What in the heck are Tone commander ISDN phones?

[GordonKapesMZ4]

I was at University of Wisconsin Madison today and noticed that they have atypical phones called Tone Commander ISDN sets at major reception areas. In a world full of meridian 2616s, avaya 96xx sets, and Cisco 79xx sets, what in the heck are these tone commander sets and what's the advantage of these over the big 3?

Joseph Sus-Nortel Installer/Programmer

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/joe-sus/12/1a7/856

 

[mforrence]

These phones work on ISDN BRI lines, generally part of a centrex configuration from the local CO. Essentially, this site has no PBX, but is using the CO as their PBX. At the time of their deployment, this is how you got "keyset" type functionality on a Centrex install. Hosted PBX is the "modern" version..

 

[GordonKapesMZ4]

Thank you for the quick response. I Have to ask, if there is a DMS switch running the local co, why not use meridian 5000 sets? I assume the tone commander is a less expensive option.

Joseph Sus-Nortel Installer/Programmer

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/joe-sus/12/1a7/856

 

[mforrence]

CO may not have been equipped for Meridian sets, but been equipped for ISDN BRI - which allows any BRI telephone to work.