Telephony Background

Telephony Background
By Vaishali Kulkarni
Introduction
World's largest machine; extends to all countries
Huge economic and social importance
Specialized in voice transmission
Other applications have been created: fax, data etc.
Basic service: full-duplex voice transmission
Small end-to-end delays, small delay variation (more than
150ms delay disturbs discussion --note satellites!)
Call admission control, and accepted calls will complete
Grows all the time, now mostly growth of mobile networks
Although most traffic in the telecom networks is now data,
most of the money comes from voice
1/23/2017 Digital Voice Communication 2
Introduction
Telephones are addressed by telephone numbers,
that are unique
There are special numbers or area codes that
need translation
The network formed by the end systems
(telephones, faxes, modems etc.) and the
hierarchic switching and transmission systems is
called Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
or informally as Plain Old Telephone System
(POTS).
Introduction
AMPLITUDE
TIME
ANALOG
SIGNAL
ACCOUSTIC
ENERGY
BATTERY
MICROPHONE
RECEIVER
SPEAKER LISTENER
2 WIRES
SIMPLE ONE WAY SPEECH

2 WIRES

Introduction
ACCOUSTIC
ENERGY
BATTERY
A BASIC TWO WAY TELEPHONE CIRCUIT COMPRISES OF 4

WIRES - ONE PAIR FOR EACH DIRECTION
BOTHWAY SPEECH
4 WIRES

Introduction
IN PRACTICE, THERE IS A NEED FOR THE CALLER TO INDICATE TO
THE RECEPIENT THAT THEY WISH TO SPEAK. A CALLING BELL AT
THE RECEIVING END AND A POWER SOURCE AT THE TRANSMITTING
END WOULD BE NECESSARY . Signaling

BELL
SWITCH
RINGER
BOTH WAY BASIC TELEPHONY WITH SIGNALING - 8 WIRES

Introduction
In order to provide bidirectional telephony service between

two persons 8 wires (4 pairs) are required.
Any reduction in the number of wires required will result in
enormous cost economy.
4w to 2w conversion
Time sharing of functions

Introduction
FOUR WIRE TO TWO WIRE CONVERSION
HYBRID TRANSFORMERS are used at the two ends of a circuit

to convert the 4W circuit into a 2W circuit and vice versa.
HYBRID
4W Trans 4W Rec
TRANSFORMERS
Termination 2W
2 Wire
4W Rec 4W Trans
Transmission systems operate on 4W basis- GO & RETURN

directions are separated using Hybrids.

Introduction
TIME SHARING OF FUNCTIONS
Ringing required at the start of the call

Not required during the speaking phase of the call.
The pair used for speech can be time shared for ringing
by both ends at the start of the call.
Once the speech starts, the pair carries only speech in
both directions.

Introduction
A SIMPLE TWO PHONE SYSTEM
WITH HYBRIDS & CALLING ARRANGEMENT USING ONE
PAIR OF WIRES
HANDSET HANDSET
Bty
Bty
B B

Introduction
POINT TO POINT SYSTEM
Two telephone instruments connected by a pair of Wires

Introduction
POINT TO MULTIPOINT
5 PERSONS- 8 INSTRUMENTS
A pair of wire for each link
Only boss can talk to others
One call at a time

Introduction
OMNIBUS NETWORK
-All phones connected on

omnibus
-Selective ring to call each
-No secrecy
-Poor reliability
-Only one call at a time
Introduction
MESH CONNECTED SYSTEM
1
5 6 7
8 9
4
-Any one can call anyone 5 btys

-Complete secrecy 10 5 ringers
-Busy indication required 5 bells
-Ability to use same phone with all links 5 transmitters
-Total links 10 = n(n-1)/2 5 speakers
10 links

CENTRAL HUB
As n becomes large, number of links n/2.
If n=100, total number of links 5000.
Limitations of the simple mesh connected network led to the
development of the central hub to which each telephone is
connected. The central hub can provide the connectivity
between lines so that the telephones are connected.
CENTRAL
HUB
No. of links = No. of telephones

Telephone network Architecture
What Is A Network ?
Switching Switching
Office Office
CPE CPE
Transmission Facilities CPE - Customer

Premise Equipment
Terminals, Transmission and Switching
The three basic elements of a communication
network are terminals, transmission systems and
switches.

PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE NETWORK
PSTN
LOCAL NETWORK connects subscribers of the local area.
NATIONAL NETWORK connects subscribers of a country to

each other with the help of local exchanges, TAXs . The
national network routes the international calls to the
Gateway.
INTERNATIONAL NETWORK establishes links between the

gateway exchanges of national networks

STATION A STATION B
OPERATOR OPERATOR
ASSISTED ASSISTED
SERVICES SERVICES
GATEWAY GATEWAY
LOCAL LOCAL
TAX TAX
EXCH EXCH
ACCESS JUNCTION NLD JUNCTION ACCESS

NETWORK
NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK
TRANSPORT NETWORK
1/23/2017 PSTN
Digital Voice Communication 19
ELEMENTS OF A TELECOM NETWORK
A network is a combination of
NODES
LINKS
TERMINALS
SWITCH, TRANSMISSION MEDIUM, CPE

Basic Telephone Systems
POTS is the plain old telephone system that connects
most homes and small businesses.
POTS lines were designed to transmit the human voice,
which has a bandwidth less than 4000 Hz.
A telephone conversation requires two channels, each
occupying 4000 Hz.

