Telephony

In telecommunications, telephony ( /təˈlɛfəni/ tə-LEF-ə-nee) encompasses the general use of equipment to provide communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other. The technology is associated with the electronic transmission of voice, fax, or other information between distant parties using systems historically associated with the telephone, a hand-held device containing both a speaker or transmitter and a receiver. It is commonly referred to as the construction or operation of telephones or telephonic systems and as a system of telecommunications in which telephonic equipment is employed in the transmission of speech or other sound between points, with or without the use of wires.