Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Training Unit
Telecommunication
Principles and Networks
Theory
No: EE 119
Training Unit
Telecommunication Principles and Networks
Theoretical Part
No.: EE 119
Edition:
2009
All Rights Reserved
Editor :
LIST OF CONTENT
Learning Objectives..................................................................................................................6
1
2.1
2.2
2.3
Bandwidth .................................................................................................................5
2.4
2.5
PBX-system ............................................................................................................11
3.2
Centrex-system ......................................................................................................12
3.3
Key-system .............................................................................................................13
3.4
3.5
3.6
4.2
4.3
5.2
5.3
5.4
6.2
6.3
6.4
Access networks.....................................................................................................33
6.5
6.6
Signaling in networks..............................................................................................38
6.7
ISDN .......................................................................................................................42
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
Gigabit Ethernet......................................................................................................49
7.6
7.7
7.8
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.5
8.6
8.7
8.8
8.9
The Internet.....................................................................................................................65
9.1
9.2
HTML ......................................................................................................................67
9.3
Emailing ..................................................................................................................68
9.4
9.5
Intranet ...................................................................................................................71
9.6
Extranet ..................................................................................................................72
9.7
9.8
10
Converged networks...................................................................................................75
11
Wireless services........................................................................................................76
11.1
11.2
11.2.1
AMPS..............................................................................................................77
11.2.2
D-AMPS..........................................................................................................77
11.2.3
GSM................................................................................................................78
11.2.4
UMTS-3G........................................................................................................79
11.2.5
Nextel..............................................................................................................80
11.2.6
11.3
11.3.1
11.3.2
EDGE..............................................................................................................84
11.3.3
cdma2000 .......................................................................................................85
11.3.4
11.3.5
4G-the future...................................................................................................87
11.4
11.5
11.6
11.7
Low Earth Orbiting Satellite Networks (LEOs) and Middle Earth Orbiting Satellites
(MEOs) ...............................................................................................................................91
11.8
12
12.1
Deregulation ...........................................................................................................93
12.2
Asia.........................................................................................................................93
12.3
Learning Objectives
to
the
security
aspects
and
costs
of
services.
The
everchanging
Basics to techniques
2.1
Along one dimension, communications fall into two categories, analog and digital. In
the analog form of electronic communications, information is represented as a
continuous electromagnetic waveform. Digital communications involves modulating
(i.e., changing) the analog waveform in order to represent information in binary form
(1 s and 0 s) through a series of blips or pulses of discrete values, as measured at
precise points in time or intervals of time.
That same physical matter, however, also serves to attenuate (weaken) the signal.
The longer the distance is between mouth and ear, the more profound the effect. As
a result, it is difficult, if not impossible, to communicate acoustically over distances of
any significance, especially between rooms separated by doors and walls or between
floors separated by floors and ceilings. In order to overcome these obvious
limitations, native voice acoustical signals are converted into electromagnetic signals
and sent over networks, with the compression waves falling onto a microphone in a
transmitter embedded in a handset or speakerphone. The microphone converts the
acoustical signals into analogous (approximate) variations in the continuous electrical
waveforms over an electrical circuit, hence the term analog. Those waveforms
maintain their various shapes across the wire until they fall on the speaker embedded
in the receiver. The speaker converts them back into their original acoustical form of
variations in air pressure, which can be received by the human ear and understood
by the human brain.
While the natural world is analog in nature, the decidedly unnatural world of
contemporary computers is digital in nature. Computers process, store, and
communicate information in binary form. That is to say that a unique combination of 1
s and 0 s has a specific meaning in a computer coding scheme, which is much like
an alphabet. A bit (binary digit) is an individual 1 or 0. The output of a computer is in
the form of a digital bit stream. Digital communication originates in telegraphy, in
which the varying length (in time) of making and breaking an electrical circuit results
in a series of dots (short pulses) and dashes (long pulses) that, in a particular
combination, communicate a character or series of characters. Early mechanical
computers used a similar concept for input and output. Contemporary computer
systems communicate in binary mode through variations in electrical voltage. Digital
signaling, in an electrical network, involves a signal that varies in voltage to represent
one of two discrete and well-defined states. Two of the simplest approaches are
unipolar signaling, which makes use of a positive (+) voltage and a null, or zero (0),
voltage, and bipolar signaling, which makes use of a positive (+) or a negative ()
voltage. The transmitter creates the signal at a specific carrier frequency and for a
specific duration (bit time), and the receiver monitors the signal to determine its state
(+ or ).
Various data transmission protocols employ different physical signal states, such as
voltage level, voltage transition, or the direction of the transition. Because of the
discrete nature of each bit transmitted, the bit form is often referred to as a square
wave. Digital devices benefit greatly from communications over digital transmission
facilities, which are not only faster but also relatively free from noise impairments.
Digital signaling in an optical network can involve either the pulsing on and off of a
light source or a discrete variation in the intensity of the light signal. Digital
transmission over radio systems (e.g., microwave, cellular, or satellite) can be
accomplished by discretely varying the amplitude, frequency, or phase of the signal.
Bandwidth, in the digital world, is measured in bits per second. The amount of
bandwidth required depends on the amount of raw data to be sent, the desired speed
of transmission of that set of data, and issues of transmission cost. Compression of
data files prior to transmission is fairly routined as it improves the efficiency of
transmission, reduces the transmission time, and thereby reduces transmission
costs.
2.2
Baud is an old term that refers to the number of signal events (i.e., signal changes or
signal transitions) occurring per second over an analog circuit. The baud rate can
never be higher than the raw bandwidth of the channel, as measured in Hz. Baud
rate and bit rate often and incorrectly are used interchangeably. The relationship
between baud rate and bit rate depends on the sophistication of the modulation
scheme used to manipulate the carrier. The bit rate and baud rate can be the same if
each bit is represented by a signal transition. The bit rate typically is higher that the
baud rate as a single signal transition can represent multiple bits.
Quite simply, bps (lowercase b) is the bit rate, or the number of bits transmitted over
a circuit per second. It is the measurement of bandwidth over digital circuits and
should not be confused with the speed of the electromagnetic signal, that is, the
velocity of propagation. In other words, bps refers to the number of bits that pass a
given point in a circuit, not the speed at which they travel over a distance. Over an
4
analog circuit, you can manipulate the electromagnetic waveforms to support the
transmission of multiple bits per baud. As a result, the bit rate (bps) can be a multiple
of the baud rate, even without the application of special compression techniques. A
thousand (1000) bps is a kilobit per second, or kbps; a million (1,000,000) bps is a
Megabit per second, or Mbps; a billion (1,000,000,000) bps is a Gigabit per second,
or Gbps; and a trillion (1,000,000,000,000) bps is a terabit per second or Tbps. Bps
(uppercase B) refers to the number of bytes transmitted over a circuit per second.
Bps is used exclusively in the context of storage networking, as storage is byte
oriented. Storage technologies such as Fibre Channel and ESCON (Enterprise
Systems CONnection) measure the speed of information in bytes per second.
2.3
Bandwidth
2.4
The term multiplex has its roots in the Latin words multi (many) and plex (fold).
Multiplexers (muxes) act as both concentrators and contention devices that enable
multiple relatively low speed terminal devices to share a single high-capacity circuit
(physical path) between two points in a network. The benefit of multiplexers is simply
that they enable carriers and end users to take advantage of the economies of scale.
Just as a multilane highway can carry large volumes of traffic in multiple lanes at high
speeds and at relatively low incremental cost per lane, a high-capacity circuit can
carry multiple conversations in multiple channels at relatively low incremental cost
per channel.
Contemporary multiplexers rely on four-wire circuits, which enable multiple logical
channels to derive from a single physical circuit and permit high-speed transmission
simultaneously in both directions. In this manner, multiple communications (either
unidirectional or bidirectional) can be supported. Multiplexing is used commonly
across all transmission media, including twisted pair, coaxial and fiber-optic cables,
and microwave, satellite, and other radio systems. Traditional multiplexing comes in
several varieties, presented in the following sections in chronological order of
development and evolution. Included are Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM),
Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and Statistical Time Division Multiplexing (STDM).
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM), a relatively recent development, is used in
fiber-optic cable systems.
2.5
A LAN connects network devices over a relatively short distance. A networked office
building, school, or home usually contains a single LAN, though sometimes one
building will contain a few small LANs (perhaps one per room), and occasionally a
LAN will span a group of nearby buildings. In addition to operating in a limited space,
LANs are also typically owned, controlled, and managed by a single person or
organization. They also tend to use certain connectivity technologies, primarily
Ethernet and Token Ring.
LAN are privately owned networks within a single building or campus, up to the size
of a few km. Usually its used to connect PCs, workstations to share resources such
as storage devices on servers, printers or other output devices and in some
circumstances also to share access computing power.
also called Backbone. For the most part, devices are connected to a LAN by twisted
pair cabling. In computer networking, layout of connected devices is called network
topology.
All networks are made up of basic hardware building blocks to interconnect network
nodes, such as Network Interface Cards (NICs), Bridges, Hubs, Switches, and
Routers.
Network Card, Network Adapter or NIC: A network card, network adapter, network
interface controller (NIC), network interface card, or LAN adapter is a computer
hardware component allowing computers to communicate over a computer network.
It provides physical access to a networking medium. A low-level addressing system is
provided by the use of MAC addresses. It allows interconnectivity either by cable or
by the use of cables.
Hub: A network hub or repeater hub is a device for connecting multiple twisted pair or
fiber optic Ethernet devices together and making them act as a single network
segment. Hubs work at the physical layer (layer 1) of the OSI model (which will be
referred to later in this course).
The availability of low-priced network switches has made hubs obsolete but they are
still seen in older installations and more specialized applications.
Bridge: A network bridge connects multiple network segments. It is also often
referred to as layer 2 switch, since it connects the network segments at the data link
layer (layer 2) of the OSI model. Bridges function similar to repeaters or network
hubs. However, with bridging, the network traffic is rather managed than simply
rebroadcast to adjacent network segments. Bridges tend to be more complex than
hubs or repeaters because bridges are capable of analyzing incoming data packets
on a network to determine if the bridge is able to send the given packet to another
segment of that same network.
Switches: A network switch is a hardware device that joins multiple PCs or hosts
together within one local area network (LAN). Network switches operate at the data
link layer (layer 2) of the OSI model, like the bridge. Network switches are almost
identical to network hubs. A switch however contains more intelligence than a hub.
Network switches are capable of inspecting data packets as they are received,
determining the source and destination device of each packet, and forwarding them
appropriately. Because of this operation a switch saves network resources, like
bandwidth and has better performance than a hub.
Router: A router is a networking device which is tailored to route and forward
information. For instance in internet the information is directed to various paths by
routers. Routers connect two or more logical subnets, which do not necessarily map
one-to-one to the physical interfaces of the router. A router is also sometimes
referred to as layer 3 switch, and also often simply switch.
Telephone systems
When the telephone was invented in 1877, there were only telephone sets and wires
between them. The first commercial sets consisted of a single piece of wood with a
single piece of equipment serving as both transmitter and receiver. At first telephone
sets come in pairs and were directly wired. One year later, first practical exchange
switch, was invented and placed into service. In the field of telecommunications, a
telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that
connects telephone calls and central office is the physical building used to house
inside plant equipment including telephone switches, which make telephone calls
"work" in the sense of making connections and relaying the speech information. This
manual exchange, housed in Central Offices (COs), allowed circuits to be connected
manually, on demand and as available. Through these central points of
interconnection, each subscriber required only one terminal device and one wired
connection to the central switch. Central offices or Central Office Exchanges (COEs)
handled all switching of calls whether they involved parties from different parts of the
city, across the hall, or across the office. Soon it became clear that extending a
physical partition of the COE to the customer premises presented a better approach.
