🚀 go-pugleaf

On Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 4:52:45 AM UTC-4, Quadibloc wrote:

> > In _1954_ ? Are you serious? How backward was the US at that time?
> > Just wondering...
> 
> While it is true that automated telephone exchanges were introduced in the 1920s, 
> I'm sure that they started in the major cities. That rural areas still used 
> operator-assisted calling for local calls up until the 1950s in some cases does 
> not strike me as too unbelievable.

While the Bell System first automated a New York City exchange
in 1922, some rural areas were converted earlier, especially by
the Independent companies.  A very tiny village needed only a
part-time operator, and it was not cost-effective to pay
someone to sit 24/7 at a switchboard to handle occasional
calls.  (Indeed, in some places, the switchboard was in
the operator's house, and she or her daughters would answer
calls while doing other house chores.)

The last Bell Telephone manual exchange, on Santa Catalina Island,
was converted in the early 1980s.  I think some Independent
exchanges held on a little longer.

The following from the NYT should be viewable by anyone:
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/03/12/98782373.pdf

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/10/08/107071271.pdf

The capital cost of dial switchgear was very expensive; manual
switchboards were far cheaper.  Further, operators could be
economically added or subtracted per the demands of service, e.g.
only one operator during overnight hours.  Dial switchgear had to
be built to handle peak loads.

Also, maintenance staff needed more training to repair dial switchgear.

Lastly, especially in the early days, dial subscribers could only
call within their own town; anything beyond that still required an
operator.

Also, unlike today, Bell believed strongly in full human backup
in case there was an automation malfunction.