partsáv

partsáv is a term that originated in Hungarian and translates roughly to "party line" or "shared telephone line." Historically, it referred to a telephone system where multiple households or businesses shared a single physical telephone line. This arrangement was common in rural or less developed areas as a cost-saving measure.

With a partsáv system, all subscribers on a given line would share the same dial tone and connection. Each subscriber would have their own telephone instrument, but they would also have a unique ringing code or pattern. When a call was made to a specific subscriber, the telephone exchange would signal the line with that subscriber's particular ring. Other subscribers on the line would hear the ring but would know it wasn't for them.

The primary advantage of a partsáv was its affordability, making telephone service accessible to more people. However, it came with significant disadvantages. Privacy was limited, as anyone on the line could potentially pick up their receiver and listen to conversations. Furthermore, the line's capacity was shared, meaning that if one user was on a call, other users might experience degraded service or be unable to make calls themselves. The introduction of individual telephone lines and later digital and mobile technologies has largely rendered the partsáv obsolete in most parts of the world.