Editing Dedicated line (section)

{{Unreferenced|date=December 2009}}
In [[computer network]]s and telecommunications, a '''dedicated line''' is a [[communications cable]] or other facility dedicated to a specific application, in contrast with a [[shared resource]] such as the [[telephone network]] or the [[Internet]]. It is a communication path between two points.

In practice, such services may not be provided by a single, discrete, end-to-end cable, but they do provide guarantees of constant [[Bandwidth (computing)|bandwidth]] availability and near-constant [[Network latency|latency]], properties that cannot be guaranteed for more public systems.  Such properties add a considerable premium to the price charged.  

As more general-purpose systems have improved, dedicated lines have been steadily replaced by [[intranet]]s and the public Internet, but they are still useful for [[real-time computing|time-critical]], high-bandwidth applications such as [[video]] transmission.

Some institutions such as [[NPR]] and other news agencies have large numbers of private lines with people that they frequently interview, (often government agencies) though these are being phased out in favor of [[Voice over IP|VoIP]] systems.