Definition of: analog telephone
analog telephone

A telephone that sends and receives electrical frequencies in the range of the human voice. Analog phones have been the norm since the advent of telephones in the late 1800s.

Single-line and two-line phones that plug directly into landlines from the telephone company are analog. In contrast, today's multi-line office phones that connect to an inhouse PBX, as well as cordless phones, send digital signals between their base stations and the phones. The signals are digitized voice but not residing in IP packets as they are in voice over IP (see VoIP). See analog telephone adapter, key system, PBX and DECT.

An Analog Telephone
Telephones were analog since day one such as this Ericsson phone circa 1885. This "skeletal phone" (you can see through it) contained a hand-cranked electrical generator that rang the switchboard operator in the central office.