Hoot’n’Holler Networks

Hoot 'n' holler networks, are specialized audio conference networks most heavily used in the brokerage industry but also employed in utility, media, mass transit and other industries. Hoot 'n' Holler networks are used by brokerage firms to advise brokers on market movements. Brokerage firms can spend millions of dollars in monthly leased line charges to pay for dedicated circuit-switched hoot 'n' holler long distance connections.

In telecommunications, a hoot-n-holler is a dedicated "always on" connection used for two-way business-to-business voice communication. Hoot-n-holler networks evolved from a type of crude point-to-point plain old telephone system (POTS) used by small businesses with large inventories in the mid-1900's. A plumbing supply company in the 1950's, for instance, might use a full-duplex, transmit-and-receive device commonly called a "squawk box" or "shout down" to allow the front desk person to have two-way communication with the warehouse supervisor over a dedicated open phone line without having to pick up a receiver or dial a phone. Hoot-n-holler found a home at brokerage firms in the 1960's, where it became more sophisticated and grew into the speakerphone and conference-call technology many businesses use today.

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