List of telephony terminology

A

• Advanced Intelligent Network,, see also IN or Intelligent Network
• Automatic number announcement circuit
• Automated Attendant
• ACD - Automatic call distributor
• Articulation score

  B

• Blue box - a device that was used to bypass the normal long-distance call switching tones typically used to obtain free calls.

  C

• Call originator - a person or device that initiates a telephone call by dialling a telephone number.
• Call waiting - a system that notifies a caller of another incoming telephone call by sounding a sound in the earpiece.
• Called party -
• Caller
• Calling party
• Conference call
• COCOT

  D

• Dial peer
• Dial tone
• Distribution frame
• Dual-tone multi-frequency signaling

  E

• Emergency telephone number
• End instrument
• Engset calculation
• Erlang unit

  F

• Fax - a device connected to the telephone network to enable documents to be scanned and sent to a receiving fax machine
• Frame - A distribution frame, a set of open wiring racks where circuits are cross connected to trunks and equipment

  H

• Handoff
• Handover
• Help desk
• Howler tone
• Hunt Group

  I

• Infrastructure
• Intelligent Network
• Interface functionality
• Inside plant
• Intelligent Network Interface Device - replaces the Network Interface Device outside a subscriber's house like when customers subscribe to AT&T's U-verse brand of services.
• Interactive voice response
• ISDN User Part

  L

• Line
• Local loop
• Long-distance operator

  O

• On-premises wiring
• Operator assistance
• Outside plant

  P

• Patch-through access
• Permanent signal
• Person-to-person
• Plain old telephone service, or "POTS"
• Public Switched Telephone Network
• Pupinization

  R

• Receiver Off-Hook tone
• Red telephone box
• Red box
• Regional Bell Operating Company
• Ringer equivalency number
• Ringing signal
• Rural radio service

  S

• Smartphone
• Station-to-station
• Signalling System 7

  T

• Tandem signaling
• Tandem switch
• Transaction Capabilities Application Part
• Telemarketing
• Telephone
• Telephone booth
• Telephone call
• Telephone card
• Telephone directory
• Telephone exchange
• Telephone tapping
• Teletraffic engineering
• Time Division Multiplexing
• Trap and trace
• TWX

  V

• Vertical service code
• Voicemail
• Voice over Internet Protocol

  W

• Western Union
• Wide Area Telephone Service
• WATS line
• Wireless network
• Wireless Telephony Applications Interface
• Wi-Fi

  Z

• Zenith number

  Acronyms