INTRODUCTION

Original PSTN

UTP UTP

Manual switching directly connected two local loops

Due to microphone technology, audio BW was 4 kHz
 INTRODUCTION

Analog switched PSTN

Invention of tube amplifier enabled long distance

Between central offices used FDM spaced at 4 kHz
(each cable carrying 1 group = 12 channels)

Developed into hierarchical network of automatic switches

(with supergroups, master groups, supermaster groups)
INTRODUCTION
 INTRODUCTION
Data supported via voice-grade modems

UTP

modem modem
To send data, it is converted into 4 kHz audio (modem)
Data rate is determined by Shannon's capacity theorem
•there is a maximum data rate (bps) called the "capacity"
that can be reliably sent through the communications channel
•the capacity depends on the BW and SNR
In Shannon's days it worked out to about 25 kbps
today it is about 35 kbps (V.34 modem - 33.6 kbps