This document summarizes the structure and components of the traditional telephone network, including exchanges, signaling systems, trunk lines, and hierarchies like PDH and SDH. It discusses the overall network architecture with analog and digital switches connected by various types of trunk lines. Signaling systems have evolved from SS1 to SS7 to support intelligent network services. SDH/SONET networks employ synchronous multiplexing in optical networks to transport telephone calls in digital formats. Bibliographies are also provided to learn more about digital telephony and SDH/SONET networks.