This approach would considerably reduce the cost of cabling as well as the number
of ports required to connect those local loops to the switch. The shift to the user
organization of the functional responsibility for switching both incoming and outgoing
calls would also relieve the telco of that burden, allowing the exchange switch to
serve more end users. Finally, internal (station-to-station) calls could be connected
entirely through the premises equipment, without requiring a connection through the
telco's CO. As station-to-station calls are a very large percentage of the total calling
traffic in most large organizations, shifting this functional responsibility to the user
organization could have considerable impact on the telephone companys capital
investment and labor costs. The first devices to accomplish this feat were Private
Branch eXchanges (PBXs) in 1879. Key Telephone Systems (KTSs) did not arrive on
the scene until 1938. Central exchange (Centrex), a CO-based solution, followed in
the 1960s. Automatic Call Distributors (ACDs) did not make an appearance until
1973.
10
3.1
PBX-system
11
two pairs of wire or on fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cables have the ability to carry
multiple T-1s.
3.2
Centrex-system
Centrex is a PBX-like service providing switching at the central office instead of at the
customer's premises. Typically, the telephone company owns and manages all the
communications equipment and software necessary to implement the Centrex
service and then sells various services to the customer. No switching equipment
resides on the customer premise as the service is supplied and managed directly
from the phone company's exchange site, with lines being delivered to the premises
either as individual lines over traditional copper pairs or by multiplexing a number of
lines over a single fiber optic or copper link. In effect, Centrex provides an emulation
of a hardware PBX, by using special software programming at the central office,
which can be customized to meet a particular customer's needs. As with a PBX,
stations inside the group can call each other with 3, 4 or 5 digits, depending on how
large the group, instead of an entire telephone number.
Centrex was invented in the mid 1960s by the Engineering Department of New York
Telephone to replace the PBX switchboards of large customers. It was a feature
package of the 5XB crossbar system. Much equipment had to be redesigned,
including incoming trunks and markers. The redesigned equipment was so expensive
that usually a separate 5XB switch was used just for Centrex customers, while POTS
(Plain Old Telephone Service) customers were wired to an unmodified exchange.
The Centrex customer is not restricted to using the features available to POTS
customers, but can choose from a wide variety of special services and features. In
fact, telecommunications companies generally offer numerous types of Centrex
service, including "Packaged Centrex", "Centrex Data", and "Customized Centrex".
12
3.3
Key-system
Key telephone systems are business communications systems intended for small
businesses, typically defined in this context as involving no more than 50 stations.
The term key telephone dates to the beginnings of telegraphy and telephony when
mechanical keys were employed to open and close a circuit. The buttons on a key
telephone set, also referred to as keys, mechanically opened and closed the line
circuit. While contemporary KTSs provide much the same feature content as small
PBXs, and while they also act as contention devices for network access, KTSs are
not switches. That is, they do not possess the intelligence to accept a call request
from a user station, determine the most appropriate circuit from a shared pool of
circuits, and set up the connection through common switching equipment. Rather, the
end user must make the determination and select the appropriate facility (local line,
tie line) from a group of pooled facilities. KTS control relies on gray ware (i.e., gray
matter, or human brain power), rather than software (i.e., computer programs).
Therefore, the local loops associated with KTSs are lines, rather than trunks. A line is
a single-channel facility that is associated with a single telephone number and that
connects an endpoint to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). A trunk
typically is a multi channel, rather than a single channel, facility that interconnects
switches and is not necessarily associated with a telephone number. Rather, a trunk
serves a group of users and a group of telephone numbers through an intelligent
switching device that is designed to manage contention between users and channels.
Telco rate and tariff logic assumes that a trunk will be used more intensely than a
line, so the cost is greater.
Most small KTSs are squared, meaning that every key set is configured alike, with
every outside line appearing on every set. Thereby, every station user can access
every outside line for both incoming and outgoing calls, and all feature presentations
are consistent. In larger systems, the physical size of the telephone sets required to
maintain the squaring convention would be impractical, but departmental subgroups
often are squared.
13
3.4
Add-on peripherals
Peripheral devices such as voice mail, automatic call distributors and call accounting
systems can be added to PBX, Centrex or Kay systems to extend its functionality.
Call accounting systems track each telephone call made by individual users. They
provide accountability for call usage. They also indicate the amount of traffic on each
telephone line or trunk so that organizations can determine when there are too many
or too few outside telephone lines. Call accounting systems, also called station
message detail recording (SMDR) and call detail recording (CDR) generally are
installed on PCs. The PC is connected through a serial port to the telephone system.
Unified messaging is an optional feature of most new voice mail systems. It provides
the capability to retrieve fax, email and voice mail messages from a single device
such as a PC. Retrieving messages from PCs gives users the ability to prioritize
messages and listen to the most important ones first. It eliminates the need to hear
all messages before getting to the critical ones. Systems with only fax and voice mail
integration also are considered unified messaging systems. These systems store
incoming facsimile messages on the voice mail system's hard drive. When users call
in to pick up their messages, the system tells them how many faxes they have. The
user can have them printed at their default fax number programmed into the voice
mail system or provide the telephone number of a different fax machine. For
example, people that travel can receive fax messages at their hotel. In these
systems, fax and voice mail notification also can be obtained at the user's computer.
3.5
14
answer calls for a large number of clients, on either a primary or overflow basis, with
software and scripting specific to the individual clients requirements. The system
identifies the target client by the telephone number called, with a separate telephone
number or set of telephone numbers associated with a specific client, a special
promotion, a specific service offering, or a special subset of each clients customers
through Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS), a service offered by the carriers
and generally associated with toll-free numbers (800, 888, 877, and 866 in the United
States and 0800 and 0500 in much of the rest of the world). The DNIS information is
passed to the ACD in advance of the call.
The process, typically involves a front-end voice processing system that prompts the
caller through a menu for call routing purposes. Based on factors such as the
originating telephone number, the specific number dialed, the menu option selected,
and other information input by the caller (e.g., account number and password), the
system then can route a call to an appropriate agent group, queue it if an agent is not
available, and deliver it to the first available qualified agent.
15
Multiple call centers can be networked, with calls routed to the most appropriate call
center closest to the caller, in consideration of network costs. In the event that the
closest call centers queue length exceeds user-definable parameters, the call is then
served to the next nearest call center with a queue of acceptable length. Recent
developments allow the first call center to examine the queue lengths of all call
centers in the network, determine each call centers ability to handle a call in
consideration of service-level parameters, and forward the call to the call center most
likely to satisfy those objectives based on look-ahead routing logic. This approach
reduces unnecessary levels of congestion and unacceptable numbers of unhappy
customers.
3.6
Wireless
Radio is defined as the transmission and reception of electrical impulses or signals
by means of electromagnetic waves without the use of wires. Basically, radio waves
are electromagnetic radiation transmitted through the air to a receiver.
Radio waves are classified by their frequency, which describes the number of times a
signal cycles per second, commonly referred to as Hertz (Hz), in honor of Heinrich
Hertz. The wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a wave pattern. In a
sine wave, the wavelength is the distance between any point on a wave and the
corresponding point on the next wave in the wave train. There is an inverse
relationship between frequency and wavelength: As the frequency increases, the
wavelength decreases.
There are performance differences between radio frequencies. Low frequencies can
travel much further without losing power (i.e., attenuating), but they carry much less
information because the bandwidth (i.e., the difference between the highest and
lowest frequency carried in the band) is much lower. High frequencies (those in the
HF band, from 3MHz to 30MHz) offer much greater bandwidth than lower
frequencies, but they are greatly affected by interference from a variety of sources.
16
Very high frequencies (those in the SHF band, from 3GHz to 30GHz) suffer greatly
from adverse weather conditions, particularly precipitation. This problem is even
greater in the extremely high frequencies (EHF band, from 30GHz to 300GHz).
Category 5 cable (Cat 5) is similar to CAT 3 but have more twists per cm.
This way the signal quality over longer distances is increased.
Category 6 cable (Cat 6) is a cable standard for Gigabit Ethernet and other
network protocols that is backward compatible with the Category 5/5e and
Category 3 cable standards. Cat-6 features more stringent specifications for
crosstalk and system noise. The cable standard provides performance of up to
250 MHz and is suitable for 10BASE-T / 100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T
(Gigabit Ethernet).
Category 7 cable (Cat 7) is a cable standard for Ethernet and other network
technologies. It has backwards compatibility with Cat 5 and Cat 6 Ethernet
cables. Cat 7 features even more strict specifications for crosstalk and system
noise than Cat 6. To achieve this, shielding has been added for individual wire
pairs and the cable as a whole.
17
Fiber-optics
An optical fiber (or fibre) is a glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length.
Optical fibers permits transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths
(data rates) than other forms of communications. Fibers are used instead of metal
wires because signals travel along them with less loss, and they are also immune to
electromagnetic
interference.
Optical
fiber
is
used
as
medium
for
18
The breakup of AT&T was initiated by the filing in 1974 by the U.S. Department of
Justice of an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T, which was at the time the only phone
company in the United States. The case, United States v. AT&T, led to a settlement
finalized on January 8, 1982, under which "Ma Bell" agreed to divest its local
exchange service operating companies, in return for a chance to go into the
computer business, AT&T Computer Systems. Effective January 1, 1984, AT&T's
local operations were split into seven independent Regional Holding Companies, also
known as Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs), or "Baby Bells". Afterwards,
AT&T, reduced in value by approximately 70%, continued to operate all of its longdistance services, although in the ensuing years it lost portions of its market share to
competitors such as MCI and Sprint.
4.1
The telecommunications landscape has changed radically since 1984 when AT&T
had a near monopoly on telephone service. In the United States competition for sales
of telephone systems started in the 1960s. However, the most dramatic impetus for
competition for long distance service occurred in 1984.
By 1974, so many complaints had been filed by long distance competitors with the
Justice Department about AT&T's lack of cooperation in supplying connections to
local phone companies that the Justice Department filed an antitrust suit against
AT&T. In 1984 the suit was resolved. The Justice Department divested AT&T of its
22 local phone companies. The resolution of the Justice Department case against
AT&T is known as the Modified Final Judgment, or divestiture.
19
Ownership of the 22 local phone companies was transferred from AT&T to seven
Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). The seven RBOCs at that time were:
Ameritech Corporation
BellSouth Corporation
NYNEX Corporation
U S WEST, Inc.
4.2
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States
telecommunications law in nearly 62 years, amending the Communications Act of
1934. It was approved by the 104th Congress on January 3, 1996 and signed into
law on February 8, 1996.
The 1996 Telecommunications Act is divided into seven Titles: Telecommunications
Service, Broadcast Services, Cable Services, Regulatory Reform, Obscenity and
Violence, Effect on Other Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions.
20
21
4.3
22
5.1
There are technical, legal and financial considerations in providing local telephone
service. Understanding how calls are passed between competing local carriers and
between local carriers, resellers and interexchange carriers is important in
comprehending the structure of the industry.
The following should be considered within the context of local calling:
Switching-The central office switch directs calls to their destination. It also has
links to billing and enhanced feature systems such as voice mail and caller ID.
Companies that compete with incumbent local telephone companies (ILECs) either
build their own infrastructure or resell incumbents' facilities. Many use a combination
of both strategies. Competitors buy elements such as transport, switching and
terminating services at discounts approved by the local utility commissions under
guidelines set by the FCC. Their profits are realized in their markup to end users.
Resellers bill end users and handle repair and customer service calls. If a repair
problem is on Bell lines, the reseller reports the problem to the Bell Company, which
either fixes it remotely or dispatches a technician.
For the most part, competitors for local service sell to the business, government,
education and health care industries. New cable TV companies are the largest
telecommunications segment that target residential customers. Competitors to
incumbent cable TV companies are known as overbuilders. Overbuilders lay fiber
23
and hybrid coaxial cable fiber systems to which they connect central office switches,
television antennas and routers and switches for high-speed Internet access.
