In telecommunications, the term bypass has these meanings: The use of any telecommunications facilities or services that circumvents those of the local exchange common carrier. Note: Bypass facilities or services may be either customer-provided or vendor-supplied. An alternate circuit that is routed around equipment or a system component. Note: Bypasses are often used to let system operation continue when the bypassed equipment or a system component is inoperable or unavailable.
References Federal Standard 1037C MIL-STD-188