Bakou Systems, ICT & ELV Blog A follow-up to our earlier post: Why IP Phone System...?
Why We Recommended Grandstream IP Phones Back in 2022
Back in 2022 we wrote about why businesses should move from legacy analog telephony to an IP phone system — lower cost, SIP trunking, DID numbers from local operators like Cellcard, Smart and Metfone, and the flexibility to manage everything from a web browser. Grandstream was one of the budget-friendly brands we recommended, sitting alongside Yealink and Fanvil as a reliable entry point for small-to-mid size businesses in Cambodia
A few years on, Grandstream's lineup has moved well past "budget alternative." The newer generation of handsets and PBX platforms brings enterprise features down to small business pricing, and it's worth revisiting what's new before your next phone system refresh.
What's new on the phone side
GRP series — carrier-grade, but easy to deploy The GRP series is Grandstream's current flagship desk phone line, built for mass deployment across offices, hotels, and call centers. Compared to the phones we highlighted in 2022, the newer GRP models add built-in Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth, dual LCD screens on higher-end units, up to 14–16 SIP accounts, and centralized zero-touch provisioning through Grandstream's Device Management System (GDMS) — so an IT team can configure hundreds of phones remotely without touching each handset.
WP series — Wi-Fi cordless phones For staff who move around — warehouses, clinics, retail floors — the WP series now includes Wi-Fi 6 models (WP826, WP836) up to the WP856, which behaves closer to a rugged Wi-Fi smartphone than a traditional cordless handset. Useful anywhere DECT coverage or roaming matters more than a fixed desk extension.
GHP series — hospitality phones For hotels, dormitories, and serviced apartments, the GHP line has a more guest-friendly design with optional Wi-Fi and programmable service keys for front desk, room service, and housekeeping — a direct upgrade path for properties still running old analog room phones.
Across the board: open SIP standard (so it still works with most IP-PBX or hosted VoIP platforms, not just Grandstream's own), HD wideband audio, and PoE support — the fundamentals we talked about in the original post haven't changed, they've just matured.
What's new on the PBX side
If you paired your Grandstream phones with an Asterisk-based PBX in 2022, the equivalent today is Grandstream's own UCM series, which has grown from a simple on-premise box into a full unified communications platform:
- UCM6300 series — supports up to 3,000 users and 450 concurrent calls, unifying voice, video calling and conferencing, video surveillance, web meetings, facility access, and intercom on one system — still license-free, with no per-feature or per-seat fees.
- UCM RemoteConnect — a hybrid option that pairs with the UCM6300 to add secure remote access and cloud-managed features without giving up the on-premise hardware.
- CloudUCM — for businesses that don't want any on-site PBX hardware at all, a fully cloud-hosted PBX with the same feature set.
That's a meaningful shift from "buy a box, plug it in" to "choose on-premise, hybrid, or cloud depending on how your business operates" — relevant for companies now running hybrid or multi-branch setups across Cambodia and the region.
Why this still matters for your business
The core reasons we gave in 2022 for moving off legacy phone lines are still the reasons to care today: lower call costs over SIP trunks, DID numbers you can register from any operator, and full visibility into call activity from a browser instead of a physical console. What's changed is how much more capability now comes standard — Wi-Fi 6, unified firmware across models, centralized fleet management, and a cloud/hybrid PBX option that didn't really exist as a mainstream choice back then.
If you're still running the phones from our original post, or you're on legacy analog lines and finally ready to make the jump, it's a good time to look at what Grandstream's current generation of GRP, WP, GHP phones and UCM PBX platforms can do for your office.
Full specs and the complete product range are on Grandstream's official site: www.grandstream.com
Need help picking the right phones or PBX setup for your office in Cambodia? Contact Bakou Systems — we'll help you design a system that fits your budget and how your team actually works.