The complete time interval starting from the exact moment a network receives a user request for service until all associated facilities are fully released. It encompasses call setup, the active communication phase, and the teardown process. Network engineers use this metric to calculate total resource utilization and capacity requirements.
Heard on the job
High operating time on the trunk lines during the morning peak is causing congestion for new callers.
Related terms
Hold time
The duration a caller remains in an active queue before an agent answers or the call drops.
Talk time
The maximum continuous duration a mobile phone can be used for a call on a single battery charge.
erlang
An erlang is a unit of telecommunications traffic measurement representing one hour of continuous voice or data use.