公共交换电话网（Public Switched Telephone Network或简称PSTN）是一种用于全球语音通信的电路交换网络，是目前世界上最大的网络，拥有用户数量大约是8亿。PSTN包括电话线（双绞线），光纤电缆，微波传输链路，蜂窝网络，通信卫星，与海底电话电缆，所有互连通过交换中心包括移动和固定电话，从而允许在世界上的任何电话与任何其他终端通信。最初是固定线路的模拟电话系统的网络，PSTN的核心目前几乎已完全数字化。

公共交换电话网最早是1876年由贝尔发明的电话开始创建的。PSTN已经经历了磁石交换、空分交换、程控交换、数字交换等等阶段，目前几乎全部是数字化的网络，依功能属性分为端局、长途电话中心局、主中心局、及国际电话交换中心等。

The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the aggregate of the world's circuit-switched telephone networks that are operated by national, regional, or local telephony operators, providing infrastructure and services for public telecommunication. The PSTN consists of telephone lines, fiber optic cables, microwave transmission links, cellular networks, communications satellites, and undersea telephone cables, all interconnected by switching centers, thus allowing most telephones to communicate with each other. Originally a network of fixed-line analog telephone systems, the PSTN is now almost entirely digital in its core network and includes mobile and other networks, as well as fixed telephones.