5.2
Carriers IEX
Prior to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, interexchange carriers (IEXs) sold long
distance services primarily between states and to international locations. These
carriers now sell local, international, data services and high-speed Internet access as
well as voice long distance. The largest IEXs own most of the switching and
transmission equipment over which their interstate traffic is routed. For example, they
own fiber optic cabling, microwave towers, multiplexing equipment (to send multiple
voice and data conversations over the same fiber cable) and switches that route
calls. The distinction between local and long distance service carriers is
disappearing. Now that Qwest owns the former RBOC US West, it is an
interexchange carrier only in the territory outside of that region. The four largest
interexchange carriers in the United States are:
AT&T
WorldCom
Sprint
Qwest
5.3
Just as commodities such as natural gas, oil and electricity are traded, bandwidth
trading in telecommunications is just emerging as a way to buy and sell capacity and
hedge the risks of building new routes and buying capacity. For example, a
competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) that sells both long distance and local
service can decrease its risk of price spikes by locking in a future price for bandwidth
leases. The seller, a carrier, can cut its risk of adding expensive electronics such as
wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to dark fiber by selling future capacity. A
future sale locks in a price floor and future revenues. It guarantees the price won't
24
drop below a certain price for the seller and fixes a price ceiling for the buyer.
Bandwidth trading is the listing, buying and selling of various telecommunications
services through participants such as brokers, traders and exchanges.
Bandwidth trading is still in its early stages. It is evolving as a result of growing
capacities in long distance networks and commoditization of networks. Technological
innovations such as wavelength division multiplexing have added tremendous
capacity to telecommunications networks in Europe and the United States. Not only
is there more capacity, but services are reliable and there is very little difference to
end users and other carriers among the networks. Finally, capital is drying up for
expansion of more diverse routes. Thus, when a carrier is faced with the decision of
building new routes or leasing them, it often chooses to lease capacity from other
carriers to conserve capital. For carriers of existing networks, selling spare capacity
lets them fill their "pipes" more fully.
5.4
services of local telephone calls are still defined by LATA boundaries, not their
business areas.
A Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) is a telecommunications provider
company (sometimes called a "carrier") that competes with other, already established
carriers (generally the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC)). CLEC sell Internet
access, data communications services, white and yellow page listings, toll-free (800
and 888) service, long distance and 911 services. CLECs refer to themselves as
ICPs when they sell local and data services over their own fiber optic or wireless
infrastructure.
26
Public networks
The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is made up of switches, cabling and
equipment that simultaneously transmit multiple telephone calls over single pairs of
fiber cabling. The extraordinary characteristic of public networks is that carriers from
all parts of the world have agreed on ways to transmit calls to each other. Enormous
efforts have been made to ensure that systems are reliable and dependable and
function as much as possible during power blackouts, hurricanes and national
emergencies.
Switching is the primary vehicle for carrying voice, facsimile and dialup modem traffic
worldwide. Public network switched services are dialup; users dial a telephone
number to create a temporary connection to anyone on the public network. Examples
of switched services are home telephone, cellular, dialup Internet access and main
business lines. Switched services are used for data as well as voice. Switches
connect segments of local area networks (LANs) to each other. Asynchronous
transfer mode (ATM) and optical switches in public data and voice networks switch
vast quantities of traffic between cities.
Dedicated services, also called private lines, are more specialized than switched
lines. Organizations use them to save money when they need to transmit large
amounts of data or place hours of voice telephone calls to particular sites. Imagine
two tin cans and a string between two locations. This is something like a private line.
Dedicated lines are expensive and complex to manage. If a firm only has dedicated
lines between a few locations, maintenance might not be a problem. However, once
private lines connect many locations, they become cumbersome to manage.
Moreover, private lines are costly because carriers can't share the dedicated private
lines among many customers. For these reasons, many companies are choosing
carrier-managed, value-added virtual private networks (VPNs). Virtual private
networks are "virtually" private. They have many of the features of private networks;
however, network capacity is shared by many customers.
Signaling is the glue that holds the public switched network together. Routing, billing
and transferring calls between carrier networks depend on signaling. Network
27
maintenance information also is carried on signaling systems. The way signals are
transported impacts network efficiency, costs, reliability and introduction of new
services.
Optical technologies have had a major impact on efficiencies in Internet, long
distance and local networks. They have lowered the costs significantly of building
high-capacity data and voice networks. Major efforts in development of new optical
technology are bringing the benefits of fiber optics closer to homes and small and
medium-sized businesses. Applications such as document sharing, email, Web
browsing and remote access to corporate files are affordable to individuals and small
and medium-sized businesses.
6.1
desired within the network until one party hangs up. Switched calls carry voice, data,
video and graphics. They operate on landline and cellular networks.
Telephone calls are routed to destinations based on the number dialed. This is the
addressing function. Telephones on landline connections send dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) tones over the network. At the central office, these tones or
frequencies are decoded to address signals. In cellular networks, users first dial the
number they wish to reach, and then press Send. The telephone number is sent as
digital bits within packets to the mobile switching office.
In the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), which covers the United States,
Canada and the Caribbean, three-digit area codes are assigned to metropolitan
areas. Exchanges, the next three digits of a phone number, are assigned to a rate
center, and the last four digits, the line number, are assigned to a specific business or
residential customer. In the rest of the world, each country has country codes, city
codes and user numbers. The digits of each vary in length: Country codes and city
codes are one to three digits long and numbers assigned to users generally are five
to ten digits long. There is no uniform worldwide numbering pattern.
6.2
Topology of networks
The term topology refers to the geometric shape of the physical connection of the
lines in a network, or the "view from the top." The shape of the network, the
configuration in which lines are connected to each other, impacts cost, reliability and
accessibility. Network topologies are categorized into the three basic types bus, ring
and star topology.
29
30
6.3
A virtual private network (VPN) has all of the features of a private network where
dedicated lines tie sites together. However with VPNs, the network connections
between sites are shared by multiple organizations. A carrier manages the network.
The customer connects dedicated or dialup lines to the carrier's network. The carrier
is responsible for connections between customer sites. Many VPNs are based on the
Internet Protocol. The three most common applications for virtual private networks
are:
However, RAS devices do not support cable and DSL modems. With VPN switch and
network solutions, employees' calls are routed into the organization on the same links
used for Internet access. VPNs support dial-in and high-speed cable and DSL
modem access. Client software is installed on employees' computers to support the
VPN service.
As indicated in the VPN provider carries remote users calls over its public network
and routes them to an existing T-1 or dedicated line connected to the customer's site.
For an additional monthly fee, carriers will manage a customer's on-site router or
switch, and security such as a firewall. A firewall is software that screens incoming
traffic to prevent hackers access to files.
Besides using virtual private networks for remote access, a VPN can also bridge two
networks together. In this mode of operation, an entire remote network (rather than
just a single remote client) can join to a different company network to form an
extended intranet. This solution uses a VPN server to VPN server connection.
Internal networks may also utilize VPN technology to implement controlled access to
individual subnets within a private network. In this mode of operation, VPN clients
connect to a VPN server that acts as the network gateway.
This type of VPN use does not involve an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or public
network cabling. However, it allows the security benefits of VPN to be deployed
inside an organization.
Tunneling is a way to provide security on VPNs. Because virtual networks are shared
services, security is an important issue. Traffic from multiple organizations is carried
on the same "pipes" or telephone lines in the public carrier networks. Tunnels
surround customer packets with an extra header on each packet to provide security.
Encryption, or scrambling of bits, is an important element of tunneling. The encryption
makes hacking into a company's data more difficult. An alternative to tunneling is
network-based IP address filtering. With address filtering, the software looks at a
user's IP address and accepts or rejects it based on the IP address. Address filtering
is also commonly used on security software located in organizations' premises.
32
Whether they use tunneling or address filtering, VPNs still use authentication and
authorization.
6.4
Access networks
The portion of the public network from the central office to the end user's location is
the access network, or "last mile," as illustrated in Figure 6.2. A major bottleneck of
analog services exists in the cabling to residential and small businesses from the
telephone company central office.
Carrier hotels are locations where network service providers locate their switches and
routers and connect to each others' networks.
Rather than construct their own buildings to house their switches, carriers lease
space in carrier hotels. They place their equipment in cages in the carrier hotel.
Locked wire cages surround the equipment and access to the equipment is available
only to the carrier that owns the equipment. Leasing space in carrier hotels saves
network providers the expense of providing their own: Physical security against
break-ins, Access to large amounts of power, Access to backup power, Backup
generators, Dual air conditioning systems, Uninterrupted power supplies, Fire
detection and fire suppression equipment, Alarming to fire departments and police
departments, Staff to plan and, maintain the facilities, Construction of earthquakeresistant facilities
6.5
New passive optical network (PON) technologies lower the cost of deploying fiber
optic cabling in cable TV and landline local access networks. They essentially enable
one fiber pair from the network provider's facility to the neighborhood to be shared by
many customers. They have the added benefits of lowering the maintenance and
operating costs of these networks. Changes can be made by computer commands
rather than by dispatching a technician. Passive optical networks also have lower
space and power requirements than alternative technologies.
Passive optical networks (PONs) are devices located in the access network that
enable carriers to dynamically allocate capacity on a single strand or pair of fibers to
multiple small and medium-sized customers. Access networks comprise the cabling
and infrastructure between the customer and the telephone company. The allocation
of bandwidth is done through computer control rather than by dispatching a
technician when more bandwidth is requested. PONs increases the capacity,
flexibility and efficiency of fiber deployed in the last mile.
35
The equipment consists of a switch that sits at the central office or the cable TV head
end called an Optical Line Terminal (OLT). The Optical Line Terminal controls
splitters, Optical Network Unit (ONU) and Optical Network Termination (ONT)
devices. The Optical Network Termination sits at the customer's premise. The
following are an overview of PON devices as defined by FSAN:
The Optical Line Terminal is located at the central office and has multiple
cards, each of which supports up to 32 end users. It has ports for the fiber and
backup fiber connected to the splitter. It also interfaces to the network service
providers' high-speed backbone network.
The splitter is like a garden hose with a T splitter that splits the capacity of the
fiber among up to 32 end users.
The Optical Network Termination, which brings fiber to the building, has cards
that connect the fiber to customer premise equipment (CPE). These interfaces
include T-1 (24 voice and/or data channels) and E-1 (the European version of
T-1 with 30 channels) and LAN ports. Twisted pair copper or fiber connections
are supported.
Optical add and drop multiplexers (OADMs) reroute traffic that comes into a carriers'
point of presence (POP) from the backbone network. For example, a pair of fibers
might carry traffic on 40 different wavelengths. Each wavelength also is called a
lambda. Each wavelength (lambda) is essentially a high-speed path of, for example,
10 gigabits per second (Gbps) of data. A filter in an add and drop multiplexer reroutes
a single wavelength in the strand of fiber at, for example, the Detroit POP and "drops"
it off, or reroutes it to, Cleveland. Add and drop multiplexer obviates the need for
36
more expensive amplifiers in Detroit to convert the signal back to an electronic format
before sending the traffic to Cleveland.
Optical cross connect (OXC) systems, (optical switches) have more capability than
optical add and drop multiplexers (OADMs). They are used in POPs with higher
traffic than those where OADMs are used. They switch light waves in core, highspeed carrier networks. In the future, they may also be used in the backbone, hightraffic portion of metropolitan networks between central office switches. Optical cross
connect (OXC) systems let carriers redirect wavelengths through computer
commands without physically unplugging fiber optic cables. A technician at a
computer can redirect an individual wavelength from one destination to another on
the network using software. Demultiplexers in the optical cross connect separate out
the wavelengths to their different routes.
Optical electrical optical (OEO) switches have direct optical interfaces. Fiber optic
cables plug directly into them. However, they process traffic electronically. The chips
that perform the switching do so electrically. The bits in the electrical signals tell the
switch where the traffic should be routed. OEO switches use the same protocols
used in the Internet Protocol (IP) such as multi-protocol label switching (MPLS).
