The Traffic Service Position System (TSPS) was developed by

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

to replace traditional cord switchboards. The first TSPS was deployed in 1969 and used the

Stored Program Control Stored program control (SPC) is a telecommunications technology for telephone exchanges. Its characteristic is that the switching system is controlled by a computer program stored in a memory in the switching system. SPC was the enabling technolog ...

-1A CPU, "Piggyback"

twistor memory Twistor memory is a form of computer memory formed by wrapping magnetic tape around a current-carrying wire. Operationally, twistor was very similar to core memory. Twistor could also be used to make ROM memories, including a re-programmable form ...

(a proprietary technology developed by

similar to core memory) and Insulated Gate Field Effect Transistor solid state memory devices similar to

dynamic random access memory Dynamic random-access memory (dynamic RAM or DRAM) is a type of random-access semiconductor memory that stores each bit of data in a memory cell, usually consisting of a tiny capacitor and a transistor, both typically based on metal-oxid ...

Features

The TSPS system utilized special

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

trunks that originated at Class 5 end office circuit switch systems and Class 4 toll access circuit switch systems that were connected to Class 3 primary toll circuit switch systems such as the 4A-ETS/PBC and

4ESS switch The No. 4 Electronic Switching System (4ESS) is a class 4 telephone electronic switching system that was the first digital electronic toll switch introduced by Western Electric for long-distance switching. It was introduced in Chicago in Januar ...

systems. The TSPS system did not perform switching between the originating end office switch and the toll switch for the subscriber voice path. The TSPS system included the "Remote Trunking Arrangement" (RTA) feature that consolidated the trunk connection at the originating switch and provided a switched connection to a telephone operator only as required for a short duration at the beginning of a call to obtain billing information or at the end of a call in which the caller requested "time and charges". The TSPS system provided a temporary switched connection to a toll operator who helped facilitate calls requiring human assistance such as person-to-person, collect, third-party-billed, and hotel billing. The TSPS system supported up to seven "Chief Operator Groups" (COGs) with each COG supporting up to 31 operator consoles. Operator consoles initially used

nixie tube A Nixie tube ( ), or cold cathode display, is an electronic device used for displaying numerals or other information using glow discharge. The glass tube contains a wire-mesh anode and multiple cathodes, shaped like numerals or other symbols ...

displays that were quickly replaced by

light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...

displays due to reliability issues. The TSPS system was replaced by the Operator Service Position System (OSPS) feature package developed for the 5ESS switching system. During the era of TSPS systems, calls to mobile and marine radiotelephone customers were initially handled by operators at a Special Operator Service Treatment cord switchboard. Operator assisted calls to international destinations were handled by "Code 10" and "Code 11" operators generally co-located at special gateway international switching systems.

Hotel Billing Information System

The TSPS system included the ''Hotel Billing Information System'' (HoBIS) special feature to provide automated billing of

long-distance call In telecommunications, a long-distance call (U.S.) or trunk call (also known as a toll call in the U.K. ) is a telephone call made to a location outside a defined local calling area. Long-distance calls are typically charged a higher billing rate ...

s from hotel front desks so guests could be charged for calls made almost immediately prior to their departure. Private

Teletype A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations. Initia ...

data links were provisioned to large

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

s that subscribed to this service.

Automated Coin Toll System

Debuted in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

in 1977 the ''Automated Coin Toll System'' (ACTS) was an addition to TSPS which provided an automated way to perform charge advisory and toll collection of coin paid calls, reducing the need for operator involvement. The ACTS sub-system handled the automated voice announcements, e.g. "Please deposit five cents for the next three minutes" (initially voiced by

Jane Barbe Jane Barbe ( ; July 29, 1928 – July 18, 2003) was an American voice actress and singer. She was known as the "Time Lady" for the recordings she made for the Bell System and other phone companies. The ubiquity of her recordings eventually made he ...

, and later

Pat Fleet Pat Trumble Fleet is an American voice actress. Widely recognized for the tens of thousands of recordings she has made for US telephone companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Qwest, the former Bell System companies, and others since 1981, she is still m ...

), and worked with TSPS for coin deposit (start of call) coin collection/coin return (at end of call).

References

External links

AT&T Archives - TSPS Operator Recruiting Film

1977 Bell System commercial ending with TSPS operator
From

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

.
ATIS definition

Telephone World - AT&T Automated Coin Toll System

* , Amos E. Joel, Jr., Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ * , Richard Orriss, Bell Laboratories Columbus, OH * {{US patent, 4197430, US Patent #4,197,430 for "Operator Service Position System", Douglas C. Dowden, Bell Laboratories, Columbus, OH History of the telephone