Nortel Government Solutions history

With C.F. Sise as president, the company called its first general meeting of stockholders on March 24, 1896.

In 1901 Western Electric bought a stake in Wire & Cable.

By 1902 Northern Electric employed 250 people and occupied a 48,000-square-foot plant, which it leased from Bell Canada.

Soon after the war's end in 1945, Northern immediately began a flurry of construction to meet the expanding communications needs of Canada's growing communities.

1956: Under United States Justice Department consent decree, Western Electric agrees to divest its interest in Northern.

1958: Company forms Northern Electric Laboratories as an R & D arm.

1962: Bell Canada completes its purchase of shares held by Western Electric, and now owns 99.99 percent of Northern.

1964: Northern Electric becomes 100 percent owned by Bell Canada.

From 12 researchers in 1965, the product development team working on SP-1 grew to more than 100 by the end of the decade.

1973: Northern Electric goes public through an IPO, with Bell Canada retaining a 90.1 percent stake.

1976: Northern Electric changes its name to Northern Telecom Limited and introduces the first fully digital switch.

Although AT & T did not immediately authorize its affiliates to buy the switches, independent United States telephone companies quickly did, and by 1978 Northern's sales had jumped by 130 percent from the previous year.

1979: Bell Canada's stake in Northern has been reduced to 54.5 percent.

Stern's association with Northern began in April 1988 when the company elected him to its board of directors and to membership on the executive committee.

By 1990 one research firm estimated that the company held close to one-third of the United States market for the digital switches.

Soon after, it took a major step in that direction in January 1991 when it purchased STC PLC, a large British telecommunications company specializing in undersea cable for about US$2.6 billion.

The charge sparked the company's first quarterly loss in five years, and a 1993 full-year loss of US$884 million.

The new leadership also bolstered the R & D budget to nearly 15 percent of revenue, which amounted to US$1.58 billion in 1995.

1998: Bay Networks is acquired.