MPLS looks at the address in the first packet in a stream of data, puts that in
hardware on the switch and routes the rest of the stream using the abbreviated
address in the hardware. It doesn't have to keep looking up the address. The
Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) is part of MPLS. It routes packets and
circuits based on a user's requested quality of service (QoS).
All optical switches (OOO) have direct fiber connections and they switch wavelengths
(lambdas) as light pulses without converting them to electrical signals. The OOO
refers to optical incoming, optical switching (internal) and optical outgoing. All optical
switches use out-of-band signals to direct light pulses to routes. The traffic itself
remains optical and the out-of-band electrical signals generated by routers tell the
switch where to send the traffic. The advantage of all optical switches is speed. They
are potentially faster than optical electrical optical (OEO) switches because they
aren't slowed down by the optical-to-electrical and electrical-back-to-optical
conversions. All optical switches use MPLS (previously described), as well as
37
6.6
Signaling in networks
Alerting signals-these are bell signals, tones or strobe lights that alert end
users that a call has arrived.
Addressing signals-these are touch tones or data pulses that tell the network
where to send the call. A computer or person dialing a call sends addressing
signals over the network.
Signals can be sent over the same channel as voice or data conversation, or over a
separate channel. Prior to 1976, all signals were sent over the same path as voice
and data traffic. This is called in-band signaling. In-band signaling resulted in
inefficient use of telephone lines. When a call was dialed, the network checked for an
available path and tied up an entire path through the network before it sent the call
through to the distant end. For example, a call from Miami to Los Angeles tied up a
path throughout the network after the digits were dialed, but before the call started.
38
Service switching points, software and ports in central offices that enable
switches to query databases
Service control points, specialized databases with billing and customer feature
information
39
Not all carriers own and operate their SS7 networks. They may, for example, use
SS7 networks from companies such as Illuminet. Carriers that use Illuminet have
links from their central office to the Illuminet signal transfer points.
Signal Transfer Points (STPs) are packet switches that route signals between
central offices and specialized databases. Messages are sent between points on the
SS7 network in variable-length packets with addresses attached. (Think of the
packets as envelopes of data containing user information such as the called and
calling telephone number, error correction information and sequencing numbers so
that the correct packets or envelopes are grouped together in the correct order at the
receiving end). Signal transfer switches read only the address portion of the packets
and forward the messages accordingly.
The fact that the signals are sent in a packet format is a significant factor in SS7's
efficiency. Packets associated with multiple calls share the same pipe. Packets from
transmissions a, b, c, and so forth are broken into small chunks (packets) and sent
down over the same 64 or 1540 kilobit SS7 links and reassembled at the destination.
Service Switching Points (SSPs) enable central offices to initiate queries to
databases and specialized computers. Service switching points consist of software
capable of sending specialized messages to databases and ports connected to the
S77 network. For example, when a 900 call is dialed, SSPs set up a special query to
a 900 database (the service control point) for information on routing the call.
Service switching points convert the central office query from the central office
"machine language" to SS7 language. When signals are received from the signaling
network, the service switching points convert the SS7 language to language readable
by the central office switch.
Service Control Points (SCPs) hold specialized databases with routing instructions
for each call based on the calling party and/or the called party. For example, service
control points tell the network which carrier to route an 800 call to. Services such as
network-based voice mail, fax applications and voice-activated dialing are located on
service control points or intelligent peripherals.
40
6.7
Hardware development
Technical advances are improving the quality of voice and video carried on packet
networks. They also are lowering the cost of building high-capacity networks capable
of carrying voice along with data over backbone networks.
The technical advances include:
Protocols that improve the quality of voice and video over packet networks.
41
7.1
ISDN
43
7.2
T-1 24 Channels
The T-1 multiplexing scheme was developed by AT&T in the 1960s as a way to save
money on cabling between telephone company switches by enabling one circuit to
carry 24 voice or data conversations. The speed of a T-1 circuit is 1.54 million bits
per second. The letters "DS" stand for digital signal level. DS-0 refers to the 56-Kbps
or 64-Kbps speed of each of the 24 individual channels of the T-1 or E-1 circuit. DS-1
refers to the entire 1.54-megabit T-1 line. The terms DS-1 and T-1 are used
interchangeably. All DS-0s run at 64,000 bps. However, depending on the signaling
available in the telephone company's network, 8000 of the bits might be required for
signaling and maintenance functions, leaving only 56 Kbps for user data. Clear
channel signaling must be available with the chosen carrier to be able to use the full
44
64 Kbps for user data. With clear channel signaling, the 8000 bits don't have to be
"robbed" for network maintenance. Thus, the full 64,000 bits are available for user
data.
The total bandwidth of a T-1 circuit is higher than the sum of all of the channels - 24 x
64,000, which equals 1,536,000. The extra 8000 bits (1,544,000 1,536,000 = 8000)
are used for synchronization, keeping the timing set between frames. A frame is a
grouping of bits with samples of data from each of the 24 channels. Data from
devices connected to the T-1 are sampled, put into frames and sent sequentially on
the T-1 line.
T-1 can be installed on a variety of media, including the following:
Fiber optics
Twisted pair
Coaxial cabling
Microwave
Infrared light
The only digital signal speed that is standard throughout the world is the DS-0 speed
of 64 kilobits. There are two standard DS-1 speeds: The U.S., Canada and Japan
use 1.544 for T-1 with 24 channels, while the rest of the world uses 2.048 with 32
channels - 30 channels for user data, one channel for signaling and a channel for
framing and remote maintenance.
Digital Signal Levels
Level
North America
Japan
User
Speed
Channels
User
Channels
Speed
User
Channels
Speed
DS-0
64 Kb
64 Kb
64 Kb
T-1 (DS-1)
24
1.544 Mb 24
1.544 Mb
30
2.048 Mb
T-2 (DS-2)
96
6.312 Mb 96
6.312 Mb
120
8.448 Mb
T-3 (DS-3)
672
44.7 Mb
480
32.06 Mb
480
34.368 Mb
T-4 (DS-4)
4032
274.17
Mb
5760
400.4 Mb
1920
139.3 Mb
45
Europe
7.3
A T-3 circuit is equivalent to 28 T-1s, or 672 channels (28 x 24 = 672). The total
speed of a T-3 line is 44.736 megabits per second. This speed is higher than 28 x
1.544 because some bits are needed for overhead (i.e., signaling and maintenance).
Large call centers often require several T-1 circuits at a single location. Rather than
install multiple T-1s, companies install T-3 circuits. T-3 services start to cost less than
multiple T-1s when customers have between eight to ten T-1s at the same site.
Catalog sales, financial institutions, insurance companies and service bureaus that
provide call center functions for smaller companies are examples of call centers that
might require T-3 capacity.
Fortune 100 companies use T-3 service to carry voice, video and data traffic on
private lines connecting their largest sites.
Internet service providers and telephone companies utilize the 672-channel capacity
of T-3. Large ISPs use T-3 to connect their switches to the Internet backbone. They
also provide T-3 service as a point where customers access their network. For
example, customers call into the T-3 network entrance points from individual 56 Kbps
to 1.54 T-1 lines. Many telephone carriers and Internet service providers are
upgrading from T-3 to optical carrier-level service in their backbone networks.
7.4
DSL is a technology that provides high-speed data transmissions over the so-called
last-mile of local-loop of the telephone network, i.e., the twisted copper wire that
connects home and small office users to the telephone company central offices
(COs). Demand for high-speed access methods is increasing with growing Internet
access, electronic commerce, IP telephony, and videoconferencing. A number of
methods for providing this bandwidth are available, including DSL technologies,
46
cable (CATV) networks, and wireless and satellite technologies. All of these fit into
the category of residential broadband services.
DSL technologies can enhance copper wire infrastructure to be the most effective
way of delivering broadband services to the greatest number of people. In some
cases, data rates up to 52 Mbits/sec can be achieved. DSL makes the local loop a
multiservice access network that can support not only Internet access, but video and
telephony services. No wiring upgrade is necessary for DSL. Only the equipment at
the user end and at the telephone company end of the cable must be upgraded to
new equipment.
While DSL transmission can share the same wire used to transmit traditional analog
voice calls, it can also support multiple lines of digital telephony within the frequency
range that it operates. DSL connections are point-to-point dedicated circuits, meaning
that they are always connected. There is no dial-up. There is also no switching, which
means that the line is a direct connection into the carriers system. DSL modems are
required at the customer site and the carrier site. Because there are different
modulation techniques, users must ensure compatibility between their equipment and
the carriers equipment. The carrier will usually recommend suitable equipment.
There are actually seven types of DSL service, ranging in speeds from 16 Kbits/sec
to 52 Mbits/sec. The services are either symmetric (traffic flows at the same speed in
both directions) or asymmetric (the downstream capacity is higher than the upstream
capacity). Asymmetric services are good for Internet users because more information
is usually downloaded than uploaded.
Following is a description of the different versions of DSL. Note that these versions
are often collectively referred to as xDSL:
HDSL (High-Speed Digital Subscriber Line) HDSL is the most common and mature
of the DSL services. It delivers data symmetrically at T1 data rates of 1.544 Mbits/sec
over lines that are up to 3.6 kilometers (12,000 feet) in length. Generally, HDSL is a
T1 service that requires no repeaters but does use two lines. Voice telephone
services cannot operate on the same lines. It is not intended for home users, but
47
instead is intended for the telephone companys own feeder lines, interexchange
connections, Internet servers, and private data networks.
SDSL (Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line) SDSL is a symmetric bidirectional DSL
service that is basically the same as HDSL, but operates on one twisted-pair wire. It
can provide data rates up to the T1 rate of 1.544 Mbits/sec.
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) ADSL is an asymmetric technology,
meaning that the downstream data rate is much higher than the upstream data rate.
As mentioned, this works well for a typical Internet session in which more information
is downloaded from Web servers than is uploaded. ADSL operates in a frequency
range that is above the frequency range of voice services, so the same wire can
carry both analog voice and digital data transmissions. The upstream rates range
from 16 Kbits/ sec to as high as 768 Kbits/sec. The downstream rates and distances
are listed here.
VDSL (Very HighData-Rate Digital Subscriber Line) VDSL is basically ADSL at
much higher data rates. It is asymmetric and, thus, has a higher downstream rate
than upstream rate. The upstream rates are from 1.5 Mbits/sec to 2.3 Mbits/sec. The
downstream rates and distances are listed in the following table. VDSL is seen as a
way to provide very high-speed access for streaming video, combined data and
video, video-conferencing, data distribution in campus environments, and the support
of multiple connections within apartment buildings.
RADSL (Rate-Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line) This service is also similar to ADSL,
but it has a rate-adaptive feature that will adjust the transmission speed to match the
quality of the line and the length of the line. A line-polling technique is used to
establish a connection speed when the line is first established.
DSL Lite (or G.Lite) DSL Lite is considered a jump-start technology that is meant to
deliver DSL to the greatest number of users, as fast as possible. While it has a lower
data rate than other DSLs, it does not require that the telephone company do
anything to the lines. In addition, equipment to handle DSL Lite is becoming readily
available at a low price.
48
7.5
Gigabit
Gigabit Ethernet
Ethernet
is a
high-speed
method
and
data
7.6
50
Frame Relay virtual circuits are identified by data-link connection identifiers (DLCIs).
DLCI values typically are assigned by the Frame Relay service provider (for example,
the telephone company). Each link can support multiple connections.
7.7
51
Constant Bit Rate (CBR) traffic provides the highest priority and lowest delay
through a network. Typical applications include videoconferencing, voice,
television and video-on-demand.
Variable Bit Rate (VBR) traffic, where more delay and variation on speeds can
be tolerated. Compressed voice and video and bursty data traffic fit into this
category.
