A telephone call is a connection over a telephone network A Telephone Network is a type of telecommunications network used for telephone calls between two or more parties between the calling party The calling party is a person who (or device that) initiates a telephone call over the public switched telephone network, usually by dialing a telephone number and the called party The called party is a person who (or device that) answers a telephone call. The person who (or device that) initiates a telephone call is the calling party.

Information transmission

A telephone The telephone , often colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sound, most commonly the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to one another. It is one of the most common household call may carry ordinary voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary sound source. Generally speaking, the mechanism for generating the human voice can be subdivided into three transmission using a telephone, data transmission Data transmission, digital transmission or digital communications is the physical transfer of data over a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint transmission medium. Examples of such media are copper wires, optical fibres, wireless communication media, and storage media. The data is often represented as an electro-magnetic signal, such as an when the calling party and called party are using modems A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data. Modems can be used over any means of transmitting analog, or facsimile A fax is a document sent over a telephone line. Fax machines have existed, in various forms, since the 19th century (see "History" below), though modern fax machines became feasible only in the mid-1970s as the sophistication of technology increased and cost of the three underlying technologies dropped. Digital fax machines first became transmission when they are using fax A fax is a document sent over a telephone line. Fax machines have existed, in various forms, since the 19th century (see "History" below), though modern fax machines became feasible only in the mid-1970s as the sophistication of technology increased and cost of the three underlying technologies dropped. Digital fax machines first became machines. The call may use land line A landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline (or land phone or main line or fixed-line) refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves. Landlines, cell phone A mobile phone is an electronic device used for full duplex two-way radio telecommunications over a cellular network of base stations known as cell sites. Mobile phones differ from cordless telephones, which only offer telephone service within limited range through a single base station attached to a fixed land line, for example within a home or, satellite phone A satellite telephone, satellite phone, or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites. Depending on the architecture of a particular system, coverage may include the entire Earth, or only specific regions or any combination thereof. Where a telephone call has more than one called party The called party is a person who (or device that) answers a telephone call. The person who (or device that) initiates a telephone call is the calling party it is referred to as a conference call A conference call is a telephone call in which the calling party wishes to have more than one called party listen in to the audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to participate during the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party merely listens into the call and cannot speak. It is. When two or more users of the network are sharing the same physical line, it is called a party line In twentieth century telephone systems, a party line is an arrangement in which two or more customers are connected directly to the same local loop. Prior to World War II in the United States, party lines were the primary way residential subscribers acquired local phone service. British users similarly benefited from the party line discount or Rural phone line.

If the caller's wireline phone is directly connected to the calling party, when the caller takes their telephone off-hook On an ordinary two-wire telephone line, off-hook status is communicated to the telephone exchange by a resistance short across the pair. When an off-hook condition persists without dialing, for example because the handset has fallen off or the cable has been flooded, it is treated as a permanent loop or permanent signal, the calling party's phone will ring. This is called a hot line In telecommunication, a hotline is a point-to-point communications link in which a call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by the user when the end instrument goes off-hook. An example would be a phone that automatically connects to emergency services on picking up the receiver or ringdown In telephony, ringdown is a method of signaling an operator in which telephone ringing current is sent over the line to operate a lamp or cause the operation of a self-locking relay known as a drop. Ringdown is used in manual operation, as distinguished from dialing, (b) uses a continuous or pulsed ac signal transmitted over the line, and (c) may. Otherwise, the calling party is usually given a tone to indicate they should begin dialing the desired number. In some (now very rare) cases, the calling party cannot dial calls directly, and is connected to an operator With the development of computerized telephone dialing systems, many telephone calls which previously required a live operator can be placed automatically by the calling party without additional human intervention. Before the advent of automatic exchanges, an operator's assistance was required for anything other than calling telephones across a who places the call for them.

Calls may be placed through a public network (such as the Public Switched Telephone Network The public switched telephone network is the network of the world's public circuit-switched telephone networks. Originally a network of fixed-line analog telephone systems, the PSTN is now almost entirely digital in its core and includes mobile as well as fixed telephones) provided by a commercial telephone company A telephone company is a service provider of telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Most of the largest telcos, whatever their origins, are or were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies[citation needed]. These monopolies are often referred to, primarily in Europe, as PTTs or a private network called a PBX A private branch exchange is a telephone exchange that serves a particular business or office, as opposed to one that a common carrier or telephone company operates for many businesses or for the general public. PBXs are also referred to as:. In most cases a private network is connected to the public network in order to allow PBX users to dial the outside world. Incoming calls to a private network arrive at the PBX in two ways: either directly to a users phone using a DDI number Direct inward dialing , also called Direct Dial-In (DDI) in Europe and Australasia, is a feature offered by telephone companies for use with their customers' private branch exchange (PBX) systems. In DID service the telephone company provides one or more trunk lines to the customer for connection to the customer's PBX and allocates a range of or indirectly via a receptionist who will answer the call first and then manually put the caller through to the desired user on the PBX.

