telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) (04/24/89)
I briefly mentioned Starline in the last message, and have had a few other inquiries about how it works, so I might as well cover that today also. Starline is a 'residential centrex' offering from Illinois Bell. Other telcos also offer it under various names. It combines existing custom calling features with several additional features which give the user a tremendous degree of control over the use of his phone lines. Starline can be installed on 2-6 lines at the same residence. Each line receives its own CO number, so if you have a roommate, or other members of the family who need to make/receive calls independent of your own, they can have their own number. Under Starline, these additional custom calling features are available: Answer any incoming call from any phone. If it is not the phone near you, then use that phone and dial *9. Call is automtically switched over to your line. Transfer inbound or outbound calls to any other line. Flash, dial the desired intercom code, announce call and hangup. Call is transferred. You can also transfer incoming or outgoing CO calls to another CO number if desired. Unlike three way calling, where you must be a party to the call between two outside points, under Starline you can transfer an outside call to another outside point then disconnect; leaving them connected. Intercom calling between various phones. Not to be confused with speed dialing, which is also available. Intercom numbers #2 through #7 are assigned to the (up to six) phone lines. No charge for intercom calls. Distinctive ringing between intercom calls and CO calls. CO calls have a short, double ring sound. Intercom calls have a single longer ring. You can identify the source of the call to detirmine the desired answer phrase. There are also distinctive call waiting tones. Call forwarding of course transfers incoming CO calls to some other place. Under Starline, intercom calls override call forwarding, and ring through. Call forwarding can be straightforward on all calls, or it can be done under a provision called 'forward on busy or no answer' (after three rings). The forwarding can simply be to another number in your group, or to some other CO line. Call Hold and Call Parking is accomplished by flashing, then dialing *8. At that point, simply leave the phone off hook. The call remains on hold and can be retrieved from some other line by going off hook and dialing *9. Or the original line can pick the call up by hanging up for a second, waiting for the phone to ring, then answering. Call Waiting does require an extra step not required in conventional custom calling. Ordinarily you hear the tone and simply flash, to bring the other party on the line. Repeated flashing switches between parties. Under Starline there are several things one can do when flashing, so the additional step of dialing *8 to put the existing party on hold is required; then dialing *9 to retrieve the new call if it is on some other line than your own. Under Starline, you can process call-waiting calls from either end of the stack. That is, you can 'pop the stack' and take the one on the bottom and transfer it elsewhere all the while leaving the latest caller on hold. Under conventional custom calling, one cannot start a three way call while a call-waiting condition exists, since flashing the hook simply switches between callers. One can answer a call-waiting condition while a three way call is in progress, but you still have problems getting a new three way call going until the call-waiting person is gone. All these manipulations are quite easy under Starline, due to the additional step of entering *8 which is required to force a party on or off hold, leaving the switchhook free to do other things. Starline automatically comes with a 30 number speed dial repretoire. The speed numbers can be programmed from any line in the system and accessed from any line in the system using access codes *20 through *49. They are programmed using *75. Units charged on any line are billed to a master account for the purpose of accumulating them for volume discount purposes; however they can be billed individually if desired. Likewise, on long distance calls, your long distance carrier can show the various numbers in your group under one account if desired for the benefits of whatever bulk pricing options are available; however the calls will show up on your bill broken down by actual line they were made from. All in all, I like Starline. It gives me *tremendous* control over the phone, and the way calls are answered and disposed of. IBT charges $5.50 per line/month in addition to what the custom calling features would normally cost. Patrick Townson