Infotron was founded on September 11, 1968 by Stan Hunkins in the basement of his home in Cherry Hill, NJ, just two miles from Infotron's ultimate corporate headquarters.
In the beginning, Stan would lay out engineering schematics in the laundry room and used to joke that the first three employees were actually "the washer, the dryer . . . and me!"
The spiritual founder was Joe Andrews. Joe first contacted Stan during a Hunkins family vacation in Las Vegas, urging him to start a company.
While Stan was at Ultronics, George Hernan (then, Ultronics' VP, Engineering) complained
that, after two years of studies, white papers, memos, etc., a specification for
a new stock-quote desk unit was still not forthcoming.
Stan told George that he could do it in two months if he could have a volunteer team whose participation would be in addition to their usual duties. George and Bob Sinn (Ultronics' President) were incredulous, but agreed that Stan could try.
Six weeks later, the specification was complete and the detailed design well underway. Joe Andrews represented marketing on the team, Tom Coombs and Frank Seracki were the designers.
Later, the team members all agreed that they'd like more experiences like this one. So Stan told Joe he would start a company if Jim Hahn (not on the original team) would join them. Jim agreed. (Tom C. and Frank S. soon joined Ken Asquith and founded DataMedia.)
So, the founders of Infotron were Joe Andrews, Jim Hahn and Stan Hunkins. Tony Barbaro, also at Ultronics, was brought on by Jim.
Later, Brooks Carll replaced Joe Andrews. Sheila Owen started as the receptionist. Jim Hahn recruited Tim Mullen, who in turn recruited his brother Dave.
When the company outgrew Stan's basement (We haven't heard from anyone who has an exact date.) the company moved to new quarters at 7300 Crescent Blvd., Pennsauken, NJ.
Prior to the Supreme Court's "Carterphone" decision of 1968, private
companies could not attach their equipment directly to AT&T
phone lines without using interface equipment purchased from AT&T.
Immediately after this ruling, several communications industry
stalwarts began operations, including Timeplex, General Data Communications
(GDC), and Codex. Infotron began manufacturing multiplexers. The
only prospects with a real need for these devices were larger
companies. Organizations which not only had the money to purchase
mainframe computers, but also had operations which demanded the
ability to move information on a real-time basis.
Teletype machines running at 110 bits per second (bps) were the
original application for Infotron's first multiplexer, the TimeLine
110 (TL110). In 1971, the TL240, a descendant of the TL110, was
developed to provide an economical means of interfacing large
numbers of asynchronous terminals to mainframe computers.
In the early 1970s, customers expressed the need for switching
capabilities in their private networks. Accordingly, development
began on the TL450, a port selector that was one of the industry's
earliest switching systems for private networks. At that time,
however, there was a limited market for such products.
In 1974, Infotron had grown to about 50 employees and released
for sale the TL280. Designed specifically for use in AT&T's
Dataphone Digital Service (DDS), the TL280 took one 64,000 bps
(voice-grade) communications channel and divided (time division
multiplexed) it into as many as 24 discrete lower-speed channels
for data transmission. AT&T actually tariffed the TL280 and
sold it themselves. (More on the TL280.)
In 1976, the TL280 would be complemented by the introduction of
the TL290, a four-channel time division multiplexer designed specifically
to multiplex synchronous data for AT&T's DDS customers.(More on the TL290.)
Through 1975, the TL240 was the mainstay of the Infotron product
line. It was capable of multiplexing up to 162 inputs with speeds
up to 9,600 bps, onto a single communications line running at
speeds up to 19,200 bps.
While relatively expensive, the TL240
had a reputation as one of the most reliable networking products
on the market. It was known as the "Cadillac" of the
industry and helped Infotron build a reputation for high-quality
products.
In 1976, the next stage of Infotron's growth was triggered by
the introduction of the commercially-available microprocessor.
Infotron was a pioneer in the use of microprocessors in communications
products.
By this time, the TL240 (It was now equipped with redundant
power supplies and logic modules.) had evolved into the "Rolls
Royce" of multiplexers. During this same period, the TL240
was modified into a more economical version called the TL180.
The TL180 had fewer standard features, but helped Infotron even
more popular in the multiplexer market. (More on the TL180.) Infotron
doubled its customer base in both 1975 and 1976.
Infotron installed the first TL780 in November 1976, at National
CSS, in New England. Two competitors had launched similar products earlier
that year.
But the TL780 had a big advantage—TL780 logic modules
could be used to replace the TL180 logic modules. This meant existing
TL180 customers could upgrade the networks from conventional to
smart (statistical) multiplexing by simply replacing a few logic
modules. (More on the TL780.)
