Telefonisten

Telefonisten, or telephone operator, is a historical term for a person who operated a telephone switchboard, connecting calls and routing lines within a telephone exchange. The profession emerged with the spread of telephone networks in the late 19th century and was essential to establishing connections before automatic switching. Operators typically worked in central offices, hotel switchboards, or at business premises, listening to callers, identifying numbers, and physically connecting circuits by manipulating patch cords on a switchboard.

Typical duties included answering directory inquiries, placing long-distance or international calls on request, directing calls to extensions, and sometimes providing information or assistance to callers. In many countries, switchboard work became a stable clerical occupation and, during the early to mid-20th century, was disproportionately performed by women, reflecting the labor patterns of the era.

With the development of automatic and, later, digital switching, the traditional manual operator role declined in most regions. Today the term is largely historical in ordinary telephony, though it persists in specialized settings such as hotel or hospital switchboards, or in organizations that maintain private exchanges. In modern contexts, duties are usually performed by call-center agents or automated systems, using computer-telephony integration, voice menus, and customer relationship management tools. The concept remains a useful historical reference for how early telephone networks were operated.