Ten Nortel Phones That Never Die!
Here are the ten most popular Nortel phone models that continue to perform flawlessly long after their parent company was dissolved.
Nortel Networks Corporation was a multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in Montreal, Quebec in 1895 and operated in one form or another for more than century. It was a leader in global telecommunications innovations. It ended up as the biggest corporate failure in Canadian history. Along with a legacy of fiscal mismanagement, creative accounting and managerial opportunism, the company may also be remembered for its classic phone models. Do you have one in your office?
A complete timeline of Nortel shows that at its height in the year 2000 the firm accounted for more than a third of the total valuation of all the companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), employing 94,500 worldwide. Yet just nine years later, on January 14, 2009, Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada.
How did the company fall so far so fast? Did its world class R&D really fail to see VoIP coming? Did sales managers let Cisco outmaneuver its sales force? Or was Nortel hacked by Chinese spies? as the Wall Street Journal reported in an article which says the threat was detected and improperly managed in 2004.
John Conn, the CEO of Standard IP Telecom in Toronto has great respect for Nortel equipment, and labels himself a Nortel Expert on LinkedIN. Much like the Maytag man, John is in the business of servicing phone systems that seldom need service.
To understand why Nortel phones were so well received in the Canadian marketplace in the 1980s would require some understanding of what office phones looked like in the 60s and 70s. Here’s what AT&T and Bell Labs, the parents of Northern Telecom offered consumers after the Second World War.
This is the rotary dial telephone from which we get the expression, ‘dial a number’.
In the 1960s and 70s, coloured plastic phones became furniture pieces because they could now match the décor of any room. Northern Telecom manufactured telephones for business users from the 1980s to 2001, and now perhaps it’s easier to see how these phones were a great leap forward.
Nortel Meridian M2616
The phone offered a screen for call display, which was a pricey upgrade promoted by local phone companies when it first appeared on the market in the 1980s. The unit also offered every enterprise employee multiple phone lines, and quick access to a broad range of features, as well as the convenience of a high quality built-in speaker phone. By adding up to two 22 button Key Expansion Units, the basic complement of 16 programmable buttons can be increased to 38 or 60 buttons for additional lines. When this phone came out it was very expensive and usually reserved for executives.
Meridian M2008
Nortel M2008 telephones were less expensive, and were designed for professionals, technical specialists and other office staff who rely on the telephone as a constant business tool. The phone has eight programmable keys to provide easy access to single or multiple lines along with a wide range of time saving features. The M2008HF includes a high quality built-in speakerphone for hands free operation.
Nortel Meridian M2006
The M2006 Telephone is a single-line business phone suitable for basic economical communication. This phone is typically used in lobbies, cafeterias and warehouses. It features convenience buttons for conference, transfer and call forward. Other buttons (keys) can be easily programmed to automatically dial specific departments such as Security, Human Resources, Purchasing, etc.
Nortel Norstar Meridian M7310
This full-featured telephone was designed for users with more extensive calling and call handling requirements. It became the number one choice for sales people or account managers who repeatedly call the same customers, suppliers, or accounts. It allows up to ten incoming calls that can be handled simultaneously in part because of the functionality of the LCD window, and soft keys that make this telephone extremely easy to use.
Most popular in beige, the unit came in four colours, white, grey, black and beige which was called ash in the US. A lot of attention was paid to the appearance of all the Meridian phones and Italian designers were employed to create sleek lines and pastel coloured buttons.
Nortel Meridian M7324
Nortel Meridian M7324 telephone has 24 programmable buttons that can be used as lines, features, and auto dial numbers. These phones were popular because of the two line LCD screen which displays information such as whose calling, the time and date they called, and if there is a voice mail message. There is a volume control button located on the bottom of the unit, which inspired lots of office humour as coworkers who knew of the button would adjust unsuspecting office worker’s phones. This model is still quite popular today, and can be found in beige (ash in the US), grey, and black.
Nortel Meridian M7208
The Meridian Norstar M7208 is a good choice for users who require only basic functionality, and who only need a few programmable features and/or auto dial numbers. It’s the perfect choice for a courtesy phone and is often employed as such in hotel lobbies, cafeterias, reception areas, and staff lounges.
