The original NYTimes article suggested that calls would be intercepted because of the transmission network: But the calls made from the phones are intercepted

The original NYTimes article suggested that calls would be intercepted because of the transmission network: But the calls made from the phones are intercepted as they travel through the cell towers, cables and switches that make up national and international cellphone networks. Calls made from any cellphone — iPhone, Android, an old-school Samsung flip phone — are vulnerable. Are cellphone calls different from landlines in this respect? Don’t landline calls go through cables and switches too? I know in the old days landlines were connected via direct circuits, but that can’t be true anymore, can it? Can anyone shed light on this?