Chris Delling wrote "...the US is, IMHO, hopelessly behind in technology and
telephones. (followed by the usual distorted conservative slap at our
government :) ).
Not so Chris. The telephone was invented here (granted by a Scotch
immigrant, but that's what makes our country great), and the resultant
company's research and development arm has created the best telephone
technology in the world.
Cellular technology was invented by Bell Labs and trialed in Chicago in
1986. Lucent Technologies (Bell Labs Innovations) is the biggest seller of
cellular switches in the US, and is presently working on the rest of the
world. Service providers are constantly swapping out our competitor's
equipment for ours.
In addition, the 5ESS switch, the one that gives you dial tone when you pick
up your phone was reported to be the world's most dependable switch in a
government study. Because of this we are spoiled by instant dial tone when
we pick up our phones, and have a lot of features not generally available in
other countries. Since I am not in 5ESS, I don't know about sales of that
switch, but when Ameritech lost a major switch in a fire, they turned to us
to get them back on line in as short a time as possible.
As for radios, as an Amateur Radio Operator I see that almost all of the
equipment is made in Japan. However, most Hams would agree that Motorola,
who's only ham product is a hand held 2 meter unit, is superior to the
Japanese product. In fact many Hams will put up with limiting their
frequencies to a few converted crystal controlled Motorola business rigs,
rather than the general coverage Japanese rigs. Oh, and by the way, the
technology was started by the Bell Lab's invention of the transistor.
I hope this is sounds like a defense of US technology, and not a flame. I
just happen to be employed by Lucent in the Wireless Business Unit. So,
while I do have an interest, the above knowledge is more of a sign of my
pride in my company. ( I can't believe I said that)! Oh, and by the way, the
people who put their money where their moth is have increased the value of a
Lucent share from the $28 Initial Public Offering, to the equivalent of over
$160.
Whew, sorry to be so long.
Jack
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