1.

9 FRAME AND MULTI-FRAME STRUCTURE IN LINE SYSTEMS

From now on we will refer only to primary level systems and we will analyse the
modalities of the line transfer of time division multiplexing.

Frame
The basic structure of the multiple access is the FRAME which represents the
period with which the time slot sequences assigned to the telephone channels
repeats (see chapter 1.6).

The starting of each frame is scanned, in PCM circuits, by a synchronism pulse,

called FRAME SYNCHRONISM. Passing in the line, this synchronism pulse,
must be changed with a proper signalling, univocally identified by the reception
circuits. There are different insertion modalities of the frame synchronism in the
line signalling according to the standard used.

As concerns the European standard, CEPT, the following is true:

 The frame is composed by 32 time slots of which 30 are reserved to the

telephone channels

 The first of the frame slots, identified with the index 0 (slot 0) contains,
instead, the synchronism frame configuration, while the sixteenth is
reserved to the service signaling.

 the service signalling which are supplied by the user's interfaces, or

coming from other connections in time division, are separated by the PCM
multiplexing of the voice signals and must be inserted into the line
multiplexing structure.

Multi-Frame
To control, in a proper way, the telephone signalling of 30 users, and also to
make the synchronism structure stronger, the frames are organised into groups
of 16 units: the MULTIFRAME. The sixteenth time slots of the first frame (frame
0) contain the alignment configuration of the multi-frame; the sixteenth time slots
of the other 15 frames, instead, are reserved to the service signallings. In the
multi-frame, the frames with even order starting from the first (frame 0) have
frame synchronism in the first time slot (slot 0); in those of odd order this slot
contains signallings available for auxiliary services. The alternation between
ODD FRAMES and EVEN FRAMES is signalled by the alternation of one bit in
the time slot 0.

After 6 frames starting from the one with index 0, the structure of the multi-
frame repeats identical.
Line Interface

The frame and multi-frame structures are organised by a proper line interface. In
transmission, this interface receives the time division multiplexed voice
signalling, the related bit synchronisms (of bit and frame) and the service
signallings, and provides the construction of the multiplexing structures to be
sent on the line. In reception, the line interface recovers the frame and multi-
frame synchronisms and, on separate outputs, supplies the voice signal
multiplexing with related synchronisms and service signallings.

Figure 1.23 shows the diagram of the line multiplexing organisation, with
reference to the primary system with 2048 Kb/s of the European standard
(CEPT).

Figure 1.23 Line Multiplexing Organisation for 2048Kb/s (CEPT Standard)