INTRODUCTION

The telecommunication industry is the largest industry in the world. The public switched
telephone system (PSTN) is undoubtedly the largest, and probably the most important
communication system in the world. Because it is switched, it is possible, in theory at least, for
anyone to communicate with anyone else. This makes the telephone system very different from
broadcasting systems and from private communication networks. Virtually any subscriber to
the network can be connected to virtually any other subscriber to the network within a few
seconds by simply dialing a telephone number. Switched telephone network has been adapted
to serve many other needs, including data communication, facsimile, and even video.

TELEPHONE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM ENVIRONMENT

Telephone Transmission System – a pair of wires connecting two telephones or data
modems together
Transmission Path - interconnection of different transmission systems in tandem
handling a telephone call between two points

To provide a service that permits people or data modems to talk to each other at a distance,
the communication system must supply the means and facilities for connecting the subscribers
at the beginning of a call and disconnecting them at the completion of the call.
Switching Function – identifies and connects the subscribers to a suitable transmission
path
Signaling Function – supplies and interprets control and supervisory signals needed to
perform the operation
Transmission Function – involves the actual transmission of subscriber’s messages and
any necessary control signals
NETWORK EQUIPMENT
Four Primary Classifications:
A. INSTRUMENT
An instrument is any device use to originate and terminate calls and to transmit
and receive signals into and out of the telephone network, such as a 2500-type
telephone set, a cordless telephone, or a data modem.
o Station equipment – the instrument
o Station – location of the instrument
o Subscriber – the operator or user of the instrument
 B. LOCAL LOOPS
Local loop is simply the dedicated cable facility used to connect an instrument at
a subscriber’s station to the closest telephone office.
Several Functions:
o Carries voice signals both ways
o Carry signaling information both ways:
 dialing pulses or tones to the central office from the customer and dial
tones
 ringing
 busy signals
 prerecorded messages from the network to the subscriber

C. TRUNK CIRCUITS
Trunk circuit is similar to a local loop except trunk circuits are used to
interconnect two telephone offices. It can as simple as a pair of copper wires twisted
together or a sophisticated as an optical fiber cable. It could also be a wireless
communications channel.

D. EXCHANGES
An Exchange is a central location where subscribers are interconnected, either
temporarily or on a permanent basis. Exchanges connected directly to local loops are
often called Local Exchanges or sometimes Dial Switches or Local Dial Switches.
The purpose of a telephone exchange is to provide a path for a call to be
completed between two parties. To process a call, a switch must provide must provide
three primary functions:
1. Identify the Subscribers
2. Set up or Establish a communications path
3. Supervise the calling processes

AUTOMATED CENTRAL OFFICE SWITCHES AND EXCHANGES

An Automated Switching Systemis a system of sensors, switches, and other electrical
and electronic devices that allows subscribers to give instructions directly to the switch without
having to go through an operator. It perform interconnections between subscribers without the
assistance of a human and without using patch cords.
A stepping relays are relays as the system stepped through series of relays as the digits
were entered.
 The stepping process continued until all the digits of the telephone number were
entered. This type of switching machine was called a step-by-step (SXS) switch, stepper, or
perhaps more commonly, a Strowger switch.

Automated Central Office switches paved the way for totally Automated Central Office
Exchanges, which allow a caller located virtually anywhere in the world to direct dial virtually
anyone else in the world.

NETWORK TOPOLOGY
Switched networks can be categorized as circuit-switched or packet- switched.
o Circuit-Switched Network
 there is a dedicated physical path from transmitter to receiver for the duration of
the communication.
 is often more reliable, especially when it is important that messages arrive quickly
and in the same order in which they were sent, as is the case with telephony. The
circuit is often idle.
*Circuit Switch - programmable matrix that allows circuit to be connected to one
another
*The PSTN is a circuit-switched network
o Packet-Switched Network

 route short bursts of data, called packets, from point to point as needed.
 can make more efficient use of network resources

*The internet is a packet-switched network.

Wireless networks can be either circuit-switched (cellular phones) or packet-switched (wireless
local-area networks).
North American Telephone Switching
Switching exchanges evolved in North American to accommodate the rapid increase in demand
for long- distance calling.
o Switching hierarchy

 Allows a certain degree of route selection when establishing a telephone call

*route – is simply a path between two subscribers and is comprised of one or more
switches, two local loops, and possibly one or more trunk circuits.
 o Blocking

 If a call cannot be completed because the necessary trunk circuits or switching paths
are not available, the calling party receives an equipment (fast) busy signal.
 Based on the telephone company statistics, the likelihood that a call be blocked is
approximately 1 in 100,000.

* Because software translations in automatic switching machines permit the use of

alternate routes and each route may include several trunk circuits, the probability of
using the same facilities on identical calls is unlikely. This is an obvious disadvantage of
using the PSTN for data transmission because inconsistencies in transmission
parameters occur from call to call.

Classes of Switching Offices

Before the divestiture of AT&T in 1984, the Bell system North American Switching
Hierarchy consisted of five ranks or classes of switching centers. The highest-ranking office was
the regional center, and the lowest-ranking office was the end office.
Five Classifications of Switching Offices:
1. Class 5 end office – is a local exchange where subscriber loops terminated and received
dial tone.

*flat rate –the term that usually referred to subscribers received unlimited call service
in return for payment of a fixed charge each month
* access tandem office – it was located in rural, low-volume areas and served as a
dedicated class 5 office for local subscribers and also performed some of the functions
of a class 4 toll office for long-distance calls.

2. Class 4 toll center – it is concentrated traffic in one switching center to direct outward
traffic to the proper end office. Also provided centralized billing, provided toll customers
with operator assistance, processed toll and intertoll traffic through its switching system,
and converted signals from one trunk to another.

Two types of class 4 offices:

 a. Class 4C toll centers – provided human operators for both outward and inward
calling service.
b. Class 4P offices – usually has only outward operator service or perhaps no operator
service at all.

3. Class 3 primary center – this office provided service to small groups of class 4 offices
within a small area of a state. Provided no operator assistance; however, they could
serve the same switching functions as class 4 offices. A class 3 office generally had direct
trunks to either a sectional or regional center.

4. Class 2 sectional center- sectional centers could provide service to geographical regions
varying in size from part of a state to all several states, depending on population density.
No operator services were provided; however, a class 2 office could serve the same
switching functions as class 3 and class 4 offices.

5. Class 1 regional center – regional centers were the highest-ranking office in the DDD
network in terms of the size of the geographical area served and the trunking options
available. Ten regional centers were located in the United States and two in Canada. No
operator services; however, they could serve the same switching functions as class 2, 3,
or 4 offices.

Switching Route
o Region – an area that the Regional centers serve.
o Sections – smaller areas of a region
o Alternate routing – the method when a path or route is not available, select an
alternate route that is available.