Landline

A landline or main line is a telephone line which travels through a physical, land-based medium. This is distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where the medium used is the airwaves. Landlines usually cost less than cellular lines and are used when there is no need for mobility or cellular service is unavailable. A land line is also used to increase the security of communications, as it cannot be intercepted by a receiver without physical access to the line. This does not, however, mean that a telephone company will not send the call over the air on some point in the journey.

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In 2003, the CIA reported approximately 844 million main telephone lines worldwide. China had more than any other country, at 263 million, and the United States was second with 181.6 million. This compared with 158.7 million cellular telephones, a number which is expected to exceed the main line number within a few years.

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Telephone: :This article is about telephone technology. For the game of telephone, see Telephone (game). For the band, see T?l?phone....

Cellular: For cellular phones see Mobile phoneFor cellular radio networking in general see cellular networkFor cellular in the meaning of biology, see Cell (biology).For the 2004 movie see Cellular (film)....

Telephone company: This article is for the Telephone Company. For the Tata Group company, see TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company...