What’s New

Preserving a #5ESS Switch for Posterity

In June 2023, Telephone World was invited to participate in preserving a small #5ESS switch at a rural telephone company for posterity. This was no small feat as you can imagine! Check out the Preserving a #5ESS Switch for all the details and a TON of pictures!

A volunteer collective is setting up free pay phones in Philadelphia

An “amateur phone collective” in Philadelphia is working to bring back pay phones to the city – just without the actual payment. PhilTel, a volunteer organization that launched in June, is planning to open its first free-to-use payphone on December 17 at Iffy Books, a hacker-focused bookshop and workshop in the Center City district.

For more information, check out the CNN article here: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/04/us/philadelphia-pay-phones-philtel-trnd/index.html

Jenny I’ve got your number – 867-5309!

Most everyone knows of the song "867-5309/Jenny" from the early 80s. But did you ever wonder what would  happen if you were to dial 867-5309 in all the US and Canadian Area Codes? Check out the list that I've compiled and take a look at the various things you get when you call all of them!

A Phone Trip to Head Waters, Virginia (Northern Telecom Centurion)

In December 2021, I drove out to a very small rural town in western Virginia to check out a pay phone that is still in service and is central office controlled (not a COCOT). A very rare find in the United States in this day and age!

Pink Floyd’s Young Lust – Explained and Demystified

If you're a fan of Pink Floyd's Young Lust but are scratching you head as to all the beeps and boops you hear during the telephone call portion of the song - this article explains it all.

I've been meaning to write this article for a long time now, but waited until the site makeover was complete. Now I've finally gotten around to it. (grin)

The Beginning of the End of AT&T Operators Started in 1992

It's hard to imagine almost 30 years ago that the first Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems were coming online to eventually replace operators. In fact, AT&T no longer has an operators. At all! They got rid of them several years ago. This video came out in October 2021, but it was recorded back in 1992. So take a look to see the beginning of the end.

New Section – Various Virginia Telephone Recordings

Thanks to a contribution from a visitor, we have a new section - Various Virginia Telephone Recordings! Check it out!

The UK Speaking Clock

A great video on the UK Speaking Clock and its history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVeMNrwRO-A

The Old Days -Talkable Busy Signals

Evan Doorbell is mentioned in an article about talkable busy signals back in the old days where impromptu conferences were found.

https://onezero.medium.com/the-prototype-for-clubhouse-is-40-years-old-and-it-was-built-by-phone-hackers-71389d117cad

Site Updates – January 2021

We've just completed our move to the new site. We're making updates and additions as we go!

Many more things will be added to the site as we go along. I've been keeping a lot of things in storage waiting to develop a new site to hold them all. That time is just about here.

Enjoy the new site!

Recreating the Party Line Conference in 2021

Is there such a thing as a time machine? Not yet, but here's a modern take on the infamous impromptu conference calls and "party lines" of the past.

A novelty recreation of the old "party line" conference calls is now up and running as of Friday January 8, 2021. For more details and some recordings of the first night's activities, check out the Novelty PSTN Party Line Conference January 2021 page. And feel free to dial it yourself at 872-838-9983.

Site Updates – November 2020

Some updates to the site as we continue our transition from our old site to this one:

The pages for Cellular Phone History have been completed. The section discusses pre-cellular (with MTS and IMTS), AMPS, 2G, 3G, 4G and now 5G.

Check out the section at the Cellular Phone History section page.

Site updates – August 2020

Progress is being made with site updates, migrating the old site to the new one, and also adding new content.

Updates include the Links of Interest page and the Stories pages.

Website (re)construction in progress

Welcome to the new Telephone World! We are making a brand new site from scratch. If you were a user at the old site, you'll see most of that site being recreated here, and new things added. LOTS of updates need to be made!  So hold tight while the old site is being migrated over, page by page! Thanks!