Autopatch

The term phone patch more accurately describes a system that is dialed and connected to the telephone network by a user manually operating a ham radio base station, which was more common before computer technology made automation of the process easier.

Uses

This feature is primarily used by radio amateurs to provide emergency telephone connectivity to places that have lost their telephone network access. An amateur radio operator with a transceiver installed in their vehicle may provide telephone network access from dozens of miles away, depending on the frequencies of the involved repeater/base station, the power of the transceiver, band conditions, and the gain of the antennas on both ends.