Switchboard operators could be out of a job and their headsets thrown away if an automatic call transferring system from Telephonetics catches on. Its virtual operator answers a call, asks who the ...

Mike Lazer-Walker has repurposed a 1927 Western Electric 551-A switchboard into a hectic game that tasks players with quickly learning the obsolete job. “Hello, Operator!,” although controlled by a ...

Decades after retiring, women who once operated the switchboard at Ma Bell still keep a strong connection — to each other and their past. Nearly 50 retired operators gathered Friday afternoon in ...

Before smartphones, most people kept in touch using landline telephones. And before direct dialing was common, some calls were handled by switchboard operators. During the 1950s, more than 220,000 ...