What did a switchboard operator do?
When someone made a phone call, the operators in the exchange would see a light come on above one of the sockets on the switchboard. She would plug a wire into the socket to receive the call and ask the caller which number they required. The operator would then call the person they wanted and, when they answered their phone, would plug the caller’s wire into the socket to which the receiver’s phone line was attached. Some of the major problems with this manual system were that as more people had phones, it required more operators, and the process was slower than directly dialling another person. The system was also not very private – operators could listen to phone conversations after they were connected without anyone noticing. Now most telephone systems are automated, replacing the many operators with electronics that connects callers. However the telephone operators of the past remain a special part of the history and development of the telephone network.