During this same time, Infotron also developed its first network
test equipment—Infotester (TE600). The Infotester was first used
in 1974 by Infotron final test technicians and later released
for sale to customers. It tested multiplexers, modems, both synchronous
and asynchronous, as well as ports and some terminals.
This set of products carried Infotron to the end of 1978, when
Infotron turned its attention to the rapidly-emerging minicomputer
market.
Independent studies identified a requirement for an economical
4- or 8-channel asynchronous multiplexer. Engineering developed
a four-channel product that had an optional four-channel expansion
module.
A competition was held within the company to name the
new product and the Supermux 480 (SM480) was born. (More on the SM480.)
Infotron could now meet the needs of both small (using the 4- or 8-channel
SM480) and large (using the TL780 with as many as 54 channels) networks. Completing
the product line was the mid-range, 32-channel Supermux 680 (SM680).
Introduced in June 1979, the SM680 handled both synchronous and
asynchronous data, but had no redundancy. It was designed to compete
with popular Timeplex products. The year was 1980, and Infotron now had a
complete line of point-to-point multiplexer products. (More on the SM680.)
The next step was combining all three products (SM480,
SM680 and TL780) into an integrated networking solution. The spring
of 1980 saw the introduction of the Supermux 790 (SM790)—the first
networking multiplexer on the market—with no serious competition
until 1982!
The success of the SM790 helped Infotron become known as "THE Stat Mux Company." Sales
of the SM790 soared and the term "790" became the generic
name for networking multiplexers—like "Kleenex" for tissues,
or "Jello" for gelatin.
The SM790 could be configured
in point-to-point, multipoint-to-point, and multinode networks,
supporting SM480, SM680, and TL780 nodes as remote feeders. (See
the SM790 brochure.)
Through 1983 and 1984, the SM790 was enhanced to include terminal-activated
switching (i.e., users could select their own destinations), alternate
routing (i.e., if a network path failed, another would automatically
be used), and a PC-based, graphical user interface.
These features were implemented via a logic module called the
"Intelligent Device" (ID) and the 990 Network Processor
(990NP) was created. At the same time, the SM790 was renamed the
790 Network Concentrator (790NC).
Just as the earlier TL240
was repackaged into the more economical TL180, the 790NC and 990NP
were also made available as the more economical 792NC and 992NP.
In the mid-1980s, the SM480 and the SM680 were redesigned and
released as the SM380 and SM616/SM632. Infotron also announced
Advanced Network Integration (ANI), a concept that defined Infotron's
view of networkingproviding customers with a smooth migration
to future networking products and their enhancements.
The 790NC/792NC
and 990NP/992NP series continued to lead the market into the late
1980s.
Evolving at this same time was Infotron's network switching capability.
In March 1982, Infotron introduced the Intelligent Switching System
4000 (ISS4000). With the capacity for 4,000 input/outputs (I/O),
it was the largest capacity switch on the market. (See the Telecommunications Magazine
article.)
In 1985, the ISS4000 was re-packaged into three separate products
to address three specific markets: the asynchronous data PBX market
as the INX4400; the synchronous matrix switching market as the
INX4200; and the growing T1 networking market as the INX4600.
The INX4600 built on Infotron's earlier point-to-point T1 multiplexer—the
InfoStream 1500. In conjunction with these products, network management
evolved into the more powerful, workstation-based Integrated Network
Management (INM) system.
In 1988, Infotron celebrated its 20th anniversary.
That same year, in an effort to keep pace with the trend toward
PC- and local area network (LAN)-based networking, Infotron released
the LanSpan and the Commix32.
Infotron also began to supplement
the product line with equipment from other manufacturers (OEM),
with products such as the SL45 T3 multiplexer and the SL45, an
X.25 packet switch.
In 1989, the ANI concept was updated and re-named "StreamLine."
The StreamLine philosophy described Infotron's total network solution.
StreamLine began with Infotron's full line of products—from the
smallest multiplexer to the largest switching system. Infotron
also had the network management system to integrate and control
them all from a centralized command console.
But a networks also require more sophisticated service and support
capabilities. To this end, Infotron offered InfoPlan—the most detailed
computer-based network modeling package on the market, including
such services as line pricing, circuit design, network design,
and network performance analysis.
In addition, Infotron partnered
with Transpoint, enabling customers to obtain communications lines
and equipment all from a single source—Infotron. By 1989, Infotron
had a network of factory-trained subsidiaries and distributors
supporting users in 57 countries around the world and around the
clock!
