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!              ESS History            !
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!  Courtesy of:                       !
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!       The Lost City of Atlantis     !
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!           <215>-<844>-<8836>        !
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!       35 MB - 2400 BAUD - CLOCK     !
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   OF ALL THE NEW 1960S WONDERS OF TELEPHONE TECHNOLOGY - SATELITES,ULTRA
MODERN TRAFFIC SERVICE POSITIONS (TSPS) FOR OPERATORS, THE PICTUREPHONE, AND
SO ON - THE ONE THAT GAVE BELL LABS THE MOST TROUBLE, AND UNEXPECTEDLY BECAME
THE GREATEST DEVELOPMENT EFFORT IN BELL SYSTEM'S HISTORY, WAS THE PERFECTION OF
AN ELECTRONIC SWITCHING SYSTEM, OR ESS.

   IT MAY BE RECALLED THAT SUCH A SYSTEM WAS THE SPECIFIC END IN VIEW WHEN THE
PROJECT THAT HAD CULMINATED IN THE INVENTION OF THE TRANSISTOR HAD BEEN
LAUNCHED BACK IN THE 1930S. AFTER SUCCESSFUL ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THAT PLANNED
MIRACLE IN 1947-48, FURTHER DELAYS WERE BROUGHT ABOUT BY FINANCIAL STRINGENCY
AND THE NEED FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRANSISTOR ITSELF. IN THE EARLY
1950S, A LABS TEAM BEGAN SERIOUS WORK ON ELECTRONIC SWITHCING. AS EARLY AS
1955, WESTERN ELECTRIC BECAME INVOLVED WHEN FIVE ENGINEERS FROM THE HAWTHORNE
WORKS WERE ASSIGNED TO COLLABORATE WITH THE LABS ON THE PROJECT. THE PRESIDENT
OF AT&T IN 1956, WROTE CONFIDENTLY, "AT BELL LABS, DEVELOPEMENT OF THE NEW
ELECTRONIC SWITCHING SYSTEM IS GOING FULL SPEED AHEAD. WE ARE SURE THIS WILL
LEAD TO MANY IMPROVEMENTS IN SERVICE AND ALSO TO GREATER EFFICIENCY. THE FIRST
SERVICE TRIAL WILL START IN MORRIS, ILL., IN 1959." SHORTLY THEREAFTER, KAPPEL
SAID THAT THE COST OF THE WHOLE PROJECT WOULD PROBABLY BE $45 MILLION.
 
   BUT IT GRADUALLY BECAME APPARENT THAT THE DEVELOPEMENT OF A COMMERCIALLY
USABLE ELECTRONIC SWITCHING SYSTEM -IN EFFECT, A COMPUTERIZED TELEPHONE
EXCHANGE - PRESENTED VASTLY GREATER TECHNICAL PROBLEMS THAN HAD BEEN
ANTICIPATED, AND THAT, ACCORDINGLY, BELL LABS HAD VASTLY UNDERESTIMATED BOTH
THE TIME AND THE INVESTMENT NEEDED TO DO THE JOB. THE YEAR 1959 PASSED
WITHOUT THE PROMISED FIRST TRIAL AT MORRIS, ILLINOIS; IT WAS FINALLY MADE
IN NOVEMBER 1960, AND QUICKLY SHOWED HOW MUCH MORE WORK REMAINED TO BE DONE.
AS TIME DRAGGED ON AND COSTS MOUNTED, THERE WAS A CONCERN AT AT&T AND SOMETHING
APPROACHING PANIC AT BELL LABS. BUT THE PROJECT HAD TO GO FORWARD; BY THIS TIME
THE INVESTMENT WAS TOO GREAT TO BE SACRIFICED, AND IN ANY CASE, FORWARD
PROJECTIONS OF INCREASED DEMAND FOR TELEPHONE SERVICE INDICATED THAT WITHIN A
FEW YEARS A TIME WOULD COME WHEN, WITHOUT THE QUANTUM LEAP IN SPEED AND
FLEXIBILITY THAT AN ELECTRONIC SWITCHING WOULD PROVIDE, THE NATIONAL NETWORK
WOULD BE UNABLE TO MEET THE DEMAND. IN NOVEMBER 1963, AN ALL-ELECTRONIC
SWITCHING SYSTEM WENT INTO USE AT THE BROWN ENGINEERING COMPANY AT COCOA BEACH,
FLORIDA. BUT THIS WAS A SMALL INSTALLATION, ESSENTIALLY ANOTHER TEST
INSTALLATION, SERVING ONLY A SINGLE COMPANY. KAPPEL'S TONE ON THE SUBJECT IN
THE 1964 ANNUAL REPORT WAS, FOR HIM, AN ALMOST APOLOGETIC:

"ELECTRONIC SWITCHING EQUIPMENT MUST BE MANUFACTURED IN VOLUME TO UNPRECEDENTED
 STANDARDS OF RELIABILITY.... TO TURN OUT THE EQUIPMENT ECONOMICALLY AND WITH
 GOOD SPEED, MASS PRODUCTION METHODS MUST BE DEVELOPED; BUT, AT THE SAME TIME,
 THERE CAN BE NO LOSS OF PRECISION..."

ANOTHER YEAR AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS LATER, ON MAY 30, 1965, THE FIRST
COMMERCIAL ELECTRIC CENTERAL OFFICE WAS PUT INTO SERVICE AT SUCCASUNNA,
NEW JERSEY.

   EVEN AT SUCCASUNNA, ONLY 200 OF THE TOWN'S 4,300 SUBSCRIBERS INITIALLY HAD
THE BENEFIT OF ELECTRONIC SWITCHING'S ADDED SPEED AND ADDITIONAL SERVICES,
SUCH AS PROVISION FOR THREE PARTY CONVERSATIONS AND AUTOMATIC TRANSFER OF
INCOMING CALLS. BUT AFTER THAT, ESS WAS ON ITS WAY. IN JANUARY 1966, THE SECOND
COMMERCIAL INSTALLATION, THIS ONE SERVING 2,900 TELEPHONES, WENT INTO SERVICE
IN CHASE, MARYLAND. BY THE END OF 1967 THERE WERE ADDITIONAL ESS OFFICES IN
CALIFORNIA, CONNECTICUT,MINNESOTA, GEORGIA, NEW YORK, FLORIDA,AND PENNSYLVANIA;
BY THE END OF 1970 THERE WERE 120 OFFICES SERVING 1.8 MILLION CUSTOMERS; AND BY
1974 THERE WERE 475 OFFICES SERVING 5.6 MILLION CUSTOMERS.

   THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL SWITCHING AND ELECTRONIC SWITCHING IS
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "HARDWARE" AND "SOFTWARE"; IN THE FORMER CASE,
MAINTENENCE IS DONE ON THE SPOT, WITH SCREWDRIVER AND PLIERS, WHILE IN THE CASE
OF ELECTRONIC SWITCHING, IT CAN BE DONE REMOTELY, BY COMPUTER, FROM A CENTERAL
POINT, MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE ONLY ONE OR TWO TECHNICIANS ON DUTY AT A TIME
AT EACH SWITCHING CENTER.
 
   THE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, WHEN THE FINAL FIGURES WERE ADDED UP, WAS FOUND TO
HAVE REQUIRED A STAGGERING FOUR THOUSAND MAN-YEARS OF WORK AT BELL LABS AND TO
HAVE COST NOT $45 MILLION BUT $500 MILLION!

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