What technology underlies plain old telephone service (POTS)?

Plain old telephone service (POTS) operates on circuit switching technology, which is the traditional method used for telephone communications. In circuit switching, a dedicated communication path or circuit is established between two parties for the duration of their conversation. As a result, the entire bandwidth of the channel is allocated to that call, providing consistent and reliable voice quality throughout the conversation.

This approach is fundamental to how POTS has historically functioned, as it was designed to provide clear and continuous voice communication over traditional copper telephone lines. The call remains connected exclusively to the parties involved until one party hangs up, at which point the circuit is then released for use by others.

In contrast, packet switching technology, used in modern Internet communications, breaks data into smaller packets that are sent over a shared network and reassembled at the destination, which differs from the dedicated nature of circuit switching. Wireless technology encompasses various forms of communication that do not rely on fixed physical connections, while optical fiber technology focuses on transmitting data using light signals through fiber-optic cables, neither of which directly underpin the traditional POTS system.