Marketplace

What it was like working as a 411 operator before the internet

While attending Los Angeles City College in the 1960s, Lilith needed to find a part-time job. So, she applied for a position at Pacific Telephone Telegraph to work as an information operator. In the ...
CNET

Net phone operators reach E911 deadline

Marguerite Reardon started as a CNET News reporter in 2004, covering cellphone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate and the consolidation of the phone companies. The deadline ...
Marketplace

AI lessons from the telephone operators of the 1920s

The rise of generative AI — and ChatGPT in particular — has raised a lot of alarm bells in some industries worried that the technology could make many humans’ jobs obsolete. And those concerns are ...
NPR

Telephone operators of another era gather to reconnect

Before smartphones, landline telephones were the way most people kept in touch. And until direct dialing became common, a switchboard operator's assistance was often needed to help with long-distance ...
WBUR

At a recent reunion in Maine, former operators recall the pre-smartphone era working telephone switchboards

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 ...