Background
NEC digital telephones, such as those used with the SV9100 or SL2100 systems, rely on a proprietary protocol to communicate with the NEC PBX. This protocol enables advanced integration between the PBX and the phones, supporting features like display updates, softkeys, dynamic button labels, and centralized management of each device.
Because of this proprietary design, NEC digital phones cannot be used on other PBX systems. In most cases, they must be replaced with SIP-based IP phones. However, switching to SIP phones often means losing much of the advanced functionality, reducing them to the capabilities of a basic analog phone. On top of that, many customers must also rewire their entire site with CAT5 or CAT6 cabling and invest in an Ethernet switching infrastructure to support the new phones.
NEC Digital Phones and UCX Integration
In contrast, when NEC digital phones are deployed with the UCX, no modifications to the phones are required. Using its XSTIM technology, the UCX fully supports advanced features such as display updates, softkeys, button labels, and centralized phone control—maintaining the same rich user experience. The UCX transmits XSTIM messaging to one or more 16-port Digital Station Modules (DSM16), which in turn connect directly to the digital telephones. Because the DSM16 communicates with the UCX over standard IP, these modules do not need to be colocated with the UCX. This flexibility allows NEC digital phones to be seamlessly extended to remote offices or even integrated with UCX Cloud services, without sacrificing functionality.
Supported Devices
E-MetroTel has introduced support for the following NEC digital phone models (other models may be supported in the future):
You cannot mix phone models from different systems on a single DSM16 card.
For example, you cannot mix phones from NEC SV9100 system with phones from NEC SL1100.
NEC (SV9100)
| Series | Common Name | Model (Label on Phone) | Device Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DT500 | DT510 | DTK-6D | NDTK6 | 6-button digital phone with display |
| DT530 | DTK-12D | NDTK12 | 12-button digital phone with display | |
| DT530 | DTK-24D | NDTK24 | 24-button digital phone with display | |
| DT400 | DT410 | DTZ-2E | NDTZ2 | 2-line, no display |
| DT410 | DTZ-6DE | NDTZ6 | 6-button with display | |
| DT430 | DTZ-8LD | NDTZ8 | 8-line with large display | |
| DT430 | DTZ-12D | NDTZ12 | 12-button with display | |
| DT430 | DTZ-24D | NDTZ24 | 24-button with display | |
| DT430 | DTZ-32D | NDTZ32 | 32-button with display | |
| DT300 | DT310 | DTL-2E | NDTL2 | 2-line, no display |
| DT310 | DTL-6D | NDTL6 | 6-button with display | |
| DT330 | DTL-8D | NDTL8 | 8-button with display | |
| DT330 | DTL-12D | NDTL12 | 12-button with display | |
| DT330 | DTL-24D | NDTL24 | 24-button with display | |
| DT330 | DTL-32D | NDTL32 | 32-button with display |
NEC SL1100
| Series | Common Name | Model (Label on Phone) | Device Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IP4WW | IP4WW-12 | IP4WW-12TXH-B | ND12TXHB | 12-button with display |
| IP4WW-24 | IP4WW-24TXH-B | ND24TXHB | 24-button with display |
NEC SL2100
| Series | Common Name | Model (Label on Phone) | Device Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IP7WW | IP7WW-12 | IP7WW-12TXH-B1 | ND12TXHB1 | 12-button with display |
| IP7WW-24 | IP7WW-24TXH-B1 | ND24TXHB1 | 24-button with display |
Supported Functionality
Loop Length
The DSM16p (v5) design enables a maximum loop length of 5000 feet (~1570 meters) when using 0.5 mm (~AWG24) cable.
UCX Features
The following features have been fully tested:
- Voicemail
- Set based configuration
- Hot desking
- Conference
- Call Transfer
- Call Park
- Redial
- Call Hold
- Call Log
- Shared Call Appearance
- Distinctive ring types for internal/external calls
Configuring NEC Digital Phones
Step 1
Configure any of the DSM16 modules that will be used to connect the NEC digital phones to the UCX for the appropriate NEC settings. Refer to DSM16- Gateway – Device Configuration for additional details.
Step 2
To create a single extension for an NEC Digital Phone, refer to Basic – Adding XSTIM Extension for details. For NEC phones, select NEC as the Phone Vendor and then select the specific model of phone from the Phone Type drop-down.
Limitations
Known Issues
NEC digital phones use typical RJ-11 wiring using Pin 3 for Tip and Pin 4 for Ring. However, unlike most other digital phone types supported by the DSM16, NEC digitals are polarity sensitive. Ensure that any wiring between the DSM16 and NEC digital phones has been terminated correctly if you experience any phones that do not power on, show their display, provide dial tone, do not communicate with the UCX, or otherwise appear dead.
Planned Limitations
