History AE Crossbar switch? [telecom]

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In 1972, Automatic Electric offered a crossbar switch for smaller installations (up to 600 lines). AE claimed it was very economical yet full featured. It was actually built by Hitachi.

Brochures describing it may be found here:

Would anyone have experience working with that switch or being served by it?

I wonder if it was truly economical, and also how reliable it was actual service.

Thanks to Carterphone, Bell System customers could order switchgear from other suppliers. The Bell Labs history mentions this, although overall very few customers did so.

Personally, I don't think AE products were as well made as Western Electric equipment. I have some AE telephone sets and they don't sound as well as equivalent WE sets. But I don't know about switchgear. For a long time, AE was wedded to the Strowger switch.