Various telephone channels and their
assignment of frequencies

Basic Telephone Systems - Loops

The local loop is the telephone line that runs from the
telephone companys central office to your home or
business.
The central office is the building that houses the telephone
companys switching equipment and provides a local dial
tone on your telephone.
If you place a long distance call, the central office passes
your telephone call off to a long distance provider.


Trunks
A trunk is a special telephone line that runs between central
offices and other telephone company switching centers.
A trunk is usually digital, high speed, and carries multiple
telephone circuits.
A trunk is typically a 4-wire circuit, while a telephone line is
a 2-wire circuit.
Not associated with a single telephone number like a line is.
A telephone number consists of an area code, an exchange,
and a subscriber extension.
The area code and exchange must start with the digits 2-9 to
separate them from long distance and operator services.
Switching Offices
SWITCHING
OFFICE
CONTROL
NETWORK

Transmission Facilities
Switching Trunks Switching

Line Office Office Line
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)

SWITCH AT THE HUB
Connectivity between lines is provided at the

central hub by means of a SWITCH.
The Hub is called CENTRAL OFFICE in the US

EXCHANGE in UK & India.

EVOLUTION OF SWITCHING SYSTEMS
Manual Switchboard
Automatic Electromechanical
Strowger
Crossbar
Electronic
SPC Analog
SPC Digital
N G N Switch
IP
MANUAL LOCAL
SWITCHBOARD LOOP
REL REL REL REL REL
LAMP
JACK
MANUAL SWITCH BOARD AT CENTRAL EXCHANGE
CONNECTIONS MADE MANUALLY BY OPERATOR USING PATCH CORDS

CENTRAL BATTERY, RINGER, TEST DESK

PLUG & JACK SLEEVE
ARRANGEMENT RING
JACK
TIP +
P
PLUG
SLEEVE
RING
TIP
TELEPHONE LINES ARE TERMINATED ON THE JACKS.

PLUGS ARE USED TO INTERCONNECT THE JACKS.

LIMITATIONS OF MANUAL BOARD
1. Operator assisted calls
- Efficiency of operator is a key factor
- Confidentiality lost
- Operator fatigue, Round the clock manning
2. With rapid increase in the number of subscribers patch panels
became very large difficulty in operation
3. Number of calls handled could not match the traffic
4. Inter Zonal exchange call success rate poor
5. Need for subscriber identification by a number
6. Call charging was primitive
7. Trunk exchanges manually operated

A TYPICAL MANUAL BOARD

FUNCTIONS OF A TELEPHONE EXCHANGE
SWITCH
MATRIX
BATTERY BATTERY
OFF - HOOK OFF - HOOK

DETECTOR CONTR RINGER
DETECTOR
OL

FUNCTIONS OF A SWITCH
Interconnect lines
(Subscriber to subscriber, subscriber to trunk, trunk to trunk,
trunk to subscriber, etc.)
O/G CALL
SUB TRK O/G
L-L CALL TRANSIT
CALL
SUB I/C TRK

I/C CALL
Control the traffic flow

(Interconnect as per certain set rules)
Direct Control Step by step exchanges
Common control wired program- Cross bar switch
Stored Program Control- Electronic exchanges
CENTRAL OFFICE EXCHANGE
LOCAL
LOOP
LOCAL EXCHANGE AREA

MULTI EXCHANGE AREA
SW SW
B C
SW
A
Why 3 exchanges? Why not 4? Why not 2?

OPTIMISATION
T
O Total cost
OPTIMUM
T
A
L
Land+ bldg + Exch +
C Junction costs
O
S
Local loop costs
T
1 2 3 4 5 6
No. OF EXCHANGES

TANDEM EXCHANGE
Larger metropolitan areas will have a number of local
exchanges serving smaller areas. It is not possible to
provide Inter Exchange Junctions linking all of them.
It is economical to provide TANDEM exchange for a
group of local exchanges so that the junction
network would be manageable.
A TANDEM exchange is usually without local loops
(no subscriber connection) and is meant for
switching junctions.

