Long distance calls are sometimes routed over geostationary satellites. These signals travel for 2x40,000km which leads to a very noticeable delay of ¼ of a second, the answer will reach you ½ a second later than usualy, which feels very odd.
At least that was the case in the 1990s, when I used the POTS to call long distance. Nowadays I’d assume most of that is routed over the Internet, which uses undersea cables and thus is usually much faster than that.
Speed of light in glass is about 2/3c. Internet routing does not follow great circle routes either, so add an extra 20% fudge factor for that.
From experience, voice calls sometimes get extra latency added in for no good reason whatsoever. Calling again usually resolves the issue.
So while there’s a bit more delay, despite being noticeable it doesn’t change how you talk on the phone.
Long distance calls are sometimes routed over geostationary satellites. These signals travel for 2x40,000km which leads to a very noticeable delay of ¼ of a second, the answer will reach you ½ a second later than usualy, which feels very odd.
At least that was the case in the 1990s, when I used the POTS to call long distance. Nowadays I’d assume most of that is routed over the Internet, which uses undersea cables and thus is usually much faster than that.
Don’t forget the velocity factor of regular copper wire is somewhere on the order of 95%.
And if it’s coaxial copper, then it’s closer to 80%, and in some cases as bad as 50%.
Science is weird.
WHAT?? NO, NO, I’M IN THE LIBRARY! THE LIBRARY!! OK, CIAO!