A facility or piece of equipment that connects telephone lines to establish calls. Historic exchanges relied on human operators plugging cords into switchboards, while newer systems use automated electromechanical or digital switching matrices. It serves as the central hub where local loops converge to access the broader public switched telephone network.
Heard on the job
The local loop runs from the customer premises all the way back to the telephone exchange on Main Street.
Also heard as
- central office
- exchange
- switch