Definition
A telecommunications facility, typically operated by a telephone company, that houses switching equipment used to connect calls and route communications between subscribers in a defined service area. In aviation contexts, a CO may be referenced when describing the landline or telecommunications infrastructure that supports flight service stations, weather data delivery, or NOTAM distribution.
Plain English
A telephone company building where the equipment lives that connects calls and routes communications for everyone in that area.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym lists, abbreviation tables, and some aviation notices or reference material.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots rarely deal with a CO directly, but knowing what the abbreviation refers to helps when reading NOTAMs or FAA documents that mention outages or upgrades affecting communications used for flight services.
Intuition Check
Do not read CO here as carbon monoxide or company. In this FAA abbreviation entry, CO means central office.
Example Sentence 1
A NOTAM advised that scheduled maintenance at the local CO would temporarily affect telephone briefing lines.
Example Sentence 2
NOTAMs are often routed through the central office for distribution.