A telephone network is a telecommunications network used for telephone calls between two or more parties.
There are a number of different types of telephone network:
- A fixed line network where the telephones must be directly wired into a single telephone exchange. This is known as the public switched telephone network or PSTN.
- A wireless network where the telephones are mobile and can move around anywhere within the coverage area.
- A private network where a closed group of telephones are connected primarily to each other and use a gateway to reach the outside world. This is usually used inside companies and call centres and is called a private branch exchange (PBX).
Public telephone operators (PTOs) own and build networks of the first two types and provide services to the public under license from the national government. Virtual Network Operators (VNOs) lease capacity wholesale from the PTOs and sell on telephony service to the public directly.
