LSI yields high reliability: Cost and size of telephone-interface equipment shrinks, while IC designs displace electromechanical versions

Semiconductor technology in the telephone industry is having its greatest impact on switching equipment. This is having far-reaching implications for both the telephone industry and the semiconductor industry. On the one hand, telephone switching equipment promises to become smaller, cheaper, more reliable, and less costly to maintain. It will make it possible to offer more services. On the other hand, the semiconductor manufacturer must change his way of thinking from that of a component supplier to that of a subsystems supplier. He must be aware of the functions his products will perform in the customer's equipment.