Available Bit Rate (ABR) traffic, also known as best effort ATM, supports
bursty LAN traffic and other traffic that can adjust their requirements according
to the speed of the available network resources.
Access to an ATM backbone network is provided through a User Network Interface
(UNI). The UNI, or user network interface, is the dedicated digital telephone line
connection between the customer and the ATM equipment. The dedicated
connection to ATM can be implemented at various speeds including:
T-1, T-3,
Fractional T-3, OC-1 (52 megabits per second), OC3 (155 megabits per second),
OC12 (622 megabits per second) and above.
ATM supports multiple, parallel communications. For example, a videoconference
can be transmitted on the same line carrying large file transfers. Thus, even though
there is only one physical connection, multiple communications are taking place in
parallel. This is a major strength of ATM. Predefined paths between network
locations are called PVCs or Permanent Virtual Connections. The two types of
permanent virtual connections are:
Virtual path connection (VPC): Has many virtual channels running within it.
This is analogous to conduit carrying many cables.
Virtual Channel Connection (VCC): A single channel within the ATM circuit
that is defined when the service is put in place.
52
7.8
SONET is a Layer 1 transport service used on fiber optic cabling. Layer 1 functions
define interfaces to physical media such as copper and fiber optic cabling. SONET
takes data and transports it at high speeds called OC (optical carrier) speeds. In
contrast, ATM is a Layer 2 service; it performs switching, addressing and error
checking. SONET links carry data from ATM switches, IP networks, T-1 and T-3
multiplexers from close to where they enter carrier networks in fiber optic long-haul
and metropolitan area networks.
SDH, or synchronous digital hierarchy, essentially is the European version of
synchronous optical speeds. SDH signals are carried at Synchronous Transfer Mode
(STM) speeds. Europe's time division hierarchy is based on E1 (2-megabit) and E3
(34-megabit) signals. E1 circuits carry 30 channels at 64 kilobits per channel. E3
circuits carry 512 channels at 64 kilobits per channel. Traffic that is carried between
cities in Europe or in undersea cables is often referred to as being carried at STM-1
or STM-16 rates.
SONET has four functions or layers:
The photonic layer converts electrical signals to optical signals and vice versa.
If electrical signals from media such as copper are connected to SONET
multiplexers, the SONET equipment converts the electrical signals to light
signals suitable for fiber optic cabling. At the receiving end of the transmission,
it converts optical signals back to electrical signals.
The section layer monitors the condition of the transmission between the
SONET equipment and optical amplifiers. (Amplifiers are used to strengthen
optical signals that fade over distance.)
The line layer synchronizes and multiplexes multiple streams into one stream
or "pipe" of traffic. It also provides monitoring and administration of SONET
multiplexers.
The path layer assembles and disassembles voice and data carried on
SONET into frames. Frames are arrangements of bits that carry user
information as well as bits for monitoring and maintaining the line.
53
54
Anyone sending data, video or images over a telephone line needs a device between
the telephone line and the equipment communicating. The vast majority of Internet
subscribers worldwide use analog dialup service. Modems convert their computer's
digital signals to analog in such a way that the signals are compatible with analog
telephone lines. All devices connected to public and private networks need devices
for functions such as error correction and timing between computers, multiplexers or
local area networks (LANs) and service providers' facilities.
8.1
The equipment that makes computer signals compatible with networks for
communications is called data circuit-terminating equipment (DCE). Analog and
digital telephone lines require different types of DCE devices. Data circuit-terminating
equipment (DCE) gear with remote diagnostics can reduce the finger pointing that is
often present when maintenance staff try to determine whether repair problems are
located in the network, computer, cables or modem. Problem determination, which
often involves computer suppliers, network vendors and modem suppliers, is a major
dilemma with companies responsible for telecommunications networks. One way
technicians pinpoint repair problems is by sending test data bits to the DCE device. If
the DCE device receives the data, the assumption is made that the problem is not in
the telephone line or DCE.
Data circuit-terminating equipment serves multiple purposes. The function it provides
depends on the network services with which it is used.
Functions of data circuit-terminating equipment (DCE) include:
55
For analog lines, DCE has functions of converting digital computer signals to analog
and vice-versa.
8.2
56
8.3
Modems convert digital signals received from computers into analog signals and
transmit them over analog telephone lines. The process of converting digital signals
to analog and modifying them for transmission is called modulation. This makes the
signals compatible with analog telephone lines. At the receiving end, the modem
demodulates the signal or converts it from analog to digital and transmits it to the
data terminal equipment (DTE) (e.g., computer or T-1 multiplexer).
56-Kbps (V.90) modem speeds are asymmetric. "Upstream" from the subscriber to
the service provider is slower, (33.6 kilobits) than "downstream" (up to 53 kilobits)
from the Internet service provider (ISP) to the subscriber. This is because the
subscriber has an analog line to the central office and the Internet service provider
has a digital line. The assumption with 56-kilobit modems is that the ISP has digital
PRI ISDN service in its remote access server (RAS).
57
8.4
Devices such as video teleconference units, PCs, PBXs, key systems and
multiplexers that are connected to ISDN lines need an NT1 interface to the ISDN line.
ISDN enables voice, data and video to share one telephone circuit. The network
termination type 1 (NT1) corrects the voltage on the signals. It provides the electrical
and physical terminations to the carrier's network. In addition, the NT1 provides a
point from which line monitoring and maintenance functions can take place. On BRI
ISDN services, NT1 devices change the ISDN circuit from two wires that come into
the building from the central office to the four wires that are needed by ISDN
equipment. (BRI ISDN circuits carry two channels of voice, video or data). In the
58
U.S., the FCC requires that the customer be responsible for supplying the NT1. In the
rest of the world, telephone carriers supply the NT1.
A terminal adapter (TA) that performs the multiplexing and signaling function on ISDN
services is also required. Multiplexing enables one line to be used simultaneously for
two voice or data calls. ISDN telephones have built-in terminal adapters. Non-ISDN
telephones, fax machines, video systems and computers can use ISDN if they are
connected to an external terminal adapter or a terminal adapter included in their NT1
device.
8.5
Channel Service Units (CSUs) and Digital Service Units (DSUs) are devices that, in
combination, serve to interface the user environment to an electrically based, digital
local loop. In contemporary systems, CSUs and DSUs generally combine into a
single device known variously as a CSU/DSU, CDSU, or ISU (Integrated Service
Unit), which typically appears in the form of a chipset on a printed circuit board found
under the skin of another device such as a channel bank, multiplexer (mux), switch,
or router. They are used in a wide variety of digital voice and data networks, including
DDS, T-carrier, and E carrier.
Channel Service Unit Channel service units are circuit terminating equipment that
provide the customer interface to the circuit. They also permit the isolation of the
DTE/CPE (Data terminal equipment/Customer premises equipment) from the network
for purposes of network testing. CSU functions include electrical isolation from the
circuit for purposes of protection from aberrant voltages, serving the same function as
a protector in the voice world. Additionally, the CSU can respond to a command from
the carrier to close a contact, temporarily isolating the DTE domain from the carrier
domain. This enables the carrier to conduct a loopback test in order to test the
performance characteristics of the local loop from the serving CO to the CSU and
back to the CO. Many contemporary CSUs also have the ability to perform various
line analyses, including monitoring the signal level. Such intelligent CSUs also often
have the ability to initiate loopback tests, although arrangements must be made with
59
the carrier in advance. The CSU also serves to interface the DTE domain to the
carrier domain in an electrical environment. Within the DTE, for example, 1 bits
commonly are represented as positive (+) voltages and 0 bits as null (zero) voltages.
The network requires that 1 bits be alternating positive and negative voltages and
that the 0 bits be zero voltages. Further, the network requires assurance that 1s
density is achieved. Depending on the carrier network, 15-80 zeros can be
transmitted in a row as long as the density of 1s is at least 12.5 percent (1 in 8) over
a specified interval of time. CSUs insert, or stuff, 1 bits on a periodic basis in order to
ensure that the various network elements maintain synchronization. The CSU also
serves to provide signal regeneration and generates keep alive signals to maintain
the circuit in the event of a DTE transmission failure. Finally, the CSU stores various
performance data in temporary memory for consideration by an upstream network
management system. Smart CSUs increasingly are positioned as Integrated Access
Devices (IADs). These multiport devices support interfaces to voice, data, and video
devices such as PBXs, routers, and videoconferencing units. The programmable IAD
supports bandwidth allocation for the various devices, enabling them to share a
single T1 or other digital facility.
Data Service Unit Data service units convert the DTE unipolar signal into a bipolar
signal demanded by the network. DSU functions variously include regeneration of
digital signals, insertion of control signals, signal timing, and reformatting. Some of
these functions can be ceded to either the CSU or the terminal equipment. In any
case, the functions must be performed, even though the CSUs and DSUs lose their
identity.
8.6
Cable Modems
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USA alone there were 22.5 million cable modem users during the first quarter of
2005, up from 17.4 million in the first quarter of 2004.
Head end and end-user cable modems provide the following functionality:
Address filtering so that the modem only accepts messages intended for the
correct recipient
8.7
Cable TV set-top boxes are interfaces between televisions, satellite TV and cable TV
networks for access to television and other services. At the most basic level, they are
tuners. Cable and satellite TV operators remotely administer filters and traps in settop boxes to allow subscribers access to basic cable TV or premium channels. The
set-top box also has a security function. It scrambles and unscrambles TV signals
and also has links to billing systems for information on which channels to allow the
subscriber to receive. Credit information is also stored in some set-top boxes.
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Digital set-top boxes are available to take advantage of the two-way capability of
digital cable TV and satellite TV. These capabilities include:
Advanced digital security so that the security is placed on a card in the set-top
box that can be installed separately. If a consumer buys a set-top box from a
retailer, the cable TV provider can install the security feature on the card.
(Because security is proprietary to each provider, it is not available in retail
outlets.)
An Ethernet plug on the back of the set-top box so that computers or home
routers can be connected to the set-top box. A set-top box can be used to
send caller ID to the television screen. For this to work, subscribers must get
their telephone service from their cable TV provider.
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8.8
The electrical properties of copper cabling create resistance and interference. Signals
weaken the farther they are transmitted on copper wires. The electrical property of
copper cabling is the key factor that limits its transmission speeds.
Signals sent over copper wire are, for the most part, direct-current electrical signals.
Signals near these wires can introduce interference and noise into the transmission.
In particular, copiers, magnetic sources, manufacturing devices and radio stations all
can introduce noise. It is not uncommon for office and residential users to complain
that they can hear a nearby radio station's programming on their telephone calls. This
is the result of interference.
Within homes and businesses, crosstalk is another example of "leaking" electrical
transmissions. In homes with two lines, a person speaking on one line often can hear
the faint conversation on the other line. Current from one pair of wires has "leaked"
into the other wire. One way in which copper cabling is protected from crosstalk and
noise introduced from nearby wires is by twisting each copper wire of a two-wire pair.
Noise induced into each wire of the twisted pair is canceled at the twist in the wire.
8.9
Modem standards
The CCITT, an international committee that specifies the way modems and fax
machines transmit information to ensure compatibility among modems, has classified
dial-up modems according to the following modulation standards:
Bell 103M & 212A: Older standards, Bell 103 transmits at 300 bit/s at 300
baud and 212A transmits at 1200 bit/s at 600 baud.
V.22: Capable of 1200 bit/s at 600 baud. Used mainly outside the U.S.
V.22bis: Used in the U.S. and out, it is capable of 2400 bit/s at 600 baud.
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V.23: Used mainly in Europe, it allows the modem to send and receive data at
the same time at 75 bit/s.
V.29: A one-way (half-duplex) standard that is used mostly for fax machines.
Capable of 9600 bit/s.
V.32: A full-duplex standard capable of 9600 bit/s at 2400 baud. V.32 modems
automatically adjust their transmission speeds based on the quality of the
lines.
