red phone

"red phone"、または、"president’s red phone"という表現をご存知でしょうか？

直訳すると、赤い電話（赤電話）で、公衆電話という概念すら無くなろうとしている現代では、昭和世代の店舗に設置されていた赤い電話やピンク色の電話を思い浮かべるのは困難かもしれません。

"president’s red phone"とも言われるこの電話は、公衆電話ではなく、特別なものです。

It's not red, or even a telephone, but the secure Washington-Moscow communications line known in Cold War legend as the red phone is primed to ring again as the two powers jostle over the Kremlin's nuclear threats.

With President Vladimir Putin openly brandishing the possibility of using nuclear weapons against Ukraine, where his conventional army is struggling to consolidate a seven-month-old invasion, US officials say secret channels are a key tool in pushing back.

"The answer to your question is yes," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told NBC on Sunday when asked if the hotline was busy.

(Sebastian Smith. Moscow Calling? Red Phone Line Remains Crucial In US-Russia Standoff. Barron’s. September 29, 2022.)

言うなれば、「ホットライン」、つまり緊急時の連絡手段、ということです。

下記はGoogleが開発に力を入れているStarlineと呼ばれる新しい遠隔コミュニケーション技術に関する記事からの引用です。

Starline only works with one person for one-to-one chats, and you can only talk to other Starline booths. Is there a market for VIP-to-VIP communication booths, like a modern version of the president's red phone?

(Ron Amadeo. Google is serious about its giant video chat booths, starts real-world testing. Ars Technica. October 13, 2022.)

ところで、"president’s red phone"の由来は冷戦時代、米露首脳が互いの意思疎通を図るために特別に設置したコミュニケーションラインにあるそうですが、実際は赤い電話ではなく、また電話ですらなかったらそうです。（当時はテキストメッセージを送受信するテレタイプ（電信）端末で、現在は電子メールだそうです。）

But, in actuality, it wasn’t a phone at all. Known as the Moscow-Washington Hotline, it was a direct line of communication between the White House and the Kremlin (where the Soviet Communist Headquarters resided). The line was established in 1963 after the Cuban Missile Crisis so that President John F. Kennedy, Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev and their advisors could connect directly and quickly. 

(Bethaney Phillips. The origin of the famous ‘red phone’ in the Oval Office. We Are the Mighty. June 26, 2022.)