A cordless telephone or portable telephone is a telephone with a wireless handset which communicates via radio waves with a base station connected to a fixed telephone line (POTS) and can only be operated near (typically within 100 meters or 328 ft from) its base station (which has the handset cradle), such as in and around the house. Unlike a standard telephone, a cordless telephone needs household mains electricity to power the base station. The cordless handset is powered by a battery, which is recharged by the base station, when the handset sits in its cradle.
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