V.34: Capable of 28,000 bit/s or fallback to 24,000 and 19,200 bit/s. This
standard is backwards compatible with V.32 and V.32bis.
V.42: Same transfer rate as V.34 but is more reliable because of error
correction.
V.44: Allows for compression of Web pages at the ISP end and
decompression by the V.44-compliant modem, so transmitting the same
information requires fewer data packets.
V.92: Transmits at the same speed as V.90 but offers a reduced handshake
time and an on-hold feature.
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The Internet
9.1
switching is that packets from multiple computers can share the same circuit. A
separate connection is not needed for each transmission. Moreover, in the case of an
attack, if one computer goes down, data can be rerouted to other computers in the
packet network. TCP/IP, the protocol still used on the Internet, was developed in
1974 by Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn. It supports a suite of services such as email, file
transfer and logging onto remote computers.
In 1984, as more sites were added to ARPANET, the term Internet started to be
used. The ARPANET was shut down in 1984, but the Internet was left intact. In 1987,
oversight of the Internet was transferred from the Department of Defense to the
National Science Foundation.
While still used largely by universities and technical organizations, applications on the
Internet expanded from its original defense work. In particular, newsgroups used by
computer hobbyists, college faculty and students were formed around special
interests such as cooking, specialized technology and lifestyles. The lifestyles
newsgroups included sexual orientation (gay and lesbian), religion and gender
issues. Computer-literate people were also using the Internet to log onto computers
at distant universities for research and to send electronic mail.
The Internet was completely text prior to 1990. There were no graphics, pictures or
color. All tasks were done without the point-and-click assistance of browsers, such as
Netscape and Internet Explorer. Rather, people had to learn, for example, UNIX
commands. UNIX is a computer operating system developed in 1972 by Bell Labs.
UNIX commands include: m for Get Mail, j for Go to the Next Mail Message, d for
Delete Mail and u for Undelete Mail. The Internet was not for the timid or for
computer neophytes.
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9.2
HTML
The World Wide Web was conceived as a way to make using and navigating the
Internet easier. It is not a separate part of the Internet, but a graphical way to use the
Internet. The World Wide Web enables users to hear sound and see color, video and
graphical representations of information. Moreover, it provides links to information
using text and graphic images embedded in documents to "navigate" to other Web
sites. These links are in the form of highlighted text and graphics. Users click on them
with a mouse to move from one document to another or from one site to another.
These two capabilities, linking and graphics are the strengths of the World Wide
Web.
The World Wide Web was created in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN, the
European Laboratory for Particle Physics. The goal of creating the Web was to
merge the techniques of client-server networking and hypertext to make it easy to
find information worldwide. The basic concept is that any type of client, the PC,
should be able to find information without needing to know a particular computer
language or without needing a particular type of terminal.
The name of the protocol used to link sites is Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
The letters, http, start Web addresses. When a browser sees http, it knows that this is
an address for linking to another site.
HTML, an acronym for Hyper Text Markup Language, is the predominant markup
language for web pages. It provides a means to describe the structure of text-based
information in a document - by denoting certain text as links, headings, paragraphs,
lists, etc. - and to supplement that text with interactive forms, embedded images, and
other objects. HTML is written in the form of "tags" that are surrounded by angle
brackets. HTML can also describe, to some degree, the appearance and semantics
of a document, and can include embedded scripting language code (such as
JavaScript) that can affect the behavior of Web browsers and other HTML
processors.
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9.3
Emailing
Both plain text and HTML are used to convey e-mail. While text is certain to be read
by all users without problems, there is a perception that HTML-based e-mail has a
higher aesthetic value. Advantages of HTML include the ability to include inline links
and images, set apart previous messages in block quotes, wrap naturally on any
display, use emphasis such as underlines and italics, and change font styles.
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard that extends
the format of e-mail. MIME enables users to send video, foreign language and audio
file attachments. The MIME standard includes a way to attach bits at the beginning
and end of the attachment. These bits tell the receiving computer what type of file is
68
attached and when the attachment ends. For example, the bits may tell the computer,
"This is a Microsoft Word for Windows file." The receiving computer then opens the
document as a Word file. MIME does not entirely solve the attachment problem. The
sending and receiving computers need compatible software platforms and programs
for reading attachments. Some early releases of spreadsheet and word processing
programs cannot open newer versions of these programs.
Instant messaging (IM) is a collection of technologies that create the possibility of
real-time text-based communication between two or more participants over the
internet or some form of internal network/intranet. Instant messaging happens in realtime and require two or more persons to be logged on. Some systems allow the
sending of messages to people not currently logged on (offline messages).
Instant messaging based on Internet relay chat (IRC) protocol has been available
since the 1980s. Jarkko Oikarinen of Finland designed Internet relay chat in 1988.
Internet relay chat (IRC) protocol is based on a client-server model with "channels"
defined in the IRC protocol. A channel is the path defined to carry messages to chat
rooms or "buddy" lists where everyone receives the same message. The IRC
protocol defines how a group of clients (end-user computers) all receive the same
message from the server to which they're all connected. Chat programs relay a
message from single users to a predefined group. This is feasible because IRC is
based on TCP/IP, which can deliver packets containing the same message to many
computers. Each client that is part of the IRC group of networks downloads special
client Internet relay chat software
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9.4
Addressing in internet
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9.5
Intranet
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9.6
Extranet
different security levels may map onto a common military radio transmission system
that never connects to the Internet. Any private network mapped onto a public one is
a virtual private network (VPN). In contrast, an intranet is a VPN under the control of
a single company's administrator(s).
An extranet requires security. These can include firewalls, server management, the
issuance and use of digital certificates or similar means of user authentication,
encryption of messages, and the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) that tunnel
through the public network. Many technical specifications describe methods of
implementing extranets, but often never explicitly define an extranet.
9.7
Security issues
The Internet is rife with risks. Hackers, crackers, saboteurs, and other unsavory
characters abound, eagerly attacking the Net and its users at every opportunity. The
risks include system intrusion, unauthorized data access, system sabotage, planting
of viruses, theft of data, theft of credit card numbers, and theft of passwords.
Securing data on the internet can be done using Encryption and Firewalls.
Encryption involves scrambling and compressing the data prior to transmission; the
receiving device is provided with the necessary logic in the form of a key to decrypt
the transmitted information. Encryption logic generally resides in firmware included in
stand-alone devices, although it can be built into virtually any device. Such logic now,
for example, is incorporated into routers, which can encrypt/decrypt data on a packetby-packet basis. Encryption comes in two basic flavors:
Public-key encryption involves the RSA encryption key that can be used by
all authorized network users. The key for decryption is kept secret. Public
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key encryption is much slower than private key, but the dissemination of the
key is accomplished much more quickly.
Firewalls comprise application software that can reside in a communication router,
server, or some other device. That device physically and/or logically is a first point of
access into a networked system. On an active basis, the device can block access to
unauthorized entities, effectively acting as a security firewall. Firewalls provide
logging, auditing, and sucker traps to identify access attempts and to separate
legitimate users from intruders. Firewalls can be in the form of a programmable router
or a full set of software, hardware, and consulting services
9.8
Despite all its advances over the past couple decades, the Internet is challenged
today. It is still limited in bandwidth (capacity) at various points. One reason the
Internet needs more bandwidth is that traffic keeps increasing at an astonishing rate.
People are drawn to Web sites that provide pictures of products in order to engage in
demonstrations and to conduct multimedia communications. Multimedia, visual, and
interactive applications demand greater bandwidth and more control over latencies
and losses. This means that we frequently have bottlenecks at the ISP level, at the
backbone level (i.e., the NSP level), and at the Internet exchange points (IXPs)
where backbones interconnect to exchange traffic between providers. These
bottlenecks greatly affect our ability to roll out new time-sensitive, loss-sensitive
applications, such as Internet telephony, VoIP, VPNs, streaming media, and IPTV.
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10
Converged networks
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11
Wireless services
11.1
Prior to the first deployment of analog cellular car telephones in 1984, users who
wanted to place telephone calls from their cars used mobile non-cellular telephone
networks that had connections to the public switched network. The first mobile
telephone system was started in 1946 in St. Louis, Missouri. Costs for car telephones
were high, between $2000 and $2500, and capacity was limited. The local telephone
company in each city operated one transmitter and receiver for the entire area. Thus,
the entire area covered by the one transmitter shared the same channels. This meant
that only a limited number (25 to 35) of simultaneous calls could be placed on each
city's mobile system. In addition to limited capacity, the quality of service was spotty
with considerable static and breaking up of calls.
Mobile radio service was more widespread than mobile telephone service prior to the
mid-1980s. Mobile radio is a "closed" service without connections to the public
switched network. Mobile radio operators can only reach people on their closed
network. For example, users on one taxicab service's system cannot call users on
another cab's system. Police departments were early pioneers of car radios. The
Detroit police department used mobile radio service in 1921. In the 1930s, mobile
radio use spread to other public safety agencies such as fire departments. Mobile
radio systems are now used for aviation, trucking, taxis and marine applications.
Mobile radio is half-duplex: Calls are two-way but only one user at a time can
transmit. For example, when one person is done speaking, he uses a convention
such as "over and out" to let the other person know he is finished talking. People
using mobile radio push a button to talk.
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11.2
11.2.1 AMPS
Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) was the first cellular technology deployed in
the United States. Developed by Motorola and AT&T, AMPS is an analog technology
operating on 50 MHz in the 800-MHz band and supporting 666 (in some areas 832)
channels. In the United States, 25 MHz and 333 (in some areas 416) channels, each
are provided to the A-carrier, or nonwireline carrier, and the B-carrier, or wireline
carrier (incumbent telco or telco consortium).
Of the total number of channels awarded to each carrier, 21 channels are non
conversational channels dedicated to call setup, call hand-off, and call teardown. The
remaining communications channels are split into 30-kHz voice channels, with
separation of 45 MHz between the forward and reverse channels. Based on FDMA
and FDD transmission, AMPS does not handle data well, with modem transmission
generally limited to 6.8 kbps. Although once widely deployed in the United States,
Australia, the Philippines, and other countries, AMPS has almost entirely been
replaced by digital technology. Australian regulators mandated a cutover from
analogue AMPS to digital GSM and CDMA beginning December 31, 1999, in
Melbourne, gradually extending throughout the country during 2000. As noted above,
the FCC in the United States has authorized carriers to cease support for analog
systems as of March 1, 2008.
11.2.2 D-AMPS
Digital-AMPS (D-AMPS), also known as IS-54, IS-136 and TDMA, is a North
American digital cellular standard that operates in the same 800-MHz band as the
earlier analog AMPS. In fact, the two can coexist in the same network. D-AMPS use
the same 30-kHz bands as AMPS and supports up to 416 frequency channels per
carrier. Through Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), each frequency channel is
subdivided into six time slots, each of which operates at 8 kbps. Each call initially
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uses two time slots (e.g., 1 and 4, 2 and 5, and 3 and 6) in each direction, for a total
of 16 kbps, which supports the data transfer plus overhead for call processing. While
the standard recommends speech compression at 8 kbps (actually 7.95 kbps) using
Vector-Sum Excited Linear Predictive Coding (VSELP), that is an average rate
because each call can burst up to 48 kbps. D-AMPS yield a 3:1 advantage over
AMPS in terms of bandwidth utilization. IS-136 is known as a dual-mode standard
because both D-AMPS and AMPS can coexist on the same network, with both using
the same 21 control channels for call setup, call hand-off, and call teardown.
Thereby, IS-136 offers carriers the advantage of a graceful transition from analog to
digital. IS-136 also includes a nonintrusive Digital Control Channel (DCCH), which is
used for Short Message Service (SMS) and caller ID. SMS supports information
transfer for applications such as weather reports, sports scores, traffic reports, and
stock quotes, as well as short e-mail-like messages, which may be entered through
the service providers website. Some service providers also allow the cellular user to
respond to e-mails via two-way SMS. Data communications is supported at up to 9.6
kbps per channel (paired time slots), and as many as three channels can be
aggregated for speeds up to 28.8 kbps. Group 3 facsimile also can be supported.
