Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!texsun!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: goldstein@delni.enet.dec.com Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Memories of SxS Message-ID: Date: 13 Sep 89 14:52:16 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation, Littleton MA USA Lines: 29 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 378, message 5 of 9 In article , kenr@bbn.com (Ken Rossen) writes... >But in the (still relatively rural) area of Massachusetts between >Worcester and the Quabbin and stretching all the way from the CT to NH >lines, SxSs are the exception, rather than the rule. They all have >five-digit dialing, and many (as in my town) will accept four digits >within the exchange. That's backwards, and I think you meant to say it right: SxS is the rule in that area. New England Tel is (wisely) phasing out crossbar much faster than it's phasing out SxS. The latter ages more gracefully! Only steppers generally accept abbreviated dialing. >In general, New England Telephone seems to have made better progress >migrating New Hampshire to ESS than Massachusetts; remaining SxSs in >the southern half of NH tend to be privately-, even family-owned (as >in Chichester). They're saying all-electronic by 1992, but many of >the towns in Worcester County and much of 413 has yet to be done. I >only know of one SxS conversion in Mass. in my four years in New >England, and that's Pepperell (508/433, I'm sure there are a few >others). Not exactly a breakneck pace. As of 1/1/89, NET had 96 steppers left in Mass., about a third of their offices and about 7 1/2% of lines. NH had 55 steppers, 45% of offices and 12 1/2% of lines. Maine had 100 steppers, 71% of offices and almost a third of lines. That includes a lot of replacement work done in the past four years! Most of Worcester County is due for upgrade in 1990, though. Middlesex County (closer in to Boston) is pretty much out of steppers now; Littleton upgraded in 1986.