An older multiplexing method used on high-cost analog voice links, such as submarine cables. It detects quiet periods in a telephone conversation and reassigns the idle channel to another active speaker. Since a typical speaker is silent for more than half of a conversation, this technique effectively doubles the number of calls a fixed set of physical lines can carry.
Heard on the job
The transatlantic cable used time-assignment speech interpolation to squeeze 72 conversations onto 36 channels.
Also heard as
- TASI