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vital in The SP-i tor teiepnone comit nasn't exactly all happened pany exchanges and the SG-1 in Belleville, but it would be difboth handled telephone traffic in ficult to find another community the form of analog signals, the of this size that has made a traditional format for voice greater contribution to the communication. If practical evolution of today's high and economic equipment for the technology products that power transmission and switching of the emerging irrformatijn age. digital signals could be Since the introduction of the developed, all forms of informa- Sl-1 in 1975, the range of digital tion and communications - in- |PABXs manufactured at eluding voice and other audio I Belleville has been expanded. signals, text, graphic, visual irn- The latest in this line is the ages, and computerized data -- j SL-1S, and designed to handle could be handled in a common I from 30 to 120 lines. The SL format. Essentially all informs ! family of private branch extion and communication equip- changes thus now cover a range ment could be designed to speak from 30 to 100,000 lines. (The the same language of digital digital switches for telephone bits, and to process and com- company exchanges can handle municate information in any up to 300,000 lines). form. The global telephone Another digital switch made system could be transformed in- at Belleville, the SL-10, is one of to a telecommunications the most advanced package system. switches, which communicate In December, 1975, Northern data in blocks or "packets" thus Telecom announced the world's eliminating the need for first fully digital PABX, offer- separate lines dedicated to «aeh ing simultaneous voice and data user. switching to meet the needs of Yesterday, the global business firms and such other telephone network plugged in organizations as hospitals, half a billion telephones. Today, universities, police and fire the telecommunications netdepartments, government agen- work has added to this millions cies, and military forces. The of business machines: comnew PABX was called SL-1, and it was to be manufactured in puters, word processors, : automatic bank teller machines, Belleville. machines, In 1976, Northern Telecom an- t e l e t y p e nounced the world's first digital Display phones, and others. exchanges for telephone com- Tomorrow, millions of home panies, its DMS line of central units are likely to be added: j office switches. The DMS swit- personal computers, two-way ches and the SL family of inter-active teletex systems private branch exchanges made such as Teledon, television, and Northern Telecom the world's even stereo FM radio broadfirst supplier of a full range of casts. The covergence of comdigital telecommunications puters, telecommunications, and television has been widely equipment and systems. To date, Northern Telecom perceived as leading to a social has invested more than $1 billion and economic revolution more in research and development to sweeping than anything else expand and enhance its telecom- since the industrial revolution. munication equipment, and is Telecom has meant the largest investing close to $300 million a year in continuing R and D single source f of employment th work. A lot of this stems from th e economin prize the establishment of the electronics division in Belleville 35 years ago, and the R and D lab North America, a , hish technology industry; and the that shared premises with a simulating challenge Tf Belleville optical company. It was the precursor of BellBelleville traces its historv Northern Research, Canada's back nearly two centuries, to the largest industrial research Unite Empire Loyalists who fled organization (owned 70-30 by to the Bay of Quinte on Lake OnNorthern Telecom Limited and tario from the former colony of Bell Canada), as well as Nor- New York after the American thern Telecom's own R and D revolution, to retain theSng facilities at more than a score of allegiance to the British Crown its manufacturing plants: R and D continues to be an important function at Belleville, where some 250 people are engaged in the design and development of new products. ESS* r <':TM« i 223