The Meridian Norstar M7208 is well suited for areas where staff numbers are relatively high compared to the number of telephones needed, as for example, manufacturing plants, warehouses, retail departments, or repair centers benefit from the M7208 phone’s basic functionality and
Nortel Vista 350
Nortel Vista 350 contains a Personal Directory function for 50 names and numbers with easy-to-use services key that let users access a wide range of built-in features. The phone has a two-position tilt-up base, Visual Message Waiting indicator, Adjustable volume/alerter control, ringing/extension-in-use/hold indicator, Hold and LINK keys, hands free, Contrast control, editing capabilities via scroll key, programmable call timer, hearing aid compatible, ADA compliant, desk or wall mounted, this is still one of the most popular phones in the Canadian business landscape.
Nortel no longer manufactures telephones itself. Since 2001, phones with the Nortel brand are made by Aastra Technologies Limited of Concord, Ontario. Most of these phones were made in Canada, and many assembled in Belleville Ontario.
Nortel Meridian M9216
The M9216 is a single line analog display telephone. Although the M9216 won’t tell users why someone called, the name and number Caller ID which shows the date and time of the last five call in a Call Log makes short work of answering other questions regarding the call traffic. The phone has ten programmable memory keys.
The unit is still available today in three colours, which online catalogs list as White, Black and Chameleon Gray with the words beige and ash in brackets.
Nortel Meridian M3904
The Nortel M3904 is unique (in this list anyway), because of its huge visual display. This phone replaced the M2616 and has much of the same functionality but behold the huge display full of information to the user. This is another bold leap forward for professional telephones. The unit is a multi-line digital phone supporting up to 12 lines that offers the largest display in its class, a Personal Directory, Call Log, and a variety of user selectable options. Its easy to use because the display changes and prompts every step in more complicated programming functionality. Another advance is the support for Personal Directory PC Utility which allows users to create a directory of up to 100 names and download it to this business phone. The Phase 3 M3904 also supports Full Duplex Handsfree with the addition of the new Full Duplex Handsfree Accessory that easily snaps into the Accessory Connection Module
The picture to the left shows a later model M9304 above a chrome plated later edition made to emulate the success of a similar Cisco design.
Nortel Meridian M9417
One of the last models designed by Nortel and produced by Aastra, this unit is extremely popular today because it really did perfect lots of basic features. The 9417 can connect and facilitate two separate phone lines with a dedicated telephone conferencing key. The two-line adjustable visual display shows the name, number, date and time of callers. The Call Log stores such data for up to 100 callers with an exportable Personal Directory for 100 names and numbers. The unit has only six programmable memory keys, and includes the Message Waiting Indicator light which proved so popular on earlier models. This phone is still sought out today in part because of the Redial key that lets users scroll through a list of the last ten phone numbers dialed. These units also came with parallel jacks for extensions and fax machines.
These ten most popular Nortel phones will be around for another decade
Surrounded by shelves stuffed full of Nortel product, John holds an M3904, which is one of his favourite phones because its large user friendly display. His company has done very well over the years buying and selling these popular and reliable business communication devices. Most of the units were assembled with pride right here in Canada, in large plants in Mississauga, and in smaller assembly centers all over the nation, like the one in Belleville Ontario. Many of these classic phones are now over ten years old.
“If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it’ is an old business adage that accurately summarizes how the majority of Canadian small and medium sized business owners feel about their phone systems. They are not going to turn away from their aging Nortel hardware while its still fulfilling all their business needs. John laughs when he sees some of the unrealistic services offered to small business owners by telephone companies that don’t understand their small business clients. Old is good again, and Standard IP Telecom proudly advertises sales and service of Nortel phones ‘until 2025’ right on their website, and CEO John Conn confidently expects to be selling and servicing these classic phone models for another ten years or more.
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Ten Nortel Phones That Never Die! http://t.co/TIaGSRRspg via @BayStBull thanks John Conn of http://t.co/m2wf7lbaIy and #Nortel #phones list