Questions: What happened to TSPS consoles? (internal link to image) What do current directory assistance consoles look like? Does directory assistance use dedicated hardware? Or is it all PC based?

Answer: (From J.R. Snyder J.R.) TSPS? It's being discontinued. Nortel says so in their usual corporate speak. See:

http://www.nortelnetworks.com/products/

announcements/eol2002b/collateral/md_nsd_tops_notif.pdf (external link)

What you saw at Roseville Telephone Company, Tom, was probably IWS or Intelligent Work Stations. I must add here, just because that's the way I am, that the full name of IWS is an oxymoron and yes it's a Windows app. In any case IWS is a multi-use (word?) system that depending on the software loaded can be used by operators, customer service reps, and repair call handlers and I suppose more. In Britain the equivalent is O2, which is why Andrew Roberts quit, because International operators use it also. Nortel has some conflicting information on another URL at it's web site, except that it basically appears that Volt www.volt.vom (external link) is just another call center contractor that probably uses Nortel's TOPS.

http://www.nortelnetworks.com/

corporate/news/newsreleases/2004b/06_11_04_romulus.html (external link)

Editor's note. Another reader contributes this paragraph:

"Most all work stations are still tied to a central system and look more like 'dumb terminals'. Some use PCs as the interface but most are dedicated work stations. Volt Delta is a DA/DQ (directory assistance/directory enquiry) platform vendor that also offers a national US database. With or without their system. They have purchased Nortel's Directory and Operator Service operations. A few years ago Nortel shuttered the operation, rather than selling it, irking their best customers, immediately evacuating all talent in that division and basically creating the perfect storm: everyone lost. The whole scheme was ill conceived and their decision now to sell these assets to Volt is a great relief to their customers and the 160 souls left plugging away in that resource starved organization."

Now, back to J.R.'s remarks:

Since I left OIS a long time ago and a close friend who worked in the department for 30 years recently passed away, I don't know much about the current situation. My guess is contract carriers use a "cheap" version of TOPS for DA and operator calls for wireless carriers and long distance carriers and cable companies that have gone into the local phone business (e.g. Voicestream, MCI or Comcast cable).

A little history if your inquirer is interested:

Divestiture was the basic demise of TSPS, although I believe AT&T still uses it in a few locations. The crux of the matter was, although the Consent Decree said nothing about AT&T being able to handle RBOCs "dial 0" and 0+INTRALATA calls, they were pigheaded and refused to negotiate reasonable contracts with them. This meant RBOCS had to figure out how to deal with these calls including DA and OCC "dial 0" calls, which had been mandated to the RBOCS. Reference my earlier comments to you about Judge Green.

Northern Electric, come Northern Telecom and now Nortel, was way ahead of Bell Labs with a TSPS type console position. Two Independent Toll Centers in Arizona had them up and running (not a 'trial system') by 1970, although they were still somewhat manual. A lot of calls still had to be "ticketed and timed" (for instance, pay phones). Even so, places as diverse as Las Vegas, Hinesville (GA), Greenwood (SC), Fort Walton Beach (FL), Blythe (CA), the Chicago suburbs CENTEL handled were converted and Rochester Tel in NY and Lincoln Tel in NE were partially manned with these positions. TSPS was studied to death by Bell Labs, probably to lengthen the careers of those working on the project, which is why TSPS had such a short practical use life span.

Having said that, it put Northern Telecom, which relocated from Canada to The Research Triangle in NC in the 70's, way ahead of the game. They had leaped past consoles and were well into a multi-function CRT and keyboard system, which was of course TOPS. Between 1984-1986 RBOCS (as many Independents had already done) rapidly built or converted existing Toll and DA offices with TOPS to handle "dial 0", 0+INTRALATA and 411 calls for RBOCS. They found that a lot of their "dial 0" calls were for MCI, etc. and decided to just dumped them into the carriers 10XXX+0 pool. It was costly and a free service for the new freeloading carriers, who of course had demanded Divestiture but were ill equpped and ill prepared for everything that being a telecom entailed. Such is life: "What's done is done and cannot be undone."

U S WEST invested in TOPS and then I know U S WEST started having a serious decline in call volume in the late 80's because they discovered they could refuse to take those [OCC] calls, the OCC were taking their own call and contracted companies were doing DA. So USWC closed almost all of their operator offices and relocated what was left to Eugene OR, Pueblo, CO, Bismark ND and Helena MT for low labor costs and overhead.

However, a new phenonmenon occurred in Operator Services towards the end while this big upheaval was going on. It was called "Agent Services" and I'm still not sure what they do exactly. I know in Arizona on a wireless phone and in most wireline Qwest cities and Independent areas "611" gets you to a person who basically is the switchboard of the company. They also answer basic billing and product information questions to relieve the Business Offices (ugh) and Repair Call Handling Centers (like "how do I turn off my call forwarding?") for routine requests.

("Excell Agent Services (external link) is a Phoenix-based DA/DQ wholesale operation providing services primarily to large corporations, although they do have some wireless business. Excell Agent Services competes with MetroOne and InfoNXX.")

Around this time also was the advent of "National Directory Assistance" (a flop) which included connecting the caller to the number looked up for a fee. In Arizona both Agent calls and "operator" calls are handled at the same position in a former decommisioned OIS building that was retrofitted. What they use is IWS. They now primarily handle basic interpretaion of bills and product explanations as well as some operator calls.

In the last classes of Repair Call Handling and Test Center (internal link) (who also use IWS, btw) I instructed, after Qwest did it's hostile takeover, had a few people who were refugees from this office. I never asked them much about it (they seemed really willing to move on and I had already booked a ticket out of the company) but I got the impression TOPS was history and new PC based positions had been installed.

This may be TMI but I hope it answers at least some of the questions.

J.R.

Resources

From Nortel:

TICS - TOPS InterLATA Carrier Service. A switch feature that allows network providers to offer operator services on behalf of an interexchange carrier on a contractual basis.

TMS - TOPS Message Switch. A TOPS switch component that provides high-speed data links to connect operator positions with the switch, voice services nodes, computer-based training positions, operator centralization remote sites, and external databases.

TOPS MP - TOPS Multipurpose Position. An earlier-generation operator position for toll and assistance and directory assistance.

TOPS - MPX A previous-generation operator position based on industry-standard personal computer customized with Nortel Networks components and interfaces to provide connectivity with IBM directory databases.

TOPS - Traffic Operator Position System. Nortel Networks' operator services system based on the DMS TOPS switch.

TPC - TOPS Position Controller. (Previous generation equipment required for TOPS MP positions) The processing unit that provides intelligence and interfaces to the switch for up to four TOPS MP operator positions.