switchboard

    Article

    In the early days of the telephone, calls had to be connected manually by inserting two phone plugs into specific ports, one from the caller and one for the called, in a panel called the switchboard. Switchboards were located in central locations, and a system of phone lines was managed by a switchboard operator.

    Photo Credit

     
    "Telephone switchboard, 1975" by Joseph A. Carr is licensed under CC BY.

    Term Type
    References

     Borth, David E.
         N.d.   Telephone: The Telephone Network. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
             http://www.britannica.com/technology/telephone/The-telephone-network, accessed
             September 4, 2015.