Most telephone calls through the PSTN are set up using ISUP The ISDN User Part or ISUP is part of the Signaling System #7 which is used to set up telephone calls in Public Switched Telephone Networks. It is specified by the ITU-T as part of the Q.76x series, ANSI and Telcordia former Bellcore GR-246 series signalling messages or one of its variants between telephone exchanges In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls. A central office is the physical building used to house inside plant equipment including telephone switches, which make telephone calls "work" in the sense of making connections and relaying the to establish the end to end connection. Calls through PBX networks are set up using QSIG QSIG is an ISDN based signaling protocol for signaling between private branch exchanges in a Private Integrated Services Network (PISN). It makes use of the connection-level Q.931 protocol and the application-level ROSE protocol. ISDN "proper" functions as the physical link layer, DPNSS or variants.

Costs

Some types of calls are not charged, such as local calls Typically, local calls have shorter numbers than Long distance calls, as the area code may not be required. However, this is not true in parts of the U.S. and Canada that are subject to overlay plans or many countries in Europe that require closed dialing (and Internal calls) dialled directly by a telephone subscriber in Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three, the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language, Hong Kong Hong Kong[note 3] is one of two special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China; the other is Macau. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven, United Kingdom, Ireland Ireland (pronounced [ˈaɾlənd],; Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen); Ulster Scots: Airlann) is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the northwest of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland is Great Britain, separated from or New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori language name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also (Residential subscribers only). In most other areas, all telephone calls are charged a fee for the connection. Fees depend on the provider of the service, the type of service being used (a call placed from a landline A landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline (or land phone or main line or fixed-line) refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves. Landlines or wired telephone will have one rate, and a call placed from a mobile telephone A mobile phone or mobile is an electronic device used for mobile telecommunications (mobile telephone, text messaging or data transmission) over a cellular network of specialized base stations known as cell sites. Mobile phones differ from cordless telephones, which only offer telephone service within limited range, e.g. within a home or an office, will have a different rate) and the distance between the calling and the called parties. In most circumstances, the calling party pays this fee. However, in some circumstances such as a reverse charge or collect call A collect call in the USA and Canada or reverse charge call in the UK and other countries is a telephone call in which the calling party wants to place a call at the called party's expense. In the past, collect calls were only possible as an operator-assisted call, but with the introduction of computer-based telephone dialing equipment, it is now, the called party pays the cost of the call. In some circumstances, the caller pays a flat rate A flat fee, also referred to as a flat rate or a linear rate, refers to a pricing structure that charges a single fixed fee for a service, regardless of usage. Rarely, it may refer to a rate that does not vary with usage or time of use. Another term used is "flate", a hybrid of "flat" and "rate" charge for the telephone connection and does not pay any additional charge for all calls made. Telecommunication liberalization has been established in several countries to allows customers to keep their local phone provider and use an alternate provider for a certain call in order to save money.

Placing a call

A typical phone call, traditionally, is placed by picking the phone handset up off the base and holding the handset so that the hearing end is next to the user's ear and the speaking end is within range of the mouth. The caller would then rotary dial The rotary dial is a device mounted on or in a telephone or switchboard that is designed to send interrupted electrical pulses, known as pulse dialing, corresponding to the number dialed. The early form of the rotary dial used lugs on a finger plate instead of holes. A patent was filed on August 20, 1896 by employees of Almon Strowger, namely, A or press buttons for the phone numbers needed to complete the call.

In addition to the traditional method of placing a telephone call, newer ways today enable various methods for initiating a telephone call. The technology of Voice over IP VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol is a general term for a family of methodologies, communication protocols, and transmission technologies for delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. Other terms frequently encountered and synonymous with VoIP are IP telephony, Internet allows calls to be made through a PC A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator. This is in contrast to the batch processing or time-sharing models which allowed large expensive mainframe, like with the service of Skype Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system. Skype has also become popular for its additional features which include. Other services enable callers to initiate a telephone call through a third party without exchanging phone numbers^[1].

The use of headsets A headset is a headphone combined with a microphone. Headsets provide the equivalent functionality of a telephone handset with hands-free operation. Headsets typically have only one speaker like a telephone, but also come with speakers for both ears. They have many uses including in call centers and other telephone-intensive jobs and for personal for a phone calls,is becoming more common for placing or receiving a call. Thus changing the way that people are conducting telephone calls in modern times. Headsets can come with either a cord, or can be wireless Wireless communication is the transfer of information over a distance without the use of enhanced electrical conductors or "wires". The distances involved may be short or long (thousands or millions of kilometers for radio communications). When the context is clear, the term is often shortened to "wireless". Wireless.

