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.

To break the term down into further detail, telephony is the science of translating sound into electrical signals, transmitting them, and then converting them back to sound; that is, the science of telephones. The term is used frequently to refer to computer hardware and software that performs functions traditionally performed by telephone equipment. For example, telephony software can combine with your modem to turn your computer into a sophisticated answering service. A popular example of this type of telephony software is voice mail.