Disruptive Telephony

Started off this morning getting a great laugh out of this classic 1954 Bell System video tweeted out by Larry Cannell. Amazing to think back to the time when the system was changing from just picking up the phone and speaking with an operator to a new system where you "dialed" the phone.

Really the start of the self-service automation of the phone network that we take for granted today.

Fascinating to see the glimpses, too, of the "internal networks" as they "pulled the fuses" from the manual systems and flipped switches on the dial systems. I love the guys pointing a "Go!" finger at the teams to make the transitions!

Of course, you have to wonder how many young people growing up today in the United States have even seen a true rotary dial phone! (We who used them should write down some of our memories before they are forgotten...)

Anyway, enjoy this window into a different time:

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