TANDEM L-EX L-EX
L-EX
EXCHANGES
TANDEM
L-EX
NORTH L-EX
L-EX
L-EX L-EX
L-EX L-EX L-EX
TANDEM TANDEM
L-EX EAST L-EX
WEST
L-EX L-EX
L-EX
L-EX L-EX
TANDEM L-EX
L-EX
SOUTH
L-EX
L-EX
TANDEM L-EX
L-EX
EXCHANGES
MESH CONNECTED
INTERCONNECTS NETWORKS OF DIFFERENT CITIES

TRUNK
AUTOMATIC TAX
EXCHANGE
TAX TAX
TAX
TAX
TAX TAX

INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL LINKS GATEWAY
G
EXCHANGE
GG
GATEWAYS NOT MESH CONNECTED

DESIGNATION OF EXCHANGES
INDIA UK US
GATEWAY GATEWAY Regional Centre class 1
TAX LEVEL I TRUNK EXCH Sectional Centre class 2
TAX LEVEL II TRUNK EXCH Primary Centre class 3
TANDEM JN TANDEM Toll centre class 4
LOCAL LOCAL End office class 5
322 TAXs- 22 Level I

Typical Local Network (US)

Tandem Office T Wire
Center
C
Tandem Trunk
Groups (Final)
Wire Wire
Center Direct Trunk Groups Center
A B
(High Usage)

Typical LEC (Local Exchange) Network (US)
Central Office Tandem Office IC POP

Switching
Systems
Distribution
Facility/Local Loop
Interoffice
Facilities/Trunks
Distribution
Facility/Local Loop
Central Office
LEC IC
PSTN Network
Hierarchy (US)

STATION A STATION B
OPERATOR OPERATOR
ASSISTED ASSISTED
SERVICES SERVICES
GATEWAY GATEWAY
LOCAL LOCAL
TAX TAX
EXCH EXCH
ACCESS JUNCTION NLD JUNCTION ACCESS

NETWORK
NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK
TRANSPORT NETWORK
P S T N (India)
Subscriber loop Design
OPERATION OF THE TELEPHONE SUBSET
A telephone subset
consists of an earpiece,
which we may call the
receiver; the mouthpiece,
which we may call the
transmitter; and some
control circuitry in the
telephone cradle-stand.

Basic Design Considerations

Telephone subscribers are connected via a subscriber
loop to a local serving switch that can connect a call to
another subscriber served by that same switch or via
other switches through the PSTN to a distant called
subscriber.
The conventional subscriber loop is a wire pair.
Present commercial telephone service provides for
both transmission and reception on the same pair of
wires that connect the subscriber to her/his local
serving switch. In other words, it is two-wire operation.

The subscriber loop is a dc loop in that it is a wire pair

supplying a metallic path for the following:
Talk battery.
An ac ringing voltage for the bell or other alerting device on the
telephone instrument supplied from a special ringing voltage
source.
Current to flow through the loop when the telephone subset is
taken out of its cradle (off-hook), which tells the switch that it
requires access and causing line seizure at the local serving
switch.
The telephone dial that, when operated, makes and breaks the
3
dc current on the closed loop, which indicates to the switching

equipment the telephone number of the distant telephone with
which communication is desired.

The typical subscriber loop is supplied its

battery voltage by means of a battery feed
circuit .
Battery voltages have been standardized at
48 Vdc.
It is a negative voltage to minimize cathodic
reaction.
This is a form of corrosion that can be a
thermal noise source.
Subscriber Loop Length Limits
It is desirable from an economic standpoint to permit
subscriber loop lengths to be as long as possible.
Thus the subscriber serving area could become very
large.
This, in turn, would reduce the number of serving
switches required per unit area affording greater
centralization, less land to buy, fewer buildings, simpler
maintenance, and so forth.
Unfortunately, there are other tradeoffs forcing the
urban/suburban telecommunication system designer
to smaller serving areas and more switches.

The subscriber loop plant, sometimes called outside plant, is
the largest single investment that a telecommunication
company has.
Physically, we can extend a subscriber loop very long
distances: 5, 10, 20, 50, or even 100 miles. Such loops require
expensive conditioning.
The two basic criteria, which limit loop length, must be
considered when designing a subscriber loop:
Attenuation (loss) limits
Resistance limits

Attenuation (loss) must be limited to keep within

loudness rating requirements.
If a subscriber loop has too much loss, the telephone
user signal level suffers and she/he cannot hear the
signal well enough; the user may consider the
connection unsatisfactory.
In North America the maximum loss objective is 8 dB
for a subscriber loop. In some other countries, that
value is 7 dB.
Remember that it takes two subscriber loops to make a
connection: the subscriber loop of the calling
subscriber and the loop of the called subscriber.

The attenuation is referenced to 1000 Hz in North

America and 800 Hz elsewhere in the world.
In other words, when we measure loss, unless
otherwise stated, it is measured at the reference
frequency.
Loss (attenuation) is a function of the diameter of
the copper wire making up the pair and the length of
the pair.

