Date: 24 Dec 92 20:08:57 
From: jack@myamiga.mixcom.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: NT Caller ID Unit
Reply-To: jack@myamiga.mixcom.com
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 915, Message 3 of 5

The following item was seen in the Fidonet MDF echomail conference:

* Forwarded by Jack Decker (1:154/8)
* Area : MDF
* From : Dan J. Rudiak, 1:134/14 (18 Dec 92 22:37)
* To   : All
* Subj : NT Caller ID Unit

Northern Telecom to Unveil $19.95 Caller ID Unit at Consumer
Electronics Show To make Caller ID available on every phone in the
home

NASHVILLE -- Northern Telecom today announced the industry's lowest
priced add-on units for Caller Identification.  The Interlude XT and
Interlude XT Plus are designed to fill a need for basic Caller ID
adjuncts that provide call screening only, on extension phones
throughout the home.

The devices will sit next to existing telephones and display the
number or the name and number associated with an incoming call while
the phone is ringing.  The Interlude XT supports incoming number
display and carries a suggested retail price of $19.95.  The Interlude
XT Plus displays the incoming name and number.  It has a suggested
retail price of $24.95.

"Consumers who already have a full-featured Caller ID terminal or
adjunct on their main phone line don't need the same functionality on
every extension phone in the home," said John Ryan, assistant vice
president, Small Business/Residential Marketing, Northern Telecom.
"Interlude XT and Interlude XT Plus offer consumers an inexpensive way
to put the call screening capability of Caller ID not just in the
kitchen, but in the family room bedroom or workshop."

Consumers must subscribe to the Caller ID service from their local
phone company.  Caller ID is tariffed in some part of 34 states today.
There are 2.1 million telephone lines with access to Caller ID
service.

Other Caller ID devices on the market today are designed to be used
with the busiest phone in the house.  They are equipped with extensive
memory capabilities which allow missed calls to be logged, no matter
which phone is nearest. The Interlude XT and XT Plus, howev er, are
simple devices which allow consumers to screen incoming calls from any
phone in the home."

The low price point of Interlude XT and Interlude XT Plus is expected
to generate increased sales of Caller ID devices for retailers and
increased subscription to the Caller ID service where it is available.
Consumers now have an inexpensive way to "try out" the service.

Distributors of this device may also choose to use the devices in
innovative promotions for Caller ID.  When sold together with an
integrated Caller ID telephone, the units might be offered as a
complete home Caller ID package.

The new products will be especially well suited to new partnerships
between telephone companies and retailers.  In 1992, Northern Telecom
teamed with Bell Atlantic and several retailers to test an innnovative
marketing program that promotes the sale of new services such as
Caller ID and voicemail along with telephone equipment at retail
outlets.

"The market acceptance of these new services and telephone devices
depends on establishing a high comfort level for consumers," said
David Lynn, vice president, retail sales, Northern Telecom .
"Interlude XT and Interlude XT Plus address this need by keeping the
equipment capabilities very simple and allowing the consumer to focus
on the services and their benefits."

Interlude and Interlude XT will be introduced at the Winter Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 7-10.  Northern Telecom will be
located at booth # 5005.  The units will be available in June 1993.
Additional product information can be obtained by calling Northern
Telecom's customer response center at 1-800-NORTHERN.

Northern Telecom is a leading supplier of telecommunications switching
equipment to telephone companies and offers software to support a full
range of Custom Local Area Signaling Services and other advanced
services such as Caller ID.  Northern Telecom, or its predecessor
companies, has been manufacturing telephones since 1882.  In 1990, the
company introduced the first telephone with integrated Caller ID
capability.  In 1991, it announced Maestro, the first phone device
capable of displaying a caller's name.  In addition to Maestro,
Northern Telecom offers other Caller ID terminals including Maestro
2000, Maestro 3000 and Rhapsody, as well as full-featured Caller ID
adjuncts: Interlude, Interlude and Interlude III.


Jack Decker --- 1:154/8.0 FidoNet, Jack@myamiga.mixcom.com
Gated through a Linux system