A method, system, and apparatus for squelching a signal in telecommunications systems. The apparatus includes a filter, two power detectors, a divider, two comparators, a logic gate, and a gain control block. The apparatus receives an input signal, and the power of the signal is detected. The input signal is also filtered to pass only the noise portion of the signal, and the power of the filtered signal is detected. A ratio between the filtered signal power and the input signal power is determined. A first comparator receives the filtered signal power and a second comparator receives the ratio of the filtered signal power and the input signal power. The logic gate receives the outputs from the first and second comparators. The gain control block receives as inputs the logic gate's output and the input signal to the apparatus. The gain control block may attenuate the input signal based on the logic gate's output. The gain control block generates the output signal of the apparatus.