terminal (telecommunication)

{{Short description|Device which ends a telecommunications link}}

{{about||computer terminal|computer terminal|other types of termination nodes|Terminal (disambiguation)}}

{{one source|date=August 2020}}

{{Expand French|date=August 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}

Image:Network Tree diagram.png

In the context of telecommunications, a terminal is a device which ends a telecommunications link and is the point at which a signal enters or leaves a network. Examples of terminal equipment include telephones, fax machines, computer terminals, printers and workstations.{{Cite web |title=Definition of Terminal - Gartner Information Technology Glossary |url=https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/terminal |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=Gartner |language=en}}

An end instrument is a piece of equipment connected to the wires at the end of a telecommunications link. In telephony, this is usually a telephone connected to a local loop.{{cite web | url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US8682278B2/en | title=Telephony terminal }} End instruments that relate to data terminal equipment include printers, computers, barcode readers, automated teller machines (ATMs) and the console ports of routers.{{Cite book|last=Gnanasivam, P.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/762016601|title=Telecommunication switching and networks|date=2005|publisher=New Age International|isbn=81-224-1583-0|location=New Delhi|oclc=762016601}}{{cite book|author=P. Gnanasivam|title=Telecommunication Switching and Networks|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=btVRxi1-JLMC&pg=PA26|year=2005|publisher=New Age International|isbn=978-81-224-1583-4|page=26}}{{Cite web |title=Communications Terminal Definition |url=https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/communications-terminal |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=Law Insider |language=en}}