115 simultaneous two-party conversations.The system provided 256 ports to support the following: This capability was used to set up connections between data terminals, word processors, personal computers, and host computers. And it not only provided the features of a state-of-the-art private branch exchange (PBX), but also allowed data to be switched point-to-point without first being converted to analog format. It was designed to meet the business communications needs of customers in the 30 to 150 station range.
Merlin project date us format plus#
Merlin Plus was expandable to up to eight lines and up to 20 phone extensions.įor larger installations, AT&T System 25 PBX was an advanced digital switching system that integrates voice and data communications. Later, the Merlin Plus created a system initially configured for four lines and 10 phone extensions with built in Feature Modules previously purchased as a separate module on the original 206, 410, 820, and 1030 control units. Later, there was a further 10-line, 30-telephone configuration, and with the addition of an expansion key service unit (KSU) the system could accommodate up to 30 lines and 70 telephones available (10 respectively). The Merlin system was originally sold in two-line, six-telephone (206) four-line, 10-telephone (410) and eight-line, 20-telephone (820) configurations. The Merlin was the first small electronic system, replacing the Com Key 416. Earlier Bell attempts at an electronic key system, such as Horizon and Dimension, were not as successful as were the much larger systems in fact, Dimension was a PBX. The system was designed at the beginning of the 1980s prior to the Bell System Divestiture as a modern electronic replacement for the dated electromechanical 1A2 Key System. After the breakup of AT&T in 1984, it was rebranded and later also supplied by Lucent and Avaya. AT&T Merlin five-button telephone (voice terminal) manufactured in early 1985ĪT&T Merlin is a corporate telephone system by American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) that was introduced in late 1983, when it was branded American Bell Merlin.