Basic Telecommunication Networks

Purpose: to transmit user information in any form to another user of network Consists of different networks providing different services, e.g., data, fixed, cellular telephony services Three technologies needed for communication through a network

Transmission Switching Signaling

Transmission

Transmission systems use three basic media for information transfer

Copper cables, such as LANs and telephone subscriber lines Optical fiber cables, high data-rate transmission Radio waves, such as cellular phones and satellite transmission

Switching

With the growth of telephones there was a need to switch signals from one wire to another At first switches were manually controlled Automatic switches, known as exchanges, were developed in 1887 by strowger Switching had to be controlled by telephone user with the help of pulses generated by a dial Modern exchanges are software controlled having capacity of thousands of subscribers

Switching
Exchange (Switch)

Connections to other areas

(Exchange Switch)

(Exchange Transmission Switch) Network

(Exchange Switch)

Signaling

Mechanism that allows network entities to establish, maintain, and terminate sessions Some examples of signaling on subscriber lines are

Off-hook condition: exchange notices that the subscriber has raised the telephone hook and gives a dial tone Dial: subscriber dials digits and that are received by the exchange On-hook condition: exchange notices that subscriber has finished the call , clears the connection and stops billing

Conventional telephone

Receives electrical power and speech signal from local exchange via two copper wires These wires are called pair or a local loop Microphone: converts acoustic into electrical energy. Diaphragms with small containers having carbon grains, exhibit low resistance while being pressed Earphones: electric magnet produces vibrations in diaphragm according to alternating current proportional to speech

Signaling to Exchange

Exchanges supply DC voltage to subscriber loops, telephones use this for operation Power from exchange is an important feature Set up and release of a call The switch in phone is closed when hook is raised 50 mA approx current starts flowing, which is detected by a relay, giving info to control unit Control unit activates signaling circuit, receive dialed digits from subscriber A Connects the speech circuit through to dialed subscriber B

Signaling to Exchange

Exchange supplies a ringing voltage to B of about 70V AC with 25 Hz frequency Ringing voltage is switched off when off hook is detected on B End to end speech circuit is connected When off hook is detected on A, exchange inform A with a dial tone that it is ready to receive digits After dialing it keeps A informed by sending a ringing tone When B answers exchange stops ringing tone and ringing signal

Signaling to Exchange
Exchange

Subscriber A

Subscriber B

Off Hook Dial Tone B - Number Ringing Tone Ringing Signal

B - Answer
Conversation On Hook Release of speech circuit On Hook

Signaling to Exchange

Rotary or Pulse dialing

Switch in telephone set is opened for an on-hook condition and closed for off-hook condition (when hook is raised) Local loop is closed and opened according to the dialed digits Dialing plate with finger holes is rotated clockwise and released, switch is breaking the line current periodically Number of pulses are detected by the exchange Loop current is approximately 20 mA to 50mA

Signaling to Exchange
Current 50 mA One Cycle 60 ms 40 ms Time

0 mA

Disadvantages of Rotary or Pulse dialing

Slow Expensive due to high resolution circuitry Cannot support new services such as call forwarding

Signaling to Exchange
Upper frequency band 697 Lower 770 frequency 852 band 941 1209 1336 1477
1 4 7 * 2 5 8 0 3 6 9 #

Tone Dialing

Each digit is represented by the combination of two frequencies, one higher and one lower All the frequencies are in audible range (300-3400 Hz) Signaling principle is known as Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signaling

Signaling to Exchange

Advantages of tone dialing

Quicker: dialing all digits take the same time Less dialing errors Additional push buttons *, # etc for activation of so called supplementary services Tone dialing is also used to control value added services, for example tele-banking A single disadvantage may be stated as that a user have to remember command sequences in order to use new services

Disadvantages

Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)

Definition

A domestic telecommunications network usually accessed by telephones, key telephone systems, private branch exchange trunks, and data arrangements. (As defined in FS-1037-C)

The PSTN is composed of telephone exchanges networked together to form a nationwide (and worldwide) telephone communications system

Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)

CPE

CPE: Customer premise Equipment NID: Network Interface Device CO: Central Office FEX: Foreign Exchange

CPE: Customer premise Equipment

1. 2.

An imaginary line separates the telephone company's equipment from the customer's equipment. This imaginary dividing line is called the demarcation point or 'demarc' Customer premise Equipment includes
All wiring inside the house All "sets" (telephones/telephone handsets)

For commercial/business subscribers, additional equipment might be considered 'CPE' :

CSU/DSU Routers Public Branch Exchange switches (PBX) Extended wiring within the businesses premise

NID: Network Interface Device

CPE

The Network Interface Device or NID provides connection to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) A phone line is nothing more than an electrical circuit running on DC power. Red is positive, green is negative.

Exchanges

An exchange is made up of thousands of local lines grouped together into a single switched grouping connected to and switched from a central office This physical grouping relates to how phone numbers are grouped together Each exchange is a set of one or more cross-connect switches in one or more central offices that answer to a single three digit code Three digit code is the first three of seven numbers that is dialed for local calls Central offices often serve more than one exchange

Local Exchange

Local exchange is the closest central office to the subscriber These offices handle phone calls within the exchange From the perspective of a phone number, the exchange is the first three digits of phone number after the area code One or more local central offices will form a

local calling area

Foreign Exchange

A foreign exchange is any exchange outside your local calling area It is connected to a local exchange via large, high-speed trunk lines (always a T3 or better) Foreign exchange used to be handled by local telephone provider and was called the 'extended local calling area'

National and International Exchanges

National Exchange

The national exchange is the connection from the regional telephone providers to the long-distance telephone providers This exchange is where area code comes from long distance provider will connect to other long distance providers overseas through these exchanges This is where country codes come in

International Exchange