Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)

PSTN
The term Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) describes the various equipment and interconnecting facilities that provide phone service to the public. The network continues to evolve with the introduction of new technologies. The PSTN began in the United States in 1878 with a manual mechanical switchboard that connected different parties and allowed them to carry on a conversation. Today, the PSTN is a network of computers and other electronic equipment that converts speech into digital data and provides a multitude of sophisticated phone features, data services, and mobile wireless access.

PSTN cont
PSTN voice facilities transport speech or voice-band data (such as fax/modems and digital data), which is data that has been modulated to voice frequencies. At the core of the PSTN are digital switches. The term "switch" describes the ability to cross-connect a phone line with many other phone lines and switching from one connection to another. The PSTN is well known for providing reliable communications to its subscribers. The phrase "five nines reliability," representing network availability of 99.999 percent for PSTN equipment, has become ubiquitous within the telecommunications industry

Network Topology
The topology of a network describes the various network nodes and how they interconnect. Regulatory policies play a major role in exactly how voice network topologies are defined in each country, but general similarities exist. While topologies in competitive markets represent an interconnection of networks owned by different service providers, monopolistic markets are generally an interconnection of switches owned by the same operator. Depending on geographical region, PSTN nodes are sometimes referred to by different names. The three node types we discuss in this chapter include:

Continue
End Office (EO) Also called a Local Exchange. The End Office provides network access for the subscriber. It is located at the bottom of the network hierarchy. Tandem Connects EOs together, providing an aggregation point for traffic between them. In some cases, the Tandem node provides the EO access to the next hierarchical level of the network. Transit Provides an interface to another hierarchical network level. Transit switches are generally used to aggregate traffic that is carried across long geographical distances.

What Is A Network ?

Switching Office

Switching Office

CPE

CPE

Transmission Facilities

Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)

Major Components of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN): Switching Offices Transmission facilities Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) Main distribution Frame

Switching Offices
SWITCHING OFFICE
CONTROL

NETWORK

Transmission Facilities

Switching
Line

Trunks

Switching Office
Line

Office
Special Service Circuit

Customer Premise Equipment (CPE)

Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) is the term used to identify any piece of equipment supplied by the customer to interface with the PSTN. Examples include: Single Line Telephone Set Modems or Data Sets Private Branch Exchange (PBX)

PSTN Hierarchy
The PSTN hierarchy is implemented differently in the United States and the United Kingdom. The following sections provide an overview of the PSTN hierarchy and its related terminology in each of these countries. PSTN Hierarchy in the United States In the United States, the PSTN is generally divided into three categories: Local Exchange Networks InterExchange Networks International Networks Local Exchange Carriers (LECs) operate Local Exchange networks, while InterExchange Carriers (IXCs) operate InterExchange and International networks. The PSTN hierarchy in the United States is also influenced by market deregulation, which has allowed service providers to compete for business and by the divestiture of Bell.

Typical Local Network

Local Exchange Network
The Local Exchange network consists of the digital switching nodes (EOs) that provide network access to the subscriber. The Local Exchange terminates both lines and trunks, providing the subscriber access to the PSTN. A Tandem Office often connects End Offices within a local area, but they can also be connected directly. In the United States, Tandem Offices are usually designated as either Local Tandem (LT) or Access Tandem (AT). The primary purpose of a Local Tandem is to provide interconnection between End Offices in a localized geographic region. An Access Tandem provides interconnection between local End Offices and serves as a primary point of access for IXCs. Trunks are the facilities that connect all of the offices, thereby transporting inter-nodal traffic.

Toll Network Structure Pre-Divestiture

Regional Center D Class 1 Regional Center C Class 2 Regional Center B Class 3 Toll Center A Class 4 Local Office (End Office) Class 5 FINAL Regional Center E HU6 HU5 HU4 HU3 HU1 Toll Center H Toll Connecting Local Tandem Office Local Office Sectional Center F Primary Center HU7 G

HU2

Telephone 1

Telephone 2

Toll Network Structure Pre-Divestiture

Regional Center D Class 1 FINAL Regional Center E HU6 HU5 HU4 HU3 HU1 Toll Center H Toll Connecting Local Office (End Office) Class 5 Local Tandem Office Local Office HU2 Primary Center HU7 G

Regional Center C Class 2

Regional Center B Class 3 Toll Center A Class 4

Sectional Center F

Telephone 1

Telephone 2

The PostDivestiture Network

The Post-1984 Network

IEC1
IEC2 IEC3

LATA x
InterLATA Carriers

LATA y

Typical LEC Network

Central Office
Switching Systems Distribution Facility/Local Loop

Tandem Office

IC POP

Interoffice Facilities/Trunks

Distribution Facility/Local Loop

Central Office

LEC

IC

LATA Access Services

Switched Access Special Access (Nonswitched)

Switched Access Service

Feature Group A Feature Group B Feature Group C Feature Group D Equal Access End Office

North American Numbering Plan

Numbering Plan Area N X X

Central Office N X X X

Station X X X

2-9 0-9 0-9

2-9 0-9 0-9

0-9 0-9 0-9 0-9

Number Plan Area (NPA)

These special purposes codes include:
NXX Reserved Codes:
600 Used in Canada for TWX (teletype service) 700 Assigned to ICs 800, 888, 877, and 866 Service (INWATS) 900 Service (DIAL-IT Service)

N11 Reserved Codes:

311 Non-Emergency Police and Fire 411 Local Directory Assistance 611 Repair Service* 811 Business Office* 911 Emergency Number

Number Plan Area (NPA)

Interchangeable area (or NPA) codes are NPA codes of the format NXX.

By changing from the former N-0/1-X format to the NXX format, the maximum number of assignable NPA codes increased by 640 codes as shown:
Old Format N 0/1 X 8 x 2 x 10 = 160 N X X 8 x 10 x 10 = 800 160-8* = 152 *Excluding codes of N11 format 800-8* = 792* *Excluding codes of N11 format

New format

International Numbering
If you have made international calls, you know that the familiar NANP is a subset of the ITU international plan. Until recently, international numbers were limited to 12 digits.

1, 2 or 3 digits

Varies by location

Country Codes Trunk Code Local Code Subscriber Number

Signaling

Signaling
Signaling is the generation, transmission, and reception of information needed to direct and control the setup and disconnect of a call.

Signaling
Originating CPE Originating Switching Office Terminating Switching Office Terminating CPE

1 2

Idle Off-hook Dial Tone Dialed Digits Off-hook Off-hook (wink) On-hook (wink) Dialed Digits Audible Ring Ringing

Answer
Disconnect

Off-hook

Signaling
Originating CPE Originating Switching Office Terminating Switching Office Terminating CPE

1 2

Idle Off-hook Dial Tone Dialed Digits

3 5
Off-hook Off-hook (wink) On-hook (wink)

4 6
6
Dialed Digits Audible Ring Ringing

Answer
Disconnect

Off-hook

Signaling
Originating CPE Originating Switching Office Terminating Switching Office Terminating CPE

1 2

Idle Off-hook Dial Tone Dialed Digits

3 5
Off-hook Off-hook (wink) On-hook (wink)

4 6
6 7
Dialed Digits Audible Ring Ringing

Answer
Disconnect

Off-hook

Signaling
Originating CPE Originating Switching Office Terminating Switching Office Terminating CPE

1 2

Idle Off-hook Dial Tone Dialed Digits

3 5
Off-hook Off-hook (wink) On-hook (wink)

4 6
6 7
Dialed Digits Audible Ring Ringing

8 9 10

Answer

Off-hook

10

Disconnect

Common Channel Signaling (CCS)

Common Channel Signaling (CCS) is a signaling method that uses a separate dedicated channel to send and receive signaling information for a group of trunks or facilities by means of labeled messages.

Signaling System 7 (SS7) LINKS

CO CO A F CO A

STP

STP

C B
STP

B D
STP

C A SCP A SCP

SS7
Switching Office A STP Customer A IAM ACM ANM REL RLC IAM ACM ANM REL RLC Customer B Switching Office B

Network Administration, Maintenance and Services

Network Management Traffic Measurements Billing Maintenance Customer Services