I think by telephonic waves you're referring to microwaves.
A rectenna is used to convert microwave signal to DC. It is made of an antenna and a diode.
For example, a dipole antenna with a microwave diode connected across the dipole elements converts microwave signal into DC.
This is a simple technique but requires the design of antenna for broadband operation.
Basically, we need to identify the available microwave signals and design the rectenna.