Telephone interface circuit for providing over-current and over-voltage protection

A telephone interface circuit, comprising:

• a first transistor which switch-controls a connection between a speech circuit and a pair of subscriber lines, wherein the first transistor is an NPN transistor;
• a second transistor which controls an on/off state of the first transistor, wherein the second transistor is a PNP transistor;
• a positive feedback circuit which connects a collector terminal of the first transistor to a base terminal of the second transistor;
• and
• an internal power source which supplies current for driving the second transistor,
• a circuit constant being set such that the first transistor is to operate in a saturated region when a voltage in a range of standard voltages delivered over a pair of subscriber lines for normal operating conditions of a subscriber line device that is not being subjected to an over-voltage or an over-current event is applied in between the pair of the subscriber lines and such that the first transistor is to operate in an unsaturated region when an overvoltage exceeding said range of standard voltages is applied in between the pair of the subscriber lines.