Switchboard

Switchboard

Switchboard operator, this were telephone operators who used to connect long-distance calls. The switchboard operators existed before the emergence of modern technology. According to Omiya (2018), switchboard communication was the most effective way of communicating between people of long-distance. The operators used to connect the individuals on the telephone. This opportunity lead to the creation of employment for women to enter into a new sector in the work market. Women were associated with the switchboard because of their soft voice, and the image of beautiful young women in the switchboard become the trend on companies employing women to work on the switchboard operators.

The film called “The Life of a Telephone Operator in 1969,” the narrator explains how hard it was to work on a switchboard as an operator. The improvement in technology played a very vital role in eliminating the use of switchboards. Technology led to the introduction of telephone in the 1980s, making the use of switchboards obsolete. Modern technology enables connectivity of phone calls without using operators. The network allows phones to connect, people were able to make calls without using the switchboards, and many operators lost their jobs.

The change was gradual; the first telephone to be made could only operate on short distances. As technology changed, the communication industry also improved with the making of a new phone that required no labor to work, and people could connect even long-distance communication was also supported. The change has been gradually leading to the modern telephone, which is portable, access network with more privacy. The switchboard operation becomes obsolete after the emergence of new technology; the phone nowadays no longer need operators since modern telephones are easy to operate and require no specialized training.

Careers such as switchboard operators were redundant because technology led to the emergence of better communication methods. In the 1950s, switchboard operation was a leading job market for young women who had studied communication; they worked as front office attendants receiving the calls and directing the calls to the intended person. In the modern days, technology has led to obsolete on those careers switchboards no longer exist; the introduction of the internet has led to obsolete of the career of the operators since people can communicate globally through emails and phone calls. The invention of portable mobile phones replaced switchboards. Communication has been made easy by mobile phones since they are cheap to maintain and use; they do not require trained labor force like the switchboards,

Works Cited

AT&T Tech Channel. “The Life of a Telephone Operator 1969.” https://youtu.be/zX8RHeSuZZc, 9 Oct. 2012,

Omiya, T. (2018). U.S. Patent No. 9,973,631. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.