No, sound does not travel faster through phone lines than in the air. In fact, sound travels much faster through the air than it does through phone lines or any other solid medium.
In the air, the speed of sound is approximately 343 meters per second (or about 1,125 feet per second) at room temperature and sea level. This speed can vary depending on factors such as temperature, humidity, and air pressure.
On the other hand, sound travels through phone lines as electrical signals, not as actual sound waves. These electrical signals, which carry audio information, travel at the speed of light in the specific medium used for transmission. In the case of copper wire commonly used in traditional phone lines, the electrical signals travel at a speed that is a significant fraction of the speed of light, but still much slower than the speed of sound in the air.
Therefore, sound waves in the air propagate faster than the electrical signals traveling through phone lines.