- 2022
- Apr
- 19
My 1996 group photo from Lucent Technologies.
I found this photograph with the Audio Baton photographs, and thought I’d share. This is a group photo of the OS/Other area at the Columbus Works, just as the facility was moving to Lucent Technologies from AT&T.
OS/Other was the area where Craft Access (telephone system test equipment) was built, tested, and repaired. We had a wide range of products, including:
- MLT-II, Mechanized Loop Test
- DCTU, Directly Connected Test Unit
- CAROT, Centralized Automated Reporting on Trunks
- TNC, Telemetry Network Controller
- GTP, General Telemetry Processor
- ARSB, Automated Repair Service Bureau
- J1x frames of various types
- A lot of other stuff I’ve forgotten
It was a fascinating area to be thrown into, the age and type of equipment was a who’s who from the bygone ages of telephone switching equipment. To the best of my knowledge, most of the product lines were EOL’d, with some like the DCTU being sent to another location (DCTU went to the Kansas City Works) before being EOL’d at that location.
I have to say I miss working with the people there, and the equipment we had. Just the sheer scale of the operation made it something special, and I’ve always wondered if there is any place like that left today. Who knows, I guess.