Tones

Preceding, during, and after a traditional telephone call is placed, certain tones In telephony, call progress tones are audible tones sent from the public switched telephone network central office or a private branch exchange (PBX) to calling parties to indicate the status of phone calls signify the progress and status of the telephone call:

• a dial tone A dial tone is a telephony signal used to indicate that the telephone exchange is working, has recognized an off-hook, and is ready to accept a call. The tone stops when the first numeral is dialed. If no digits are forthcoming, the permanent signal procedure is invoked, often eliciting a special information tone signifying that the system is ready to accept a telephone number A telephone number or phone number is a sequence of digits used to call from one telephone line to another in a public switched telephone network. When telephone numbers were invented, they were short — as few as one, two or three digits — and were given verbally to a switchboard operator. As phone systems have grown and interconnected to and connect the call
• either:
  • a ringing tone A Ring-back Tone or Audible Ringing Tone is the song or sound that is heard on the telephone line by the calling party after dialing and prior to the call being answered at the receiving end. This tone assures the calling party that a ringing signal is being sent on the called party's line, although the ring-back tone may be out of sync with the signifying that the calling party has yet to answer the telephone
  • a busy signal A busy signal in telephony is an audible or visual signal to the calling party that indicates failure to complete the requested connection of that particular telephone call (or engaged tone) signifying that the calling party's telephone is being used in a telephone call to another person (or is "off the hook" though no number has been dialled, ie the customer does not want to be disturbed)
  • a fast busy signal (also called reorder tone The reorder tone, also known as the fast busy tone or the congestion tone, is a dual-frequency tone of 480 Hz and 620 Hz at a cadence of 0.25 seconds on, 0.25 off; that is two beeps per second. It is used to indicate that a person has dialed an invalid code, or that all circuits are busy and/or their call is unroutable. The easiest way to hear or overflow busy tone) signifying that there is congestion in the telephone network, or possibly that the calling subscriber has delayed too long in dialling all the necessary digits. The fast busy signal is generally twice as fast as the normal busy signal.
• status tones Status Tones are short tones that are generated and placed on the Telephone Line while a call is being initiated, while it is being conducted, and while it is being monitored by a third party to inform all on the line of an actve or defined event such as STD notification tones (to inform the caller that the telephone call is being trunk dialled at a greater cost to the calling party), minute minder beeps (to inform the caller of the relative duration of the telephone call on calls that are charged on a time basis), and others
• a tone (sometimes the busy signal, often the dial tone) to signify that the called party has hung up.
• tones used by earlier inband telephone switching systems were simulated by a Red box or a blue box used by "phone phreaks" to illegally make or receive free trunk/toll calls.

Unwanted calls

Unsolicited telephone calls are a modern nuisance. Common kinds of unwanted calls include prank calls, telemarketing calls, and obscene phone calls.

Caller ID provides some protection against unwanted calls, but can still be turned off by the calling party. Even where end-user Caller ID is not available, calls are still logged, both in billing records at the originating telco and via automatic number identification, so the perpetrator's phone number can still be discovered in many cases. However, this does not provide complete protection: harassers can use payphones, in some cases, automatic number identification itself can be spoofed or blocked, and mobile telephone abusers can (at some cost) use "throwaway" phones or SIMs.

Patents

• Rabinow, J., U.S. Patent 2,813,154 -- "Telephone call indicator" -- November 12, 1957

References

1. ^ See - Beemask - Private Calling

See also

• Teletraffic engineering
• Call processing
• Call completion
• Pocket dialing
• Telephone phobia

Categories: Oral communication | Teletraffic

See Also:

• Telephone: Dictionary
• Mobile Telephony: Encyclopedia
• Model 500 Telephone: Encyclopedia
• Mobile Radio Telephone: Encyclopedia
• Party Line (Telephony): Encyclopedia

What Links Here:

Recently Viewed Pages:

• Home
• Polyphony (Instrument): Blogs
• Ringtone: Encyclopedia
• Ringtone: News
• Busy Signal: Blogs
• Adaptive Multi-rate Compression: Blogs
• Pure Tone: Encyclopedia
• Pure Tone: Answers
• Mobile Banking
• Electromagnet: Blogs

Most Popular Pages:

• Home
• Polyphony (Instrument): Blogs
• Jamba!: Answers
• Electromagnet: Blogs
• Ringtone: News
• Electromagnet: Answers
• Electromagnet
• Pure Tone: Answers
• Ringtones
• Ringtone: Encyclopedia

Related 'Telephone Call' Searches: