Small businesses can now get many of the same call coverage features previously reserved for large corporations with the latest offering from Northern Telecom Ltd, the company claims. The product is StarTalk, a new application for Northern Telecom’s Meridian Norstar digital key telephone system. StarTalk provides an answering, routing, and voice mail service. Users are either presented with instructions on the liquid crystal display, standard on every Norstar telephone set, or by verbal prompts. In-bound callers receive verbal prompts to assist in routing their calls, or for leaving a message, when a line is busy or unanswered. The liquid crystal display on each Norstar set notifies users of messages received. A single key accesses call back or return message features for internal calls, internal group distribution for general announcements and dial-by-name calls to colleagues. List price for StarTalk starts at $10,000 and rises to $20,000 depending on the size of the system.