Consider this example. We take a reel of 19-gauge

(American Wire Gauge, or AWG) copper wire and
connect a telephone transmitter at one end.
Now extend the reel laying out the wire along a track
or road. At intervals somebody is assigned to talk on
the transmitter, and we test the speech level, say, every
5 km.
At about 30 km the level of the voice heard on the test
receiver is so low that intelligible conversation is
impossible.
What drops the level of the voice as the wire is
extended is the loss, which is a function of length.

American Wire Gauge or AWG.
It is a standardized method of measuring wire
diameter.
Just like the gauge on shotguns, as the AWG number
increases, the wire diameter decreases.
The following equivalents will give us a basic idea of
AWG versus diameter.

Signaling limits of a subscriber loop are based on dc resistance. When
we go off-hook with a telephone, a certain minimum amount of
current must flow in the loop to actuate the local serving switch.
The generally accepted minimum loop current value in North
America is 20 mA.
If subscriber loop current is below this value, we have exceeded the
signaling limits.
Applying Ohms law, the loop resistance should not exceed 2400 .
Budget 400 for the battery feed bridge and we are left with 2000 for
the loop itself.
We must account for the resistance of the subset wiring. Budget 300
for this.
Thus the resistance of the wire itself in the loop must not exceed
1700 .

Once we exceed the signaling limit (the loop resistance,

wire only, exceeds 1700 ), when the telephone goes off-
hook, no dial tone is returned.
This just means that there is insufficient loop current to
actuate the switch, telling the switch we wish to make a
call.
When there is sufficient current, the switch, in turn, returns
the dial tone.
When there is insufficient loop current, we hear nothing.
If we cannot effect signaling, the telephone just will not
operate.
So between the two limiting factors, loss and resistance,
resistance is certainly the most important of the criteria.

Subscriber loop model.
Distance D in the figure is the length of the loop.

As we mentioned, D must be limited in length owing to
Attenuation of the voice signal on the loop and
dc resistance of the loop for signaling.

The maximum loop loss is taken from the

national transmission plan.
In North America, it is 8 dB measured at 1000
Hz.
We will use the maximum resistance value
calculated above, namely 1700 (wire only).

Calculating the Resistance Limit.
To calculate the dc loop resistance for copper
conductors, the following formula is
applicable:

we can calculate the maximum loop length for 1700 ohm maximum signaling
resistance. As an example, for a 26-gauge loop,
1700/83.5 = 20.359 kft or 20,359 feet.
This, then, is the signaling limit for 26-gauge (copper) subscriber loop.
It is not the loss (attenuation) limit, or what some call the transmission limit.
Another guideline in the design of subscriber loops is the minimum loop
current off-hook for effective subset operation.
For example, the North American 500-type subset requires at least 20 mA for
efficient
1/23/2017 operation. Digital Voice Communication 64
Calculating the Loss Limit.
For our discussion here, the loss at 1000 Hz of a subscriber loop varies
with diameter of the wire and the length of the loop.
Table gives values of loss (attenuation) per unit length for typical
subscriber low-capacitance Digital
1/23/2017 wireVoice
pair.
Communication 65
Work the following examples based on a maximum loss of 8 dB.
To calculate the maximum loop length for that 8-dB loss.
Copper is costly. Thus, many telecommunication companies employ gauges with

diameters no greater than 22 gauge in the local trunk plant and 26 gauge in the
subscriber loop plant.

SIGNALLING LIMIT
Signaling limit is the maximum resistance permitted for the

local loop beyond which the signaling functions will fail.
Maximum loop resistance permissible is 1500 ohms
L
M PILLAR
T D
E F
DP
PRIMARY CABLE
DISTRIBUTION CABLE
0.4 mm
CONDUCTOR 0.5 mm CONDUCTOR

TRANSMISSION LIMIT
Speech signals are spread over 300 Hz to 3400 Hz.
From basic transmission line theory we know that signal
undergoes attenuation (loss) as it travels along the line.
Transmission limit is the maximum value of attenuation
permissible in the local loop beyond which the speech signal
will become weak.
Maximum attenuation permissible is 7.5 dB at 1000Hz.

CABLE CHARACTERISTICS
Diameter of Resistance per loop Attenuation at 1kHz

conductors km
0.40 mm 280 ohms 1.80 dB per km

Insulation between two conductors forming a pair : 5000 M ohms per km.
Capacitance between conductors of the same pair: 0.04 microfarads per
km

TUTORIAL
Primary cable Length : 1.8 km (0.4 mm)

Distribution cable length : 0.8 km (0.5 mm)
What is the transmission loss?
What is the loop resistance?
Are they within limits?

TUTORIAL
Primary cable Length : 1.8 km (0.4 mm)
Distribution cable length : 0.8 km (0.5 mm)
What is the transmission loss?
What is the loop resistance?
Are they within limits?
Transmission loss of Primary : 1.8 km x 1.8 dB per km = 3.24 dB

Transmission loss of distribution: 0.8 km x 1.4 dB per km =1.12 dB
Total loss = 4.36 dB
Total loop resistance = [(1.8km x 280 ) + (0.8km x 182)] =649.6
Both are within limits.

