BASED ON THE SUGGESTIONS OF BELL OPERATING COMPANIES, THE 8A KEY TELEPHONE SYSTEM WAS DEVELOPED. THIS NEW SYSTEM HAS CENTRAL-OFFICE TRUNKS TO CONNECT 911 CALLS TO THE EMERGENCY ANSWERING BUREAU, INTRODUCES NEW FEATURES WHICH ALLOW ATTENDANTS TO CONTROL A CONNECTION REGARDLESS OF THE CALLER'S ACTIONS (CALLED-PARTY CONTROL) AND RINGS BACK AN EMERGENCY CALLER FOR MORE INFORMATION BY PRESSING A BUTTON (EMERGENCY RINGBACK). IT IS CAPABLE OF MONITORING THE STATUS OF CALLS PLACED ON HOLD (CALLED-PARTY STATUS) AND TRANSFERRING CALL DIRECTLY-TO FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND HOSPITALS, FOR EXAMPLE, (CALL-TRANSFER CAPABILITY). THE CALL-TRANSFER CONTROL FEATURE ALLOWS THE OPERATOR TO DISCONNECT A TRANSFER LINE WITHOUT DISCONNECTING THE 911 CALLER (TRANSFER RELEASE). THESE NEW FEATURES INVOLVE THE INSTALLATION OF NEW EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING WALL-MOUNTED DEVICES FOR EMERGENCY ANSWERING BUREAUS AND EXTERNAL DEVICES. AS OF 1977, 8A SYSTEMS WERE IN OPERATION AT THE LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER IN ROCHESTER, MINN., AND IN FARGO, N.D. (LGR)