DefinitionsPOTSPlain Old Telephone Service. This basic service that provides dial tone to virtually every home and business in the country. These are the lines that connect to the PSTN. PTSN Public Switched Telephone Network. The trunks, microwaves and any other kind of wiring used to connect the various telephone companies central offices together to allow for direct dial long distance. VoIP Voice Over Internet Protocol. This puts your regular telephone calls out over the internet instead of the telephone companies public switched network. It required a high speed data (DSL, Cable Modem, etc_ circuit for operation. It was originally designed for very large corporations with multiple locations around the country. It is working it's way down to small business and residential |