Meridian Norstar
Encyclopedia
The Meridian Norstar, later called Nortel Norstar was a small-office digital PBX introduced by Northern Telecom
(now Nortel). It is based on the same internal design and instruction set
as Nortel's earlier SL-1 and DMS
systems, allowing it to support features such as integrated voice messaging, automatic call distribution and other features, but can support a total of up to 192 phones and has limited processing power. In the United Kingdom
it is sold by British Telecom, rebadged as the BT Norstar.
design went from electro-mechanical parts to electronic or fully digital parts. The first key system developed by Northern Telecom in the early 1980s was the Vantage TDD system. Unlike the success of the SL1 system, the Vantage system did not catch with the business environment and the Meridian Norstar was developed as its replacement.
In 1988, Nortel developed the Meridian Norstar system. This system directly competed with the AT&T Merlin
, ROLM
Redwood, Executone/Isotec Hybrid systems, Toshiba DK Strata, and NEC hybrid systems. Unlike the earlier Vantage system, the Norstar went on to be one of the leading telephone systems in the world. It is visible worldwide with installations at major retail chains, educational environments, medical institutions, government facilities, and many places where key telephone systems are required.
The Norstar system went further than the other systems in similarity to a PBX system such as the Meridian SL-1/Meridian 1 system developed in the late 1980s as well. This allowed blurring the distinction of key telephone system versus PBX telephone system. Many features such as Direct Inward Dial, Caller ID
, Automatic Call Distribution, and Call Accounting were designed off the larger Meridian 1 PBX, DMS-100
and Meridian SL-100 as opposed to being developed as an independent system.
Although there were many hardware/design similarities between the Norstar systems and larger Meridian 1/Meridian SL-100 systems, the telephones themselves could not be used interchangeably between the key system and PBX. They were, however, backwards compatible on their respective switch. That is, you can use the oldest Meridian M7000 telephones on the newest Business Communication Manager system. You can also use the latest T7000 series telephones on an older Norstar system such as the DR5.1. This allows companies to invest in hardware as needed.
When introduced in 1988, Norstar telephones were developed with highly advanced features. The telephones came with LCD displays, heavy duty handsets/telephone body, color coded keys with easy to read fonts, grey, ash and black colors, a high quality speaker phone, quick reference card located underneath the handset, high clarity handset voice quality, and a very rugged solid telephone.
As with other Nortel telephones, the phones contained a clearly defined color coded red Hold key, orange Release (RLS) key and a grey Feature key. RLS allows hanging up a call without having to depress the handset cradle
. During loudspeaker paging announcements with the telephone, the RLS key releases silently. This is very useful in large retail stores where paging announcements are frequent.
The Feature key allows accessing many system features with one single Feature Code. For example, dial Feature 70 to transfer, as opposed to complex feature codes on older systems.
has announced that the Norstar and BCM systems will continue being manufactured, but under the Avaya name. According to Avaya, the Norstar/BCM systems and telephone sets will eventually integrate with the Avaya IP Office via Avaya Aura. Nortel features and programming will be preserved, but will accompany Avaya features and programming as well.
For clients that want to move from the Norstar digital system format to a VOIP format, Nortel BCM is the replacement product recommended by Nortel/Avaya. BCM uses all of the feature codes, and calling features of the older Norstar systems and integrates them into a Digital/VOIP format that with RLS3.0 and further, allows SIP trunking, Unified Messaging and the use of Nortel M7000 digital telephones, "T" Series Business Sets, i2004 sets, series 1200 VOIP sets, and the high end 1100E VOIP series sets, such as the Bluetooth compatible Nortel IP Phone 1140E
SIP telephone series VOIP telephones. The advantage is that customers can use a mix of different generations of Nortel Telephones, ranging from early M7000 telephones to the latest full color display Nortel 1165E telephones. Unlike the past where M7000 Meridian telephones were dedicated for the smaller Norstar system and M2000/M3900 Meridian telephones were dedicated to the larger Option 11E/61C/81C PBX, the i2000/1200/1100E series IP telephones function on both the Small Medium Business (SMB) BCM platform as well as the larger Enterprise Communication Server 1000/Avaya Communication Server 2100 platforms, both taking on the features and codes on the display from their respective switch.
Nortel
Nortel Networks Corporation, formerly known as Northern Telecom Limited and sometimes known simply as Nortel, was a multinational telecommunications equipment manufacturer headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada...
(now Nortel). It is based on the same internal design and instruction set
Instruction set
An instruction set, or instruction set architecture , is the part of the computer architecture related to programming, including the native data types, instructions, registers, addressing modes, memory architecture, interrupt and exception handling, and external I/O...
as Nortel's earlier SL-1 and DMS
Digital Multiplex System
Digital Multiplex System is the name shared among several different telephony product lines from Nortel Networks for wireline and wireless operators...
systems, allowing it to support features such as integrated voice messaging, automatic call distribution and other features, but can support a total of up to 192 phones and has limited processing power. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
it is sold by British Telecom, rebadged as the BT Norstar.
History
With the advent of LSI ICs, also called integrated circuits in the 1980s, key telephone systemKey telephone system
A business telephone system is any of a range of a multiline telephone systems typically used in business environments, encompassing systems ranging from small key systems to large scale private branch....
design went from electro-mechanical parts to electronic or fully digital parts. The first key system developed by Northern Telecom in the early 1980s was the Vantage TDD system. Unlike the success of the SL1 system, the Vantage system did not catch with the business environment and the Meridian Norstar was developed as its replacement.
