Editing Hotline

{{Short description|Automatically directed point-to-point communications link}}
{{Hatnote|A hotline in the other widespread sense is a [[helpline]]. For other uses, see [[Hotline (disambiguation)]].}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}

[[File:Jimmy Carter Library and Museum 99.JPG|thumb|right|A typical non-dial red phone used for hotlines. This one is a prop which is on display in the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, erroneously representing the [[Moscow–Washington hotline]].<ref>[http://electrospaces.blogspot.nl/2013/08/the-red-phone-that-was-not-on-hotline.html The red phone that was NOT on the Hotline]. electrospaces.blogspot.nl. 30 August 2013</ref>]]

A '''hotline''' is a [[Point-to-point (telecommunications)|point-to-point]] [[information transfer|communications]] [[Data link|link]] in which a [[telephone call|call]] is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by the [[User (telecommunications)|user]] when the [[end instrument]] goes [[off-hook]].<ref>Derived from [[Federal Standard 1037C]]</ref> 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 (telecommunications)|signaling]], [[ringdown]], 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]] 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]]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 ===
[[File:Hotline sign in finland.jpg|thumb|upright|In [[Finland]] there are still several signs marking the location of the [[Moscow–Washington hotline]] cable. This one is in [[Forssa]]. The text reads "Post and telegraph department".]]
The most famous hotline between states is the [[Moscow–Washington hotline]], 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]], which convinced both sides of the need for better communications.<ref>{{cite web |author1=U.S. State Department |title=Hot Line Agreement (1963) |url=https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/treaties/hot-line.html |publisher=Atomic Archive |access-date=August 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830092829/https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/treaties/hot-line.html |archive-date=August 30, 2022}}</ref> It was used for the first time by U.S. President [[John F. Kennedy]] on August 30, 1963<ref>{{Cite web |title=This Day in History - August 30, 1963: Hotline established between Washington and Moscow |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hotline-established-between-washington-and-moscow |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=HISTORY |language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520160045/https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hotline-established-between-washington-and-moscow|archive-date=May 20, 2023}}</ref> and utilized teletypewriter technology, later replaced by telecopier and then by electronic mail.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

=== United Kingdom–United States ===

Already during [[World War II]]&mdash;two decades before the Washington–Moscow hotline was established&mdash;there was a hotline between [[No. 10 Downing Street]] and the [[Churchill War Rooms|Cabinet War Room]] bunker under the Treasury, Whitehall; with the [[White House]] in Washington, D.C. From 1943 to 1946, this link was made secure by using the very first voice encryption machine, called [[SIGSALY]].

=== China–Russia ===
A hotline connection between [[Beijing]] and [[Moscow]] 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.<ref name=clingendael>{{cite news|last=Egilsson|first=Haraldur|title=The Origins, Use and Development of Hotline Diplomacy|url=http://www.clingendael.nl/publications/2003/20030500_cli_paper_dip_issue85.pdf|access-date=22 January 2013|newspaper=Discussion Papers in Diplomacy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911055513/http://www.clingendael.nl/publications/2003/20030500_cli_paper_dip_issue85.pdf|archive-date=11 September 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== France–Russia ===
On his visit to the Soviet Union in 1966, French President [[Charles de Gaulle]] 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.<ref name=clingendael />

=== 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]] visited Moscow in 2011.<ref name=clingendael />

=== India–Pakistan ===
On 20 June 2004, both [[India]] and [[Pakistan]] agreed to extend a nuclear testing ban and to set up an [[Islamabad–New Delhi hotline]] between their foreign secretaries aimed at preventing misunderstandings that might lead to nuclear war.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-and-pakistan-to-have-nuclear-hotline-732980.html|title=India and Pakistan to have nuclear hotline|work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> The hotline was set up with the assistance of [[United States military]] officers.

=== China–United States ===
{{main|Beijing–Washington hotline}}
The United States and [[China]] set up a defense hotline in 2008, but it has rarely been used in crises.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gienger|first=Viola|title=China-U.S. Defense Hotline Shows Gulf Between Nations|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-13/china-u-s-defense-hotline-shows-gulf.html|access-date=5 March 2012|newspaper=Bloomberg|date=13 May 2011}}</ref>

=== 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".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/finally-a-hotline-between-india-and-china-63893 |title=Finally, a hotline between India and China |publisher=Ndtv.com |date=1 November 2010 |access-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> As of August 2015 the hotline was yet to be made operational.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/narendra-modi-barack-obama-hotline-becomes-operational/|title=Narendra Modi-Barack Obama hotline becomes operational|date=21 August 2015}}</ref>

=== China–Japan ===
In February 2013, the [[Senkaku Islands dispute]] gave renewed impetus to a China–Japan hotline, which had been agreed to but due to rising tensions had not been established.<ref>[http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1146826/japan-suggests-hotline-beijing-over-island-spat Japan suggests hotline to Beijing over island spat]. scmp.com. 9 February 2013</ref>

=== North and South Korea ===
Between North and South Korea there are over 40 [[Seoul-Pyongyang hotline|direct phone lines]], the first of which was opened in September 1971. Most of these hotlines run through the [[Panmunjeom]] [[Joint Security Area]] (JSA) and are maintained by the [[Red Cross]]. Since 1971, North Korea has deactivated the hotlines seven times, the last time in February 2016. After [[Kim Jong-un]]'s New Years address, the border hotline was reopened on January 3, 2018.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42549161 North Korea reopens hotline to South to discuss Olympics] BBC News 3 January 2018</ref>

=== India–United States ===
In August 2015 the hotline between the [[White House]] 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.<ref>PTI [http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/narendra-modi-barack-obama-hotline-becomes-operational "Modi-Obama hotline becomes operational"], ''[[The Indian Express]]'', Washington, 21 August 2015. Retrieved on 22 August 2015.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Bat phone]]
* [[Complaint system]]

== References ==
<references/>

== External links ==
* [http://electrospaces.blogspot.nl/2012/11/bilateral-hotlines-worldwide.html Top Level Telecommunications: Bilateral Hotlines Worldwide]

[[Category:Telecommunication services]]
[[Category:Hotlines between countries]]

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