leitungsvermittelten

Leitungsvermittelten, in telecommunications often described by the noun Leitungsvermittlung, refers to a form of connection in which a dedicated communication path is established for the duration of a transmission. The term is used to characterize networks, devices, or services that operate on circuit switching, where a continuous end-to-end circuit is reserved for the communicating parties.

In a typical leitungsvermittelten transmission, signaling procedures set up a specific route and reserve the necessary resources (bandwidth) along that path. Once the circuit is established, data flows along the reserved path with little competition from other traffic, and the connection is maintained until the transmission ends, after which the resources are released. The approach can involve analog or digital technologies and is foundational to traditional telephone systems.

Historically, leitungsvermittelte networks dominated voice communication and some early data services. Public switched telephone networks (PSTN) and ISDN are common examples where circuit switching provided predictable quality, low end-to-end delay, and steady bandwidth for real-time conversations. With the rise of packet-switched networks, the use of circuit switching for data has declined, though voice services in some networks still rely on circuit-switched paths or hybrid configurations.

Compared with packet switching, leitungsvermittelten systems guarantee a fixed bandwidth and predictable latency, which is advantageous for real-time applications. However, they can be inefficient for bursty or sporadic traffic, since resources are reserved regardless of actual usage. Today, many networks favor packet switching for data while retaining circuit-switched elements where real-time reliability is essential.