AT&T Archives: How Did You Do That?

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How Did You Do That? 1977

Back in 1977, when the Bell System had just started to install electronic switching systems, or ESS, it made possible a few advances that we think of as either routine, standard, or already eclipsed by more modern technology. These were:

1. Call Waiting
2. Call Forwarding
3. Threeway Calling (conference calling, limited to 3 people)
4. Speed Calling (i.e. speed dial)

This film, guided by three very 1970s ladies, shows how adding these elements to the basic functions of one's phone could extend a whole range of freedoms to one's lifestyle, should the user master the methods. It's hard to imagine a telephone or cell phone without call waiting--though the other developments aren't as necessary to modern digital lifestyles. But at the time, these were novel improvements on communications, and an essential addition of services to one's phone line.

Footage courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center, Warren, NJ

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