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 ...

The operator is going off the hook for millions of customers, CNN reported. Starting in January, AT&T customers with digital landlines won't be able to dial 411 or 0 to reach an operator or get ...

There used to be a lot of telephone operators in America. And now hardly any. When there were hundreds of thousands rather than just a couple of thousand, it was the work of women — and demanding work ...

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 ...