page_title: Handset
hierarchical_section_title: Handset
caption_attribution_description: English: A portrait of Italian-American aerospace engineer and aviation pioneer Enea Bossi sr, in the 1930s. Italiano: Ritratto dell'ingegnere italoamericano e pioniere dell'aviazione Enea Bossi sr, negli anni Trenta.
context_page_description: A handset is a component of a telephone that a user holds to the ear and mouth to receive audio through the receiver and speak to the remote party via the built-in transmitter.
  In earlier telephones the transmitter was mounted directly on the telephone itself, which was attached to a wall at a convenient height or affixed to a desk stand.
  Until the advent of the cordless telephone, the handset was usually wired to the base unit, typically by a flexible tinsel wire.
  The handset of a cordless telephone contains a radio transceiver which relays communication via a base station that is wired to the telephone line. A mobile phone does not require a base station and communicates directly with a cell site in specially designated frequency bands.
context_section_description: A handset is a component of a telephone that a user holds to the ear and mouth to receive audio through the receiver and speak to the remote party via the built-in transmitter.
  In earlier telephones the transmitter was mounted directly on the telephone itself, which was attached to a wall at a convenient height or affixed to a desk stand.
  Until the advent of the cordless telephone, the handset was usually wired to the base unit, typically by a flexible tinsel wire.
  The handset of a cordless telephone contains a radio transceiver which relays communication via a base station that is wired to the telephone line. A mobile phone does not require a base station and communicates directly with a cell site in specially designated frequency bands.
caption: Early 20th century candlestick telephone which required only the receiver to be held to the ear (United States, 1920s-30s)
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