real world stories sell solutions and help increase market awareness! We are looking for local NZ success stories that we can work with you to produce case studies around our UC brands. If you have a good story to share, please reach out to us on uc@bluechipit.co.nz and we can work with you. As a thank you to you and your team, we’ll shout your team a lunch when we wrap up and the story is produced.

Join our LinkedIn UC community to see news first

Our “Bluechip UC Community” group has been created so our customers quickly get all the latest news. We post regularly and welcome new members to the group. Keep up to date with upcoming Bluechip Infotech New Zealand events, UC-related updates and any other general UC news. Join the LinkedIn group here.