Brewsky

If you are willing to wait about 6-12 months, Nortel will be releasing a product that will be perfect for you... It will be replacing the Norstar Compact ICS or CICS. The CICS supports 16 ISDN or 8 Analog Trunks, and upto 24 stations. It also has support for the Call Pilot voicemail which includes auto attendant and custom call routing. The new product (name not yet released) will be comparative to the CICS but will include voicemail onto one integrated unit. It will support up to 24 phones and may even have support for Voice Over IP (VoIP).

I would not recommend the 616 as it has been manufacture discontinued (MD) for quite sometime, and nearly impossible to find current software that will support the advancements Nortel has made in their voicemail systems.

I know this sounds like a sales pitch but it's not... I am a technician and am always happy to see a customers face light up with some of the new features that are available.

If you have any further questions please feel free to ask...


Brewsky

Ramjet

Brewsky, I haven't heard of this new sys. Do you have any info on it? Gup, there is also a 3 line by 8 station Norstar that will fit your needs. These can be had either new or refurb. A good place to look is in a trade magazine called Telecom Gear. Not sure if they have a website or not.

Gup

Gents,

Thanks for the replies. What do you all think about the 8x24 systems? Brewster, First I did not want to wait that long, 2nd, I am on a very small tight budget and I am sure that this new unit will cost some coin.

The 3x8 system may be to small because I have 4 lines to use. Any suggestions on a used system that would be inexpensive to buy and easy to use?

Thanks,

Gup

Ramjet

Since the 3x8 is 2 small, I would purchase a refurb CICS with 4X8 software. This will give you 4 lines and 8 sets. These can be purchased at various outlets, and even on e-bay. If you want, call 18005698847 and ask for Chris. He will be happy to help you.

HCJes

Tele Technologies has some deals on Norstar Packages:

Here is an example of one:

Norstar Compact ICS 4x16, Call Pilot 100 Voicemail and 5 T7316E's

1 - Call Pilot 100 Voicemail System
5 - T7316E Executive Display Phones
Price : $2,234.00

http://2k911.com/packages/norstar.asp[/b]

matthew517

Try a BCM 50. Call Presidio. I have tried them and they had great prices and great support.
301 313 2100.

bberry

I agree, the BCM50 comes with integrated voice mail. When you grow you can add items like UM, additional trunks and sets. Plus its not that expensive. Check Ebay there are some guys selling packages.

pbxn

Another option to consider is VoIP.Initial investment is small in comparison, usually the cost of your internet service and the VoIP phones. I just did a cabling job for a lawyer that decided to use a company Aptella, and he seems to be happy. That particular company uses Polycom phones.Since you do not want to wait for the product that Brewsy suggested, VoIP just may be the way to go. One thing to always remember when it comes to phone systems, sometimes to small of a system is just that, too small. The VoIP option maybe your best bet, for the interim if not long term. Who knows, your company just may double or triple in size in the future, when that times comes you would want a phone system that is robust, packed with features, and more importantly have the capacity/room for growth.

tectelconnections

I wouldn't recommend the 616 or the 824. The difference in cost between the 616 and Compact ICS is small. But there are a number of programming differences. Caller ID support is better, programming is easier (copy options) and line appearance options are better as well.