The Radio Frequency (RF) modulation technique is Differential Quaternary Phase
Shift Keying (DQPSK).
11.2.3 GSM
Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) was adopted by the CEPT in 1987
as the standard for pan-European cellular systems and was first introduced in 1991.
GSM operates in the 800-MHz and 900-MHz frequency bands and is ISDN
compatible. GSM carves each 200-kHz band into eight TDMA channels of 33.8 kbps,
each of which supports a voice call at 13 kbps using Linear Predictive Coding (LPC).
Data throughput generally is limited to 9.6 kbps, due to FEC and encryption
overhead. GSM commonly employs a four-cell reuse plan, rather than the seven-cell
plan used in AMPS, and divides each cell into 12 sectors. GSM commonly uses
frequency hopping and time-slot hopping, which also is used in CDMA systems. GSM
offers additional security in the form of a Subscriber Identification Module (SIM),
which plugs into a card slot in the handset, much as a PCMCIA card fits into a laptop
78
computer. The SIM contains user profile data, a description of access privileges and
features, and identification of the cellular carrier that hosts the home registry. The
SIM can be used with any GSM set, thereby providing complete mobility across
nations and carriers supporting GSM, assuming that cross-billing relationships are in
place. GSM clearly developed to be the international standard of choice. Like DAMPS, GSM supports SMS text messaging, which generally is two-way. GSM is in
place in over 475 networks in more than 190 countries and predominates throughout
Europe and much of Asia, supporting full roaming privileges from country to country.
With minor modifications, GSM is the basis for DCS 1800 , also known as PCN
(Personal Communications Network), in Europe. DCS 1800, in large part, is an up
banded version of GSM, operating in the 1800-MHz (1.8-GHz) range. Also with minor
modifications, it is the basis for PCS 1900 in the United States, where it also is known
as GSM. PCS 1900 is the ANSI standard (J-STD-007, 1995) for PCS at 1900 MHz
(1.9 GHz). Unfortunately, PCS 1900 is not compatible with the original European
GSM, due to the difference in frequency bands. T-Mobile (owned by Deutsche
Telekom, which explains a lot) has deployed PCS 1900, and Cingular built a GSM
network as an overlay to its D-AMPS network.
11.2.4 UMTS-3G
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) also known as Wideband
CDMA (W-CDMA) is a 3G technology that is seen as a logical upgrade to GSM,
although the two are not compatible. UMTS runs over a carrier 5 MHz wide,
compared to the 200 kHz carrier used for narrowband CDMA. UMTS specifications
provide for both TDD mode and FDD mode, with TDD largely used in Europe and
FDD in the United States. The FDD specifications call for the downlink to run in the
2100-MHz range (2110 2200 MHz) and the uplink in the 1900-MHz range (1885
2025 MHz). As is the case with all true 3G systems, UMTS specifications include 128
kbps for high-mobility applications, 384 kbps for pedestrian speed applications, and 2
Mbps (1.920 Mbps) for fixed in-building applications. In reality, UMTS currently caps
the transmission rate at a theoretical 384 kbps. UMTS was first deployed in Japan
(2000), where it is known as Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access (FOMA).
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UMTS networks currently are being upgraded with High-Speed Downlink Packet
Access (HSDPA), which sometimes is characterized as a 3.5G technology. HSDPA
promises to increase theoretical downlink data rates to 14.4 Mbps, although current
implementations support speeds more typically in the range of 400 700 kbps,
bursting up to 3.6 Mbps for short periods of time using an adaptive modulation
technique to throttle bit rates up and down as the link permits. HSDPA has been
introduced on a limited basis in Austria, Finland, Japan, South Africa, and the United
States. Work has begun in the standards bodies on High-Speed Uplink Packet
Access (HSUPA). Once increased speeds are in place on both the downlink and
uplink, simultaneous voice, data, and even video calls will be quite possible.
11.2.5 Nextel
Nextel was founded in 1987 and initially offered data communications over analog
radio facilities. Nextel's newer wireless telephone service is carried over digital
facilities in its 800 to 900 MHz spectrum. The service is used with Motorola
telephones and is geared toward small and medium-sized businesses. In early 1999,
Nextel upgraded its network to support browser-equipped Motorola telephones. It
targets commercial, not residential, customers. Motorola Corporation and the McCaw
family each own 20% of Nextel (The McCaw cellular company was purchased by
AT&T in 1993).
Nextel phones have a liquid crystal display that can be used for text and numeric
paging. Nextel coverage is in 185 of the top 200 markets and within reach of 77% of
the U.S. These areas are largely metropolitan locations. Vast areas of sparsely
populated sections of the country will not be covered. Nextel is accessible from major
interstate highways. However, it will not have towers or service in remote locations
with few businesses such as North Dakota and Montana.
In addition, Nextel offers Nextel Direct Connect. This service enables employees in
the same company to have direct connections to each other by pushing a button on
their telephone.
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Because Nextel service does not work on the 1800 to 1900 megahertz frequencies, it
did not have to participate in costly bidding for new frequencies. However, it has a
limited amount of spectrum. Nextel offers the same features as PCS service such as
short messaging text paging, email and voice mail. These phones use a technology,
iDEN (integrated Digital Enhanced Network) developed by Motorola that breaks each
25 kilohertz channel into up to six time slots able to carry voice, paging traffic, data
and dispatch messages. It compresses the voice small enough so that it can fit into
one of the six time slots.
High-end Nextel phones have email capability embedded in them that works with
Microsoft Outlook and Lotus as well as email provided by Internet service providers.
The Nextel email server converts these email formats to that compatible with Nextel.
Subscribers access their email by pressing the email button on their telephone and
entering their password. A cookie in the phone sends the user name and email
account information. The phone can be set up to receive all or some email
messages. This functionality doesn't work when roaming. A cable is available to
connect the phone to a laptop computer so that email can be stored on a computer.
Nextel offers a dual band, GSM and 900-megahertz TDMA Motorola telephone that
operates in over 60 countries with which it has roaming agreements. Nextel sells
service directly and through Nextel Partners, an affiliate who sells in small to
medium-sized markets in 30 states within the United States. Its single mode phone
operates in parts of Canada, Latin America and the Philippines where Nextel
International operates networks in the same frequency and access methods as those
in the United States. Nextel's lower frequency network requires fewer towers
because lower frequency, longer wavelength signals travel farther without
deteriorating than PCS signals at higher (1900 megahertz) frequencies.
pager, the calling party reaches a recorded greeting asking the caller to enter a
numeric message, and sometimes giving the caller an option to leave a voice mail
message. Generally, the paged person will receive an alert from the pager with the
phone number to return the call and/or a pager code within a few minutes. In the
case of email paging, the text is displayed.
Numeric pagers are the simplest of the type of devices offering only a numeric
display of the phone number to be called and pager codes
Alphanumeric pagers are essentially modified versions of numeric pagers with
sophisticated display to accommodate text. These devices are usually given an email
address to receive text messages.
Two-way Alphanumeric pagers are alphanumeric pagers capable of both sending
and receiving text messages and email. To do this, the units either have a small built
in keypad that allows the user to input messages, or the message can be typed from
a wireless keyboard and is received by the pager.
Most modern paging systems use simulcast delivery by satellite controlled networks.
This type of distributed system makes them inherently more reliable than terrestrial
based cellular networks for message delivery. Many paging transmitters may overlap
a coverage area, while cellular systems are built to fill holes in existing networks.
When terrestrial networks go down in an emergency, satellite systems continue to
perform. Because of superior building penetration and availability of service in
disaster situations, pagers are often used by first responders in emergencies.
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11.3
The bit rate is sensitive to the encoding scheme in use, of which there are four. CS-4
supports a bit rate of 20.0 kbps per time slot but can be used only when the Mobile
Station (MS) and Base Station (BS) are in proximity. As the distance increases
83
between the MS and BS, the encoding scheme must be more robust to compensate
for attenuation, and the bit rate accordingly must adjust downward. At the edge of the
cell, for example, CS-1 supports a bit rate of only 8.0 kbps. The four Coding
Schemes (CSs) and associated bit rates are as follows:
GPRS can run in either the symmetric or asymmetric mode, with the speed in either
direction sensitive to the multislot service class selected, of which there are 12. The
multislot service class determines the number of time slots in each direction, with
each time slot supporting a theoretical nominal data rate of 20 kbps (actually 21.4
kbps). The simplest is service class 1, which supports one time slot in each direction.
The most capable is service class 12, which supports four time slots in each
direction. Generally speaking, the most common service classes are asymmetric in
nature, which suits data-oriented Web applications in much the same way as do the
asymmetric local loop technologies of ADSL, PON, and WiMAX. The U.S. carriers
deploying GPRS include Cingular (800 and 1900 MHz) and T-Mobile (1900 MHz).
Upgrades from GPRS to 3G will be in the direction of UMTS, often through EDGE as
an intermediate step.
11.3.2 EDGE
Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) is a 2.5G standard developed by
ETSI in 1999 and touted as the final stage in the evolution of data communications
within the existing GSM standards. The only IMT-2000 specification based on TDMA,
EDGE supports data transmission rates up to 473.6 kbps over GSM FDD channels
200 kHz wide through an improved modulation technique. 8-Phase Shift Keying (8PSK) involves eight levels of phase shift and, therefore, supports three bits per
symbol. EDGE supports 124 FDD channels, each of which supports eight time
slots/users. EDGE supports two modes of operation:
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T-Mobile
network (1900 MHz) is fully upgraded. Maximum transmission rates typically are in
the range of 75-150 kbps.
11.3.3 cdma2000
Developed by Qualcomm, the company that commercialized CDMA, Code Division
Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000) is a 3G system based on earlier CDMA versions
(also known as TIA/EIA IS-95a and IS-95b). CDMA2000 (also known as IS-856) has
been approved by the ITU-R as part of the IMT-2000 family. The initial version,
known as CDMA2000 1RTT (one times Radio Transmission Technology, with one
85
times referring to standard channel width), offers 2.5G capabilities within a single
standard 1.25-MHz channel, effectively doubling the voice capacity of the
predecessor 2G cdmaOne systems and offering theoretical data speeds up to 153
kbps (throughput in the range of 7090 kbps) through the use of QPSK modulation.
An enhanced 3G version known as 1EV-DO (one carrier EVolution-Data Optimized)
is a High-Data-Rate (HDR) version that employs 16-QPSK modulation in support of a
peak data rate of 2.4 Mbps on the downlink and 153 kbps on the uplink. 1EV-DO
supports average aggregate throughput in a fully loaded three-sectored cell of 4.1
Mbps on the downlinks and 660 kbps on the uplinks, with dynamically assigned data
rates providing each user with optimum throughput at any given moment. 1EVDO
can run in any band (e.g., 450, 800, 1800, and 1900 MHz) and can coexist in any
type of network (e.g., CDMA2000, cdmaOne, GSM, TDMA, and AMPS). CDMA2000
runs in the 800-MHz and 1.8-2.0-GHz spectrum. GSM1x is a version designed as a
transition specification for GSM operators, involving dual-mode phones. Also known
as IS-2000-A, 3 x is an enhancement that uses three cdmaOne carriers for total
bandwidth of 3.75 MHz. This supports data rates up to 2 Mbps by spreading a
multicast signal over the three carriers. In North America, Bell Canada, Sprint Nextel,
and Verizon Wireless (800 MHz) have committed to CDMA2000.
The first major step in the evolution to 3G occurred with the introduction of General
Packet Radio Service (GPRS). So the cellular services combined with GPRS
became' 2.5G.'
