Lucent Technologies 5 manual Telephone Equipment, Telephone Network

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MERLIN LEGEND Communications System Release 5.0

Issue 1

System Manager’s Guide 555-650-118

June 1997

 

 

2About the System

Background

Page 2-4

 

 

CO

Long Distance (Toll) Network

Customer Premises

CO

Customer

Premises

Figure 2–2. The Telephone Network

Telephone Equipment

2

The first working model of a telephone consisted of a microphone (called a transmitter) and a small loudspeaker-like device (called a receiver) connected by a pair of wires and a battery.

A telephone is powered by direct current (dc) which, in early phones, was supplied by a battery inside the phone. Beginning in 1894, COs used a common battery to power all the telephones connected to the exchange.

The receiver for early telephones hung on a hook that activated a switch to control the flow of direct current to the telephone. This hook was called a switchhook, a term that is still used today. When a telephone handset is sitting on its cradle (on-hook), it draws no current from the CO. When a person removes the handset

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Lucent Technologies 5 manual Telephone Equipment, Telephone Network