APRIL 1972- APRIL 2022 ———- 50 YEARS ON!
CLONMEL TELEPHONE EXCHANGE TO GO AUTOMATIC
APRIL 1972, 50 years ago, saw LM Ericsson commence the installation of a state of the art new automated telephone exchange to replace the old operator assisted system.
Ericsson employed three new trainee telecommunication technicians initially from the locality and more later on.
There were more than 70 operators on the old system, mainly female. P&T also employed over 100 indoor and outdoor maintenance technical staff who would remain to service the new automatic exchange.
Clonmel was to be designated with the STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialling) code 052, as the largest metropolis outside of Waterford (051) with Kilkenny (056) and Wexford (053).
The installation would take up to two years to complete, with P&T staff having to replace some 1,500 handsets with new dial phones.
A primary piece of new infrastructure at the time that would advance the region economically and socially.
A get-together, informal, is planned for the summer of surviving participants in the ‘change over’.
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