A hotline is a point-to-point

communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

link in which a

call Call or Calls may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Call (poker), a bet matching an opponent's * Call, in the game of contract bridge, a bid, pass, double, or redouble in the bidding stage Music and dance * Call (band), from L ...

is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by the

user Ancient Egyptian roles * User (ancient Egyptian official), an ancient Egyptian nomarch (governor) of the Eighth Dynasty * Useramen, an ancient Egyptian vizier also called "User" Other uses * User (computing), a person (or software) using an ...

when the

end instrument In the context of telecommunications, a terminal is a device which ends a telecommunications link and is the point at which a signal enters or leaves a network. Examples of terminal equipment include telephones, fax machines, computer termina ...

goes

off-hook In telephony, on-hook and off-hook are two states of a communication circuit. On subscriber telephones the states are produced by placing the handset onto or off the hookswitch. Placing the circuit into the off-hook state is also called ''seizing ...

. An example would be a phone that automatically connects to emergency services on picking up the receiver. Therefore, dedicated hotline phones do not need a rotary dial or keypad. A hotline can also be called an automatic

signaling A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. ...

ringdown In telephony, ringdown is a method of signaling an operator in which telephone ringing current is sent over the line to operate a lamp or cause the operation of a self-locking relay known as a ''drop''. Ringdown is used in manual operation, ...

, or off-hook service.

For crises and service

True hotlines cannot be used to originate calls other than to preselected destinations. However, in common or colloquial usage, a "hotline" often refers to a

call center A call centre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American English, American spelling; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences) is a managed capability th ...

reachable by dialing a standard telephone number, or sometimes the phone numbers themselves. This is especially the case with 24-hour, noncommercial numbers, such as police tip hotlines or suicide

crisis hotline A crisis hotline is a phone number people can call to get immediate emergency telephone counseling, usually by trained volunteers. The first such service was founded in England in 1951 and such hotlines have existed in most major cities of the E ...

s, which are staffed around the clock and thereby give the appearance of real hotlines. Increasingly, however, the term is found being applied to any customer service telephone number.

Between states

Russia–United States

The most famous hotline between states is the

Moscow–Washington hotline The Moscow–Washington hotline (formally known in the United States as the Washington–Moscow Direct Communications Link; ) is a system that allows direct communication between the leaders of the United States and the Russia, Russian Federation ...

, also known as the "red telephone", although telephones have never been used in this capacity. This direct communications link was established on June 20, 1963, in the wake of the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

, which convinced both sides of the need for better communications. It was used for the first time by U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

on August 30, 1963 and utilized teletypewriter technology, later replaced by telecopier and then by electronic mail.

United Kingdom–United States

Already during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

—two decades before the Washington–Moscow hotline was established—there was a hotline between No. 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet War Room bunker under the Treasury, Whitehall; with the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

in Washington, D.C. From 1943 to 1946, this link was made secure by using the very first voice encryption machine, called

SIGSALY SIGSALY (also known as the X System, Project X, Ciphony I, and the Green Hornet) was a secure voice, secure speech system used in World War II for the highest-level Allies of World War II, Allied communications. It pioneered a number of digital co ...

China–Russia

A hotline connection between

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

was used during the 1969 frontier confrontation between the two countries. The Chinese however refused the Russian peace attempts and ended the communications link. After a reconciliation between the former enemies, the hotline between China and Russia was revived in 1996.

France–Russia

On his visit to the Soviet Union in 1966, French President

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

announced that a hotline would be established between Paris and Moscow. The line was upgraded from a telex to a high-speed fax machine in 1989.

Russia–United Kingdom

A London–Moscow hotline was not formally established until a treaty of friendship between the two countries in 1992. An upgrade was announced when Foreign Secretary

William Hague William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...

visited Moscow in 2011.

India–Pakistan

On 20 June 2004, both

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

agreed to extend a nuclear testing ban and to set up an

Islamabad–New Delhi hotline The Islamabad–New Delhi hotline is a system that allows direct communication between the leaders of India and Pakistan. The hotline, according to the media sources, was established in 1971, shortly after the end of the 1971 war. The hotline ...

between their foreign secretaries aimed at preventing misunderstandings that might lead to nuclear war. The hotline was set up with the assistance of

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

officers.

China–United States

The United States and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

set up a defense hotline in 2008, but it has rarely been used in crises.

China–India

India and China announced a hotline for the foreign ministers of both countries while reiterating their commitment to strengthening ties and building "mutual political trust". As of August 2015 the hotline was yet to be made operational.

China–Japan

In February 2013, the

Senkaku Islands dispute The Senkaku Islands dispute, or Diaoyu Islands dispute, is a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, the Diaoyu Islands in China, and Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan. Aside from a 1945 to 19 ...

gave renewed impetus to a China–Japan hotline, which had been agreed to but due to rising tensions had not been established.

North and South Korea

Between North and South Korea there are over 40 direct phone lines, the first of which was opened in September 1971. Most of these hotlines run through the

Panmunjeom Panmunjom (also spelled Panmunjeom) was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North Korea and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War was signed. It was located in what is now Paju, Gye ...

Joint Security Area The Joint Security Area (JSA, often referred to as the Truce Village or Panmunjom) is the only portion of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where North Korea, North and South Korean forces stand face-to-face. The JSA is used by the two Koreas ...

(JSA) and are maintained by the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. Since 1971, North Korea has deactivated the hotlines seven times, the last time in February 2016. After

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

's New Years address, the border hotline was reopened on January 3, 2018.

India–United States

In August 2015 the hotline between the

and New Delhi became operational. The decision of establishing this hotline was taken during Obama's visit to India in January 2015. This is the first hotline connecting an Indian Prime Minister to a head of state.PT
"Modi-Obama hotline becomes operational"
''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...

'', Washington, 21 August 2015. Retrieved on 22 August 2015.

References

External links

Top Level Telecommunications: Bilateral Hotlines Worldwide
Telecommunication services Hotlines between countries de:Heißer Draht