TUTORIAL continued
Primary cable length: 3 km (0.4 mm)
Distribution cable length : 2 km (0.5 mm)
Will this arrangement satisfy the network parameters?

TUTORIAL continued
Primary cable length: 3 km (0.4 mm)
Distribution cable length : 2 km (0.5 mm)
Will this arrangement satisfy the network parameters?
Loop resistance = (3 x 280 ohms) + ( 2 x 182 ohms)

= 840 + 364 ohms = 1204 ohms
Transmission loss= (3 x 1.8) + (2 x 1.4)
= 5.4 + 2.8 = 8.2 dB not permissible
Requires re-engineering.

Tutorial
In a subscriber loop that contains a series resistance of 300
ohms to protect the - 40V batteries in the exchange, a
normalized telephone draws 10 mA and its standard input d.c.
resistance is 50 ohms. Calculate the maximum distance at
which a subscriber can get good speech reproduction if a
cable of 52 ohms/km resistance is used. If a standard hand set
of 30 mA current is used what will be the change in distance?

Tutorial
Let RL be the line loop resistance
Normalized Microphone current = 10 m A
Telephone set resistance = 50 ohms, Series resistance = 300 ohms
Battery voltage = 40 V
I =V/R 10 x 10 -3 = 40 .
(300+50+ RL)
Hence 3500 + 10 RL = 40,000
10 RL = 36500 ohms; RL = 3650 ohms
Maximum distance from exchange = 3650/52/2 = 35 Km

Tutorial
(ii) When hand set current = 30 mA
30 x 10 -3 = 40 .
(300+50+ RL)
Hence 30 (350+ RL) = 40,000
10500+30 RL = 40,000 ; 30 RL = 29500; RL = 983 ohms
Maximum distance from exchange = 983/52/2 = 9.45 km
The maximum distance of subscriber from the exchange changes from 35 kms to
9.45 kms.

Tutorial
An exchange uses a 40 V battery to drive subscriber lines. A
resistance of 250 ohms is placed in series with the battery to
protect it from short circuits. The subscribers are required to
use a standard telephone set which offers a dc resistance of
50 ohms.The microphone requires 23mA for proper
functioning. Given DC resistance of 133 ohms/km, find the
farthest distance from the exchange at which the subscriber
can be located .

Tutorial
Let R be the line loop resistance, using the relation I = V/R,
the value of R can be calculated as
23 x 10 3 = 40 .
(250+50+R R = 1439 ohms
Loop length= 1439/133 = 10.82 km

Therefore, the farthest distance at which the subscriber can
be located is 10.82/2 = 5.41 km

Extending the Subscriber Loop
In many situations, subscribers will reside outside of the maximum
subscriber loop lengths described above.
There are five generally accepted methods that can be used to
extend these maximums. They are:
1. Increase conductor diameter (covered above).
2. Use amplifiers and/or range extenders.
3. Employ inductive loading.
4. Use digital subscriber line (DSL) techniques.
5. Employ remote concentrators or switches.
Amplifiers in the subscriber loop extend the transmission range.

Perhaps better said, they compensate for loop loss.
Commonly such amplifiers are set for about 7-dB gain.
Care must be used to assure that dc signaling is not lost.

Inductive Loading.
Inductive loading of a subscriber loop (or metallic VF
trunk) tends to reduce the transmission loss at the
expense of amplitudefrequency response beyond
30003400 Hz, depending on the loading technique
employed.
Loading a particular subscriber loop (or metallic pair
trunk) consists of inserting series inductances (loading
coils) into the loop at fixed distance intervals.
Adding load coils tends to:
Decrease the velocity of propagation
Increase the impedance

LOADING COIL
1
4
Unloaded
Attenuation dB
cable
1
2
Loaded
1 88 mH
0
8
500 1000 1500 2000
2500 3000
6
1/23/2017 Frequency
Digital Voice Hz
Communication 81
Loaded cables are coded according to the spacing of the load coils. The
standard code for the spacing of load coils is shown in Table below.
Loaded cables typically are designated 19H44, 24B88, and so forth.

