Editing Telephone jack and plug (section)

{{Short description|Connectors for wiring of telephone equipment}}
{{Distinguish|Phone connector (audio)}}
[[Image:Photo-RJ11-MF.jpg|thumb|Modular connector 6P6C plug (left) and 6P4C jack (right)]]
A '''telephone jack''' and a '''telephone plug''' are [[electrical connector]]s for connecting a [[telephone]] set or other [[telecommunications]] apparatus to the telephone wiring inside a building, establishing a connection to a telephone network. The plug is inserted into its counterpart, the [[Jack (connector)|jack]], which is commonly affixed to a wall or baseboard. The standards for telephone jacks and plugs vary from country to country, though the 6P2C style modular plug has become by far the most common type.

A connection standard, such as [[Registered_jack#RJ11|RJ11]], specifies not only the physical aspects of an [[electrical connector]], but also the signal definitions for each contact, and the [[pinout]] of the device, i.e. the assignment or function of each contact.<ref>{{cite book
| last1       = Semenov
| first1      = Andrey B.
| last2       = Strizhakov
| first2      = Stanislav K.
| last3       = Suncheley
| first3      = Igor R.
| title       = Structured cable systems
| edition     = 1st
| date        = October 3, 2002
| publisher   = [[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]]
| isbn        = 3-540-43000-8
| page        = 129
| chapter     = Electrical Cable Connectors
| quote       = The abbreviation for registered jack, RJ defines a particular wiring scheme of individual wires into outlet contacts. For example, a 6-position outlet may be wired to RJ-11C scheme (one pair), RJ-14C (two pairs), or RJ-25C (three pairs).
}}</ref> Modular connectors are specified for the [[registered jack]] (RJ) series of connectors, as well as for [[Ethernet]] and other connectors, such as [[4P4C]] (4 position, 4 contacts) modular connectors, the de facto standard on handset cords,<ref>{{cite book
| author      = BICSI
| title       = Telecommunications Cabling Installation
| edition     = 2nd
| date        = October 7, 2002
| publisher   = [[McGraw-Hill Professional]]
| isbn        = 0-07-140979-3
| page        = 88
| chapter     = Background Information
| quote       = 4-position and 4-contact connectors are used primarily for telephone handset cords.
}}</ref> often improperly<ref>{{cite book
| last        = Trulove
| first       = James
| title       = LAN wiring
| edition     = 3rd
| date        = December 19, 2005
| publisher   = [[McGraw-Hill Professional]]
| isbn        = 0-07-145975-8
| page        = 219
| chapter     = User Cords and Connectors
| quote       = This 8-pin modular plug is probably the most subject to name abuse, because it resembles the specialized RJ-45 connector. However, the RJ-45 wiring pattern (which includes an interface programming resistor) is so radically different from that of T568A and B that it really should not be called by that name at all.
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
| last1       = Oliviero
| first1      = Andrew
| last2       = Woodward
| first2      = Bill
| title       = Cabling: The Complete Guide to Copper and Fiber-Optic Networking
| edition     = 4th
| date        = July 20, 2009
| publisher   = [[Sybex]]
| isbn        = 978-0-470-47707-6
| page        = 294
| chapter     = Connectors
| quote       = The RJ (registered jack) prefix is one of the most widely (and incorrectly) used prefixes in the computer industry; nearly everyone, including people working for cabling companies, is guilty of referring to an eight-position modular jack (sometimes called an 8P8C) as an RJ-45.
}}</ref> referred to as ''RJ connectors''.