Manufacturing was by ITT's subsidiaries such as BTM in Belgium, where the first production system was installed at Brecht in August 1982.
[5] Initial sales, particularly in Europe and Mexico, were strong, but the new system took longer than expected to integrate, with further losses.
[6] Against the advice of headquarters, ITT Telecommunications (ITT Kellogg) in Raleigh, North Carolina undertook the conversion to the US market,[7] and although sales were announced in 1984[8] and 1985,[9] the attempt ultimately failed, in early 1986.
[4][10] Fortune reported that "Araskog focused the company on an all-consuming push to develop and market System 12" and "shoveled profits from good businesses into System 12's insatiable maw".
[11] System 12 was intended to operate in all markets, and in all modes, from local switches to long distance.