The first number indicates the wire gauge, the letter is taken from Table 5.3
and is indicative of the spacing, and the third number is the inductance of
the load coil in millihenries (mH).
For example, 19H66 cable has been widely used in Europe for long-distance
operation.
Thus this cable has 19-gauge wire pairs with load coils inserted at 1830-m
(6000 ft) intervals with coils of 66-mH inductance.
The most commonly used spacings
1/23/2017
are B, D, and H.
Digital Voice Communication 82
USE OF
REMOTE
PROCESSOR
CONCENT EXCHANGE
RATORS
L
1 ROUTE T To other exchanges

1
SWITCH U
CONC BOCK
1000
120 CCS
Analog concentration
+
EXCH CONTROL SYSTEM
A to D converter
ANALOG
DIGITAL
DIGITAL
TRANS LINK
ROUTE
M L L L
D CONC T T SW T
F U U U
BLOCK
LOCAL
CONTROL
EXCH CONTROL SYSTEM

REMOTE CONCENTRATOR
1/23/2017 Digital Voice Communication PROCESSOR 83
EXCHANGE
RLU RSU
Remote Concentrator Unit (Remote Line Unit) cannot provide connectivity
between subscribers connected to it. The connectivity has to be provided
only by the Processor Exchange. This results in use of the Transmission
Link twice for each call. If all the links are busy, even calls between
subscribers of the RCU will be lost.
In order to overcome this difficulty, switching function is also provided
along with concentrator. Such a facility is known as Remote Switching Unit
(RSU).
Usually RSUs are provided where the traffic is relatively high.

Quality of Service
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
Signal-to-noise ratio (S/N or SNR) is the most
widely used parameter for measurement of
signal quality in the field of transmission.
Signal-to-noise ratio expresses in decibels the
amount that signal level exceeds the noise
level in a specified bandwidth.

Quality of Service
There are several types of material to be

transmitted on a network, and each will require
a minimum S/N to satisfy the user or to make a
receiving instrument function within certain
specified criteria. The following are S/N
guidelines at the corresponding receiving devices:
Voice: 40 dB
Video (TV): 45 dB
Data: 15 dB, based upon the modulation type and
specified error performance

Quality of Service
Signal-to-noise ratio really has limited use in the PSTN
for characterizing speech transmission because of the
spurtiness of the human voice. We can appreciate
that individual talker signal power can fluctuate widely
so that S/N is far from constant during a telephone call
and from one telephone call to the next.
In lieu of actual voice, we use a test tone to measure
level and S/N. A test tone is a single frequency, usually
around 800 or 1000 Hz, generated by an audio signal
generator and inserted in the voice channel.
The level of the tone (often measured in dBm) can be
easily measured with the appropriate test equipment.
Such a tone has constant amplitude and no silent
intervals, which is typical of voice transmission.
Quality of Service
Loudness Rating and Its Predecessors

Reference Equivalent
To calculate overall reference equivalent (ORE), we
summed the three decibel values (i.e., the transmit
reference equivalent of the telephone set, the
intervening network losses, and the receive reference
equivalent of the same type subset).
In one CCITT recommendation, 97% of all international
calls were recommended to have an ORE of 33 dB or
better. It was found that with this 33-dB value, less
than 10% of users were unsatisfied with the level of
the received speech signal.

Quality of Service
Corrected Reference Equivalent

Because difficulties were encountered in the use of
reference equivalents, the ORE was replaced by the
corrected reference equivalent (CRE) around 1980. The
concept and measurement technique of the CRE was
essentially the same as RE (reference equivalent), and the
decibel remained the measurement unit.
CRE test scores varied somewhat from its RE counterparts.
Less than 5 dB (CRE) was too loud; an optimum connection
had an RE value of 9 dB and a range from 7 to 11 dB for
CRE. For a 30-dB value of CRE, 40% of a test population
rated the call excellent, whereas 15% rated it poor or bad

Quality of Service
Loudness Rating
Around 1990 the CCITT replaced corrected
reference equivalent with loudness rating. The
method recommended to determine loudness
rating eliminates the need for subjective
determinations of loudness loss in terms of
corrected reference equivalent.
The concept of overall loudness rating (OLR) is
very similar to the ORE concept used with
reference equivalent.

Quality of Service
Overall Loudness Rating Opinion Results
These values are based upon representative laboratory

conversation test results for telephone connections in
which other characteristics such as circuit noise have
little contribution to impairment.
Quality of Service
Designation of LRs in an international
connection

Quality of Service
Determination of Loudness Rating
OLR = SLR + CLR + RLR.
The overall loudness rating (OLR) is defined as the loudness
loss between the speaking subscribers mouth and the
listening subscribers ear via a telephone connection.
The send loudness rating (SLR) is defined as the loudness
loss between the speaking subscribers mouth and an
electrical interface in the network.
The receive loudness rating (RLR) is the loudness loss
between an electrical interface in the network and the
listening subscribers ear.
The circuit loudness rating (CLR) is the loudness loss
between two electrical interfaces in a connection or circuit,
with each interface terminated by its nominal impedance
Transmission Impairments
THE THREE BASIC IMPAIRMENTS AND HOW THEY
AFFECT THE END-USER
There are three basic impairments found in all

telecommunication transmission systems.
These are:
Amplitude (or attenuation) distortion
Phase distortion
Noise
Amplitude Distortion
The IEEE defines attenuation distortion
(amplitude distortion) as the change in
attenuation at any frequency with respect to that
of a reference frequency.
Based upon the CCITT definition, the voice
channel occupies the band from 300 to 3400 Hz.
We call this the passband.
Attenuation distortion can be avoided if all
frequencies within the passband are subjected to
the same loss (or gain).
Typical attenuation distortion across a voice channel

bandpass filter.
Crosshatched areas are response specifications, whereas
the wavy line is the measured response.
CCITT recommends 800 Hz as the reference; in

