I read a book a long time ago about AT&T Bell Labs. I think it may have been "Three Degrees Above Zero", but I am not sure now.
Something that impressed me a great deal at that time was the testing that AT&T used to do with utility poles, to ensure that it withstands the vagaries of nature and time in all types of climatic zones.
Everything was designed to last 40 years. That's why the last electromechanical switch installations were not torn out until 1995. They were old, but functional, as designed.
Do you see hardware today being designed to these specs? A company investing in 40 year quality equipment would quickly be brought under new management, since they clearly are not focused on maximizing returns for this quarter.
Bell Labs was spun off from AT&T into Lucent 20 years ago. A shell of its former self is now owned by Nokia, by way of a variety of mergers and acquisitions.
Something that impressed me a great deal at that time was the testing that AT&T used to do with utility poles, to ensure that it withstands the vagaries of nature and time in all types of climatic zones.