[GreenKeys] Bell Labs - Science and Innovation

[DR HOUSE]

Larry DeSoto has come close to reality.

Bell Labs was part of the Bell System but so was Teletype Corporation.
Both of these so-called subsidiaries operated as independent companies.

This arrangement allowed for much simpler accounting and customer focus.
Similarly Western Electric was funded by it's customers, not just by  
telephone bills.
One former Bell entity that still comes close to it's original purpose  
is Sandia Labs.

A major portion of the systems on our U.S. Navy P2V Neptune was  
developed
by Bell Labs and manufactured by Western Electric.  These two companies
also supported the submarine service and the monitoring of most of the  
oceans
and seas in the world.

The bottom line here is that the cost of the telephone call did not  
pay for most
of the important work of Bell Labs.  You have to include the DOD,  
NASA, CIA,
NSA and others who paid their share.

It is also interesting to note that by January of 1983, over 70  
percent of equipment
purchased by Illinois Bell, then the largest revenue generator in the  
Bell System,
was purchased from companies other than Western Electric. We pretty  
much used
WECo for stocking, distribution and repair of older systems.  WECo  
also had much
expertise in installation and maintenance.

After divestiture expertise was thrown out the window and the lowest  
bidder or a
minority contractor had to be selected for installation and  
maintenance.  This led
to doubling the technical support forces within the operating  
companies and also
led to the major central office fire at the Hinsdale, Illinois toll  
center.

Bell Labs was a real bargain when you remember the pure science and  
ultimate
discoveries made at the Labs.  A good book is Bell Labs... Life in the  
Crown Jewel.

I was part of the Bell System and am very proud of my Bell service,  
second
only to my service to our country in the U.S. Navy.

Don R House
Communications Serviceman - Special Services
Data Test Center Foreman
Special Service Circuit Designer
Data Transmission Engineer
Network Systems Engineer
Senior Technical Manager
Senior Member Technical Staff
Now Retired...