telephone network
Lines linking callers
A telephone network is the interconnected system of lines, switches, and equipment that routes voice calls between phones.
The term covers everything from the traditional landline infrastructure to cellular networks.
The telephone network was overwhelmed after the earthquake.
Network effects make these systems more valuable as more people connect to them.
- voicemailRecorded caller messages
- phone treeCascading contact system
- call waitingPhone feature for simultaneous callers
- caller IDDisplays incoming number
- call forwardingAutomatic rerouting of incoming rings
landline · transmission line · trunk line · party line · fiber optic cable · switchboard · exchange · repeater · mobile phone · modem · PSTN · receiver · long-distance call · dial tone · call · cordless phone · rotary dial · long distance
- infrastructurehighways, road construction, railway expansion, power grid, roads
- networksMAN, PAN, cloud computing, router, Wi-Fi
- telecommunicationscell phone, cellphone, signals, antennas, radio waves
- telephonycall, dial tone, phone lines, dial, phone booth
telephone networkinternet
Interconnected computer systems
postal system · telegraph network · data network · computer network · radio network
telephone networkdirect speech
Exact quoted utterance
written correspondence · sign language · smoke signals · carrier pigeon · word of mouth
telephone networkcommunication blackout
Total loss of contact
isolation · disconnection · radio silence · dead zone · incommunicado