Siemens Rolm's OfficePoint ISDN System Expands Capabilities; The Only ISDN System for Small Offices Now Offers Advanced Voice Messaging System.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 1996--Siemens Rolm Communications today announced that OfficePoint, the only small Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) communication system in the U.S. market, has added new features and a voice mail option that give small businesses and remote offices the ability to communicate like large, expensive systems.

Message Valet is a fully integrated digital voice mail option with OfficePoint Release 1.1 that provides small offices with large system features, such as individual mailboxes with personal greetings, auto attendant, call forwarding, day and night greetings, and message waiting indicators.

Message Valet can support 18 subscriber and four guest mailboxes, three information mailboxes and one for general delivery. It has 45 minutes of standard storage time and an optional additional 80 minutes of storage time on a PC card.

With OfficePoint Release 1.1, access is available to Custom AT&T ISDN services in addition to existing ISDN services based on National ISDN 1 (NI1) protocols provided by Siemens EWSD, AT&T 5ESS, and Nortel DMS100 central office switches. Customers throughout the United States will now be able to use OfficePoint to access ISDN services offered by local operating companies.

Other enhancements included with OfficePoint Release 1.1 are:

-- Station Message Detail Recording, which provides easy, accurate system management information;

-- Account codes, which enable the ability to track calls in order to bill back time spent on specific accounts (such as in legal offices);

-- Headset software programming, which lets subscribers easily switch between using headsets and handsets; and

-- Call ringing groups, which lets incoming calls ring at up to eight pre-programmed stations.

Introduced in April 1995, OfficePoint lets the increasing number of remote and small offices take advantage of ISDN. With OfficePoint, small offices can share three BRI (Basic Rate Interface) ISDN lines among 16 digital stations, four analog and four data devices. By sharing and consolidating, users get significant cost advantages at the same time they get ISDN's ability to deliver significant bandwidth -- up to 128 Kilobits per second (Kbps) -- to a desktop at affordable prices.

Higher bandwidth is essential for users who want frequent, high-speed transmission such as for access to information located on the Internet or on corporate databases, or to videoconference. Depending on the kind of call taking place, OfficePoint determines bandwidth dynamically and transports data five to ten times faster than analog devices, such as modems.

The OfficePoint system can be easily installed and programmed from an Optiset phone. The Optiset base and Optiset memory phones have large liquid crystal display (LCD) prompts that serve as intuitive guides to the system's functions. Users can therefore easily implement functions, such as conferencing and transfers, without remembering specific codes. Optiset's prompts are available in multiple languages and show not only feature selections but phone numbers of callers, or calling line ID, where available.

Siemens Rolm offers installation and services support through 800/406-ISDN.

OfficePoint Release 1.1 is available immediately. List price is $2,450 for the base system; $450 for the Optiset memory phone, and $270 for the Optiset base phone. The Message Valet option lists at $2,500. An upgrade kit for OfficePoint Release 1.1 systems is available for $250.

Siemens Rolm Communications Inc., based in Santa Clara, Calif., is the North American arm of Siemens Private Communication Systems, the world leader in private telecommunications systems with annual sales of nearly $5 billion, more than 500,000 customers and one million systems installed worldwide.

Siemens Private Communication Systems has approximately 23,900 employees worldwide, about 5,900 at Siemens Rolm. Revenues from telecommunications and networking accounted for more than 20 percent of Siemens' worldwide sales of $61.6 billion in fiscal year 1994/1995.

CONTACT: Siemens Rolm

Anita Giani, 408/777-4546

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