In 1988, Nortel developed the Meridian Norstar system. This system directly competed with the AT&T Merlin
AT&T Merlin
The AT&T Merlin telephone system was introduced in late 1983, branded American Bell Merlin. After the breakup of AT&T in 1984, it was rebranded AT&T Merlin. It was designed at the beginning of the 1980s prior to the Bell System Divestiture as a modern electronic replacement for the dated...
, ROLM
ROLM
-Products:The company first produced rugged mil-spec computers which used Data General software. The company divisionalized in 1978 becoming Rolm Mil-Spec Computers and Rolm Telecom...
Redwood, Executone/Isotec Hybrid systems, Toshiba DK Strata, and NEC hybrid systems. Unlike the earlier Vantage system, the Norstar went on to be one of the leading telephone systems in the world. It is visible worldwide with installations at major retail chains, educational environments, medical institutions, government facilities, and many places where key telephone systems are required.
The Norstar system went further than the other systems in similarity to a PBX system such as the Meridian SL-1/Meridian 1 system developed in the late 1980s as well. This allowed blurring the distinction of key telephone system versus PBX telephone system. Many features such as Direct Inward Dial, Caller ID
Caller ID
Caller ID , also called calling line identification or calling number identification or Calling Line Identification Presentation , is a telephone service, available in analog and digital phone systems and most Voice over Internet Protocol applications, that transmits a caller's number to...
, Automatic Call Distribution, and Call Accounting were designed off the larger Meridian 1 PBX, DMS-100
DMS-100
The DMS-100 Switch is a line of Digital Multiplex System telephone exchange switches manufactured by Nortel Networks.The purpose of the DMS-100 Switch is to provide local service and connections to the PSTN public telephone network. It is designed to deliver services over subscribers' telephone...
and Meridian SL-100 as opposed to being developed as an independent system.
Although there were many hardware/design similarities between the Norstar systems and larger Meridian 1/Meridian SL-100 systems, the telephones themselves could not be used interchangeably between the key system and PBX. They were, however, backwards compatible on their respective switch. That is, you can use the oldest Meridian M7000 telephones on the newest Business Communication Manager system. You can also use the latest T7000 series telephones on an older Norstar system such as the DR5.1. This allows companies to invest in hardware as needed.
Telephone Design
Telephone hook
A telephone hook or switchhook is the cradle where a telephone handset resides. It takes its name from old wooden wall telephones and candlestick telephones, where the mouthpiece to be mounted on the telephone box and, due to sidetone considerations, the receiver was separate, on a cable...
. During loudspeaker paging announcements with the telephone, the RLS key releases silently. This is very useful in large retail stores where paging announcements are frequent.
The Feature key allows accessing many system features with one single Feature Code. For example, dial Feature 70 to transfer, as opposed to complex feature codes on older systems.
Migration to BCM (Business Communication Manager)
The Norstar system is still produced by Nortel and branded as the "Nortel Norstar" system. The recommended migration path from the Norstar to a full VOIP/SIP system is the BCM, which is short for Business Communication Manager. There are 2 systems available, the BCM50 for smaller enterprises with 3-30 extensions and the BCM450 which allows up to 300 sets. Due to Avaya's recent acquisition of Nortel's Enterprise Division, AvayaAvaya
Avaya Inc. is a privately held computer networking, information technology and telecommunications company that is a global provider of business communications systems. The international head quarters is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States...
has announced that the Norstar and BCM systems will continue being manufactured, but under the Avaya name. According to Avaya, the Norstar/BCM systems and telephone sets will eventually integrate with the Avaya IP Office via Avaya Aura. Nortel features and programming will be preserved, but will accompany Avaya features and programming as well.
For clients that want to move from the Norstar digital system format to a VOIP format, Nortel BCM is the replacement product recommended by Nortel/Avaya. BCM uses all of the feature codes, and calling features of the older Norstar systems and integrates them into a Digital/VOIP format that with RLS3.0 and further, allows SIP trunking, Unified Messaging and the use of Nortel M7000 digital telephones, "T" Series Business Sets, i2004 sets, series 1200 VOIP sets, and the high end 1100E VOIP series sets, such as the Bluetooth compatible Nortel IP Phone 1140E
Nortel IP Phone 1140E
Avaya IP Phone 1140E in telecommunications is a desktop IP client manufactured by Avaya for unified communications. The phone can operate on the SIP or UNIStim protocols. The SIP firmware supports presence selection and notification along with secure instant messaging...
SIP telephone series VOIP telephones. The advantage is that customers can use a mix of different generations of Nortel Telephones, ranging from early M7000 telephones to the latest full color display Nortel 1165E telephones. Unlike the past where M7000 Meridian telephones were dedicated for the smaller Norstar system and M2000/M3900 Meridian telephones were dedicated to the larger Option 11E/61C/81C PBX, the i2000/1200/1100E series IP telephones function on both the Small Medium Business (SMB) BCM platform as well as the larger Enterprise Communication Server 1000/Avaya Communication Server 2100 platforms, both taking on the features and codes on the display from their respective switch.