GPRS could provide data rates from 56 kbit/s up to 114 kbit/s. It can be used for
services such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) access, Short Message
Service
(SMS),
Multimedia
Messaging
Service
(MMS),
and
for
Internet
users. It provides moderate speed data transfer, by using unused Time division
multiple access (TDMA) channels. Originally there was some thought to extend
GPRS to cover other standards, but instead those networks are being converted to
use the GSM standard, so that GSM is and newer releases.
GPRS networks evolved to EDGE networks. Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution
(EDGE), Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS), or IMT Single Carrier (IMT-SC) is a backwardcompatible digital mobile phone technology that allows improved data transmission
rates, as an extension on top of standard GSM. EDGE can be considered a 3G radio
technology and is part of ITU's 3G definition, but is most frequently referred to as
2.75G. EDGE can be used for any packet switched application, such as an Internet,
video and other multimedia.
3G networks enable network operators to offer users a wider range of more
advanced services while achieving greater network capacity through improved
spectral efficiency. Services include wide-area wireless voice telephone, video calls,
and broadband wireless data, all in a mobile environment. Additional features also
include HSPA data transmission capabilities, which provide users with data rates up
to 14.4 Mbit/s on the downlink and 5.8 Mbit/s on the uplink.
Unlike IEEE 802.11 networks, which are commonly called Wi-Fi or WLAN networks,
3G networks are wide-area cellular telephone networks which provide High-speed
Internet access and video telephony to 3G Network subscribers. IEEE 802.11
networks are short range, high-bandwidth networks primarily developed for data.
limitations and problems associated with 3G but also to increase the bandwidth,
enhance the quality of services, and reduce the cost of the resource. The main
distinguishing characteristics between 3G and 4G will be increased data rates,
enhanced multimedia services, new transmission techniques, new Internet access
technology, greater compatibility in interfacing with wired backbone networks, and the
addition of QoS and security mechanisms. 4G should also be able to provide smooth
global roaming ubiquitously, at lower cost. At the very least, this means a new air
interface supporting higher data rates and also a change in the way data transport is
handled end to end. Unlike 3G networks, which are a mix of circuit-switched and
packet-switched networks, 4G will be based solely on packet switching.
11.4
keyboards,
of
course.
Contemporary
SMS
supports
two-way
11.5
WAP is a proposed standard designed for wireless Internet access. People with
WAP-enabled cellular phones access Internet sites, which are written in a special
programming language. The object is to make information downloaded from the site
fit into cellular devices' small screens. The Wireless Application Protocol is a menudriven method for downloading information such as flight schedules and bank
balances to cellular phones from the Internet. WAP service was introduced in Europe
in 2000. However, its slow speed, incompatibilities with some phones and technical
glitches resulted in user dissatisfaction. In addition, there were not a great many sites
available where operators had taken the trouble to re-write them for WAP access.
In addition to the preceding, WAP is a "dialup" service, and connection and download
speeds are slow. It is possible that as networks are upgraded for packet data service
and WAP technology is improved that WAP services may become more popular.
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11.6
Blue Tooth
Bluetooth technology allows for the replacement of proprietary cables that connect
one digital device to another with a universal short-haul radio link. Mobile computers,
cellular handsets, printers, keyboards, and many other devices can be embedded
with Bluetooth radios. Bluetooth was developed by the Bluetooth Special Interest
Group (SIG), founded by Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia, and Toshiba.
A small wireless Bluetooth network connecting, for example, a users computer to its
peripherals is called a personal area network (PAN). PAN contains one or more
piconets. One Bluetooth piconet contains a single master and up to seven active
slaves. The master polls slaves and orders each of them to transmit in turn. For voice
applications Bluetooth specifies a synchronous channel that transmits at a
bidirectional 64-Kbps constant bit rate between a master and a slave. This can be
used to implement cordless telephones or hands-free sets for a cellular telephone.
Bluetooth systems use the same 2.4-GHz license free frequency band as WLANs
and they can coexist in the same area. The wideband WLAN signals and narrowband
Bluetooth signals do not interfere much.
Bluetooth uses frequency hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS) technology, in which
data are transmitted in bursts and the carrier frequency is changed after each burst.
There are 79 carrier frequencies with 1-MHz spacing over which the transmission
frequency hops. Each piconet uses a different pseudorandom hopping sequence
over the 79 carriers. Several piconets can operate in the same area simultaneously
because their signals interfere only at a time when they happen to occupy the same
frequency channel. The modulation rate of Bluetooth is 1 Mbps, which all devices and
both transmission directions in the piconet share. If we compare WLAN and
Bluetooth technologies we see that WLAN is a system for a work group (LAN) and
Bluetooth is for only a single user (PAN). The number of devices in the Bluetooth
network is very limited and data rate available for each device is quite low.
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11.7
Low Earth Orbiting Satellite Networks (LEOs) and Middle Earth Orbiting
Satellites (MEOs)
Low-Earth Orbiting and Middle-Earth Orbiting satellites (LEO and MEO) satellites
operate at low altitudes of several hundred miles or so in a variety of nonequatorial
orbital planes. This compares with GEO satellites, which always are placed in
equatorial orbital slots at an altitude of approximately 22,300 miles. LEO satellites
operate at altitudes of 644 2415 km. Although the term is not tightly defined, little
LEO systems involve a relatively small number of satellites and operate at
frequencies below 1 GHz in support of low-bit-rate data traffic (e.g., telemetry, vehicle
messaging, and personal messaging). Big LEO systems are bigger networks that
operate at higher frequencies in support of voice and higher speed data
communications.
MEO satellites operate at altitudes of 10,062-20,940 km. LEO and MEO systems are
configured as constellations of small, low-power satellites. In combination, the
satellites in such a constellation generally provide full coverage of major land
masses, and some have been designed to provide full coverage of virtually every
square inch of the earths surface. The various proposals have included as many as
840 satellites and are intended to provide various combinations of voice and data
services. These systems also are known as Mobile Satellite Systems (MSSs), as
opposed to the Fixed Satellite Systems (FSSs) in geostatic orbit. Whizzing around
the earth like electrons whizzing around the nucleus of an atom and LEO and MEO
networks are designed so that a satellite is always within reach of a terrestrial
terminal.
11.8
In Time division multiple access (TDMA), the transmission channel is broken into a
number of time slots - for example, six. Three of the time slots carry traffic from three
devices, and three are not used. The three unused time slots ensure that there is no
91
interference between traffic on the time slots carrying traffic. Time division multiple
access has three to five times the capacity of analog cellular service.
While time division multiple access is used both in the U.S. and the rest of the world,
the methods do not interoperate with each other. The standard in Europe and most of
the rest of the world is called GSM (Groupe Speciale Mobile). GSM works by dividing
channels of 200-kilohertz spectrum into eight time slots. Seven of the time slots carry
traffic and the eighth carries control signals. The U.S. has settled on a standard
called IS-136. It is also used in Latin America, Russia, parts of Asia and the Ukraine.
Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a "spread spectrum" technology. Each
conversation transmitted is spread over multiple frequencies as it is sent. This is
accomplished through the use of unique 40-bit codes assigned to each telephone
transmission. These codes are called Walesh codes. Having a unique code assigned
to each data or voice transmission allows multiple users to share spectrum or air
space. CDMA has more capacity than TDMA.
In addition to capacity, CDMA handsets use low amounts of power. This can be
significant in light of consumer concerns about cellular handsets causing cancer.
Lower power emissions translate to less threats of wireless service causing cancer.
Finally, calls are transferred (handed off), from cell to cell by a soft handoff method
superior to TDMA and analog cellular handoff. With a soft handoff, a call is rarely
dropped during the handoff. For a short period of time during the handoff or transfer,
the call is held as it is received and as the cell hands it off. Unfortunately, the decision
to use what they perceived as a superior multiplexing method cost many carriers in
the U.S. a high price in lost compatibility.
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12
Global issues
12.1
Deregulation
Parts of Europe were deregulated in 1997 and Asia, including Japan and Singapore,
are just opening their markets as is Australia. Latin America began opening its
markets in 1997. Two factors are pushing deregulation: the desire to be part of the
World Trade Organization (WTO) and the prospect of upgraded network
infrastructures. A requirement for joining the WTO is that countries liberalize their
market for imports and foreign companies. WTO members derive benefits from
having more companies to buy and sell services with on a quid-pro-quo basis.
Many countries created telecommunications monopolies to ensure the presence of
secure telecommunications. Given the availability of new technologies, this is no
longer required. However, over the years, incumbent telephone companies had no
incentive to upgrade networks, improve customer service, lower prices or improve
technology. Many countries looked to events in the United States where free market
conditions in the 1980s and 90s resulted in innovation, lower prices for long distance
and more choices for end users.
12.2
Asia
charged by traditional carriers and are seen by the government as losses in revenue
worth millions of dollars.
In 1999, the Ministry of Information Industries broke the largest fixed-wireline
company, China Telecom, into four companies. The goal was to introduce
competition in the telecommunications sector and encourage construction of an
advanced infrastructure. There are six licensed carriers in China. All are government
backed: China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom,
12.3
The UK, France and Germany are the three largest countries in Europe. Between
them, they control 60% of the telecommunications market. There are many carriers
that provide broadband fiber networks and long distance services for consumers and
businesses across Europe. Competition for these as well as cellular services is
strong.
The European Union (EU) issues telecommunications regulations, reviews mergers
and sets technical standards for its 15-member European nations. Unlike the U.S.,
where the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforces as well as issues
regulations, in Europe enforcement of regulations is up to national regulatory
agencies in member countries. This has led to uneven implementation of European
Commission deregulation directives. The European Union (EU) deregulated long
distance telecommunications in most of Europe in 1998. In November 1999, the EU
requested local loop unbundling by January 1, 2001. On December 5, 2000 the
European Parliament, the body consisting of voting members, approved the
unbundling of the local loop, the portion of the network from an end user to the
telephone company's equipment. However, implementation has stalled, primarily due
to political clout and noncooperation by incumbents who don't want to lose further
market share. Incumbent telephone companies still have the lion's share of local
landline service.
94
EE119
Computer Networks
TEST
95
EE119
Computer Networks
TEST
1. In the analog form of electronic communications, information is represented as
a continuous electromagnetic waveform. Digital communications involves
modulating (changing) the analog waveform in order to represent information
in binary form (1 s and 0 s) through a series of blips or pulses
2. The transmission capacity of a telecommunications pathway, electronic or
optical. Bandwidth refers to the range of frequencies, expressed in Hertz (Hz),
that comprise a given transmission channel; in other words, it is the difference
between the lowest and highest frequencies carried on the channel. The
bandwidth determines the rate at which information can be transmitted
through a circuit. The greater the bandwidth, the more data that can be
carried, and in digital facilities, bandwidth is expressed in bits per second.
3. A ring network is a network topology in which each node connects to exactly
two other nodes, forming a single continuous pathway for signals through
each node - a ring. Data travels from node to node, with each node along the
way handling every packet.
4. Data circuit-terminating equipment (DCE) is typically a modem or other type of
communication device. The DCE sits between the DTE (data terminal
equipment) and a transmission circuit such as a phone line. Originally, the
DTE was a dumb terminal or printer, but today it is a computer, or a bridge or
router that interconnects local area networks.
5. Signalling is the process of sending information between two parts of a
network to control, route and maintain a telephone call. When signals were
sent over the same path as voice and data traffic it is called In-band signalling.
Out-of-band signalling send signals on separate channels.
6. A PBX is an on-site telephone system that connects organizations to the
public switched telephone network. The central office switch is the precursor
to on-site private branch exchange (PBX) telephone systems. A central office
switch is centrally located and routes calls between users in the public
network. PBXs are private and located within an enterprise.
7. Cables are twisted because this way they cause less radiation and less
interferences. They are less vulnerable to interferences from the outside. CAT
7 Cables are tighter twisted than CAT 3, therefore allow higher speed and
96
97
KEY TO EVALUATION
PER CENT
MARK
88 100
75 87
62 74
50 61
0 49
98