North America the reference is 1000 Hz.
Filters are employed in most active circuits (and
in some passive circuits) and are major causes of
attenuation distortion.
When filters or filter-like devices3 are placed in
tandem, attenuation distortion tends to sum.
Two identical filters degrade attenuation
distortion twice as much as just one filter.
Phase Distortion
The velocity of propagation of the signal tends to
vary with frequency because of the electrical
characteristics associated with the network.
Again, the biggest culprit is filters.
Considering the voice channel, therefore, the
velocity of propagation tends to increase toward
band center and decrease toward band edge.

Phase distortion is often measured by a parameter called

envelope delay distortion (EDD).
Mathematically, envelope delay is the derivative of the phase
shift with respect to frequency.
The maximum variation in envelope delay over a band of
frequencies is called envelope delay distortion.
Therefore, EDD is always a difference between the envelope
delay at one frequency and that at another frequency of
interest in the passband.
It should be noted that envelope delay is often defined the
same as group delaythat is, the ratio of change, with
angular frequency, of phase shift between two points in the
network

Typical differential delay across a voice channel.

Noise
Noise, in its broadest definition, consists of any
undesired signal in a communication circuit.
The subject of noise and noise reduction is probably
the most important single consideration in
transmission engineering. It is the major limiting factor
in overall system performance.
For our discussion in this text, noise is broken down
into four categories:
1. Thermal noise
2. Intermodulation noise
3. Impulse noise
4. Crosstalk

Crosstalk
Crosstalk is the unwanted coupling between
signal paths. There are essentially three causes of
crosstalk:
1. Electrical coupling between transmission media, such
as between wire pairs on a voice-frequency (VF) cable
system and on digital (PCM) cable systems.
2. Poor control of frequency response (i.e., defective
filters or poor filter design).
3. Nonlinear performance in analog (FDM) multiplex
systems.

There are two types of crosstalk:

1. Intelligible, where at least four words are
intelligible to the listener from extraneous
conversation(s) in a 7-second period.
2. Unintelligible, with crosstalk resulting from
any other form of disturbing effects of one
channel on another.

Intelligible crosstalk presents the greatest

impairment because of its distraction to the
listener.
Distraction is considered to be caused either by
fear of loss of privacy or primarily by the user of
the primary line consciously or unconsciously
trying to understand what is being said on the
secondary or interfering circuits; this would be
true for any interference that is syllabic in nature.

Two basic forms of crosstalk of concern to

telecommunications engineers are :
Near end crosstalk (NEXT)
Far end crosstalk (FEXT)
Near end crosstalk refers to coupling from a
transmitter into a receiver at a common location.
Often this form is most troublesome because of a
large difference in power levels between the
transmitted and received signals.
Far end crosstalk refers to unwanted coupling into a
received signal from a transmitter at a distant
location.

Near end and Far end crosstalk
FEXT
NEXT

Two wire to four wire Conversion

FOUR WIRE TO TWO WIRE CONVERSION
HYBRID TRANSFORMERS are used at the two ends of a circuit
to convert the 4W circuit into a 2W circuit and vice versa.
HYBRID
4W Trans 4W Rec
TRANSFORMERS
Termination 2W
2 Wire
4W Rec 4W Trans
Transmission systems operate on 4W basis- GO & RETURN

directions are separated using Hybrids.

ECHO AND SINGING
Echo and singing are two important impairments that
impact QoS.
Echo is when a talker hears her/his own voice delayed.
The annoyance is a function of the delay time (i.e., the
time between the launching of a syllable by a talker
and when the echo of that syllable is heard by the
same talker). It is also a function of the intensity (level)
of the echo, but to some lesser extent.
Singing is audio feedback. It is an ear-splitting howl,
much like the howl one gets by placing a public address
microphone in front of a loudspeaker.

Echoes and singing occur both occur as a result of

transmitted signals being coupled into a return path
and fed back to the respective sources.
The most common cause of this coupling is an
impedance mismatch at a four-wire-to-two-wire
hybrid.
If only one reflection occurs then talker echo occurs, if
two reflections occurs then listener echo also occurs.
When the returning signal is repeatedly coupled back
into the forward path to produce oscillations, singing
occurs.

