TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to snipped-for-privacy@bbs.cpcn.com:
Yes, that's true.
Today not dialing a long distance call yourself seems strange, but back in 1970 for some people it was still a novelty. Business and hotel PBXs would routinely ask for time and charges. While most places had DDD, not every place did and there were even a few manual towns left (e.g. Catalina I. off of California). The system was virtually electromechanical back then and the risk of problem, while small, was greater than now.
So, if a customer had trouble and requested assistance, the dialed direct rate would be used. If the customer didn't have DDD, the dialed rate was used.
Initially, the charge difference between dialed and operator handled was modest. But over time subsequent rate schedules increased the differential by lowering dialed and increasing operator.
At my employers of the era, toll call policy changed from management only via PBX operator handled to direct dialed from your desk and billed back to your extension.
In the 1980s, larger companies got sophisticated PBX/Centrex gear that would automatically locate the most economical line--normal toll, FX, or outward WATS, to route the call over. A large company might own some outward WATS lines shared among everyone.
Today, my state's intra (state wide) toll rates are confusing. Calling the Operator for assistance now often results in a service charge of some sort. Asking the dial-0 operator to place a call, even an operator handled one, is more costly than dialing 0+full number.
Many pay ph> My Enterprise number for Konawa, Oklahoma, was Enterprise 287,
In the early 1950s, all sorts of local dial code combinations were common. Even in the 1970s small town local and near-local dialing would be a hodgepodge of codes and access numbers depending on the origin and destination. The how-to-dial section of local phone books had all sorts of explanations and directions.
This hodgepodge was one of the big challenges of implementing nationwide DDD. A small town with a dial office often was dial for itself only and perhaps one or two adjacent exchanges. Anything beyond -- in or out -- required an operator to make the connection. All of that effort had to be automated and done in a way consistent with national DDD. Keep in mind sometimes Bell had acquired an exchange from another company and that that exchange didn't use standard Bell System procedures.
Outward dialing required an option to switch to a toll center and ANI or ONI. But inward dialing required an addressable unique 10 digit number. It's one thing on paper to assign an exchange name and zero-fill 3 digit local numbers. But it's quite another effort to implement that in hard-wired step-by-step gear on an economical basis. A great many small towns continued with short 5 digit dialing right up until they went ESS in the 1980s.
Many customers had part or all their phone number changed as a result of needing unique codes or upgrading equipment in the late 1950s. In Philadelphia, several exchanges were abandoned in order to fit the new scheme.
At the same time all this was going on, the Bell System was faced with an explosion of demand for new telephone lines and higher calling volume. Even if new lines could be installed, the switchgear couldn't handle the increased traffic. Many customers were forced onto party lines at a time when many wanted out of party line service (see our recent discussion on the film "Pillow Talk").
In addition, the Bell System had many new defense contracts which diverted staff and material. Some Bell System ads in the 1950s point that out. A few are proud of Bell's contribution to new missles. A few apologize for delays in local service as a result of defense needs. But it seems overall the Bell System kept its defense work of the 1950s and 1960s at a lower profile than its WW II work. This was long before social protests criticizing the practice.
The computer industry also benefited greatly from defense work. I find it ironic that many social activists who proclaim the "new freedom" of the modern Internet and computers are using a tool largely developed by the very defense investments they dislike. Defense contracts paid for many technical advancements in the 1950s and 1960s and contributed to lowering the commercial cost of computers. When IBM developed Stretch and SAGE it didn't make a profit on the sales, but gained valuable development experience.