5963 computer grade dual triode production dates 3502

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SS7 was already in deployment in major toll centers by '90. I was involved in that regarding international trunking of Pacific Rim countries from an INTELSAT Clbutt A earth station to various 4ESS switches in California.

Not really. The POTS user wasn't really affected for the better by SS7 deployment. The big change for them was the move of toll switching from 4A crossbar to 4ESS machines and the move of trunks off of FM radio and coaxial cable onto lightwave. That difference was huge in the '80s.

Quality doesn't matter to dumb consumers. If it did, there would be very few cellular customers who were happy with their service. Now, hosed up transmission, dropped called, and all the usual cell phone garbage is somehow "normal." If it were happening in the regulated era, PUCs and the FCC would have been overflowing with complaints.

You're talking to someone who's actually been in the AT&T NOC in Bedminster. They know a LOT about what each switch is doing, trust me on this. Of course, the compebreastors, MCI (now VZ) and those other losers haven't got a clue until there's a major failure. The Loma Prieta earthquake in 1987 made it abundently clear that MCI was somewhat of a fraud. Not only did all their switches fail, but their "NOC" had no clue as to how to reroute traffic. Even after the Oakland toll center was condemned, the 4ESS kept right on putting traffic through, although in simplex mode.

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