Generation of Echoes at two wire to four wire interface

Echo suppressor
circuit
Echo suppressor operates on four wire circuits by

measuring the speech power in each leg and inserting a
large amount of loss (35 dB typically) in the opposite leg
when the power level exceeds a threshold.
Thus a return echo is essentially blocked by the high level
of attenuation.
It converts full duplex into half duplex with energy sensing
being the means for turning the line around.
Echo Canceller
It works by simulating the echo path to subtract a

properly delayed and attenuated copy of transmitted
signal from the receive signal to remove echo
components.
The echo cancellation requires training to determine
how much delay and attenuation are needed to
simulate the echo characteristics
1/23/2017 Digital Voice Communication
of the circuit. 113
LEVEL
Level is an important parameter in the
telecommunications network, particularly in the analog
network or in the analog portion of a network.
In the telecommunication network, if levels are too
high, amplifiers become overloaded, resulting in
increases in intermodulation noise and crosstalk.
If levels are too low, customer satisfaction suffers (i.e.,
loudness rating).
In the analog network, level was a major issue; in the
digital network, it is somewhat less so.

System levels are used for engineering a communication
system.
These are usually taken from a level chart or reference
system drawing made by a planning group or as a part of an
engineered job.
On the chart a 0 TLP (zero test level point) is established.
A test level point is a location in a circuit or system at which
a specified test-tone level is expected during alignment. A 0
TLP is a point at which the test-tone level should be 0 dBm.
A test tone is a tone produced by an audio signal generator,
usually 1020 Hz.
Note that these frequencies are inside the standard voice
channel, which covers the range of 3003400 Hz. In the digital
network, test tones must be applied on the analog side.
From the 0 TLP other points may be shown using the unit dBr
(decibel reference).
A minus sign shows that the level is so many decibels below
reference and a plus sign, above.
The unit dBm0 is an absolute unit of power in dBm referred to
the 0 TLP. The dBm can be related to the dBr and dBm0 by the
following formula:
dBm = dBm0 + dBr.
For instance, a value of 32 dBm at a 22-dBr point corresponds
to a reference level of 10 dBm0.
A 10-dBm0 signal introduced at the 0-dBr point (0 TLP) has an
absolute signal level of Digital
1/23/2017 10VoicedBm.
Communication 116
Typical Levels
Earlier measurements of speech level used the unit of
measure VU, standing for volume unit.
For a 1000-Hz sinusoid signal (simple sine wave signal),
0 VU = 0 dBm. When a VU meter is used to measure
the level of a voice signal, it is difficult to exactly
equate VU and dBm.
One of the problems, of course, is that speech
transmission is characterized by spurts of signal.
However, a good approximation relating VU to dBm is
the following formula:
Average power of a telephone talker VU 1.4 (dBm).

In the telecommunication network, telephone channels
are often multiplexed at the first serving exchange.
When the network was analog, the multiplexers
operated in the frequency domain and were called
frequency division multiplexers (FDM).
Voice channel inputs were standardized with a level of
either 15 dBm or 16 dBm, and the outputs of
demultiplexers were +7 dBm. These levels, of course,
were test-tone levels.
In industrialized and postindustrialized nations, in nearly
every case, multiplexers are digital. These multiplexers
have an overload point at about +3.17 dBm0.
The digital reference signal is 0 dBm on the analog side
using a standard test tone
1/23/2017
between 1013 and 1022 Hz. 118
Digital Voice Communication

Telephony Background

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Telephony Background

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Telephony Background

SIMPLE ONE WAY SPEECH

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A BASIC TWO WAY TELEPHONE CIRCUIT COMPRISES OF 4

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BOTH WAY BASIC TELEPHONY WITH SIGNALING - 8 WIRES

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In order to provide bidirectional telephony service between

Time sharing of functions

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HYBRID TRANSFORMERS are used at the two ends of a circuit

Transmission systems operate on 4W basis- GO & RETURN

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Ringing required at the start of the call

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-All phones connected on

-Any one can call anyone 5 btys

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No. of links = No. of telephones

Transmission Facilities CPE - Customer

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NATIONAL NETWORK connects subscribers of a country to

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK establishes links between the

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ACCESS JUNCTION NLD JUNCTION ACCESS

SWITCH, TRANSMISSION MEDIUM, CPE

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Basic Telephone Systems - Loops

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Switching Trunks Switching

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Customer Premise Equipment (CPE)

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SWITCH AT THE HUB

Connectivity between lines is provided at the

The Hub is called CENTRAL OFFICE in the US

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REL REL REL REL REL

MANUAL SWITCH BOARD AT CENTRAL EXCHANGE

CONNECTIONS MADE MANUALLY BY OPERATOR USING PATCH CORDS

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PLUG & JACK SLEEVE

TELEPHONE LINES ARE TERMINATED ON THE JACKS.

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FUNCTIONS OF A TELEPHONE EXCHANGE

OFF - HOOK OFF - HOOK

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SUB I/C TRK

Control the traffic flow

LOCAL EXCHANGE AREA

Why 3 exchanges? Why not 4? Why not 2?

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L-EX L-EX L-EX

INTERCONNECTS NETWORKS OF DIFFERENT CITIES