AT&T Stops Time (of Day)

Americans no longer calling in to hear the right time
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 29, 2007 6:39 PM CDT
AT&T Stops Time (of Day)
"Times change," said John Britton, AT&T spokesman. "In today's world, there are just too many other ways to get this information. You can look at your cellphone or your computer. You no longer have to pick up the telephone."   (shutterstock.com)

Californians are saying goodbye to a more genteel era, a time when they used to set clocks by calling in to AT&T for the correct hour. Cell phones and computers have made the service outdated, the company says. “Times change,” says a spokesman. “There are just too many other ways to get this information.” This leaves Nevada as the last state in the Union to offer the old-fashioned service.

An ex-big band singer named Jane Barbe became the voice of AT&T in the '70s and '80s, telling the time to about 40 million people a day by analog tape. She died in 2003, but her rendition of "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service" would be perfect when the phone company cuts its time service next month, the Los Angeles Times reports. (More telecom stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X