Crossword Genius

Time phone company showed support (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tee

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'support' is the definition.
(I know that tee is a type of support)

'time phone company showed' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'time' could be 't' (abbreviation) and 't' is located in the answer.
'phone company' could be 'ee' (British mobile network EE) and 'ee' is located in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tee that I've seen before include "Drive off it, half-tittering" , "Golfer's peg" , "Golf peg" , "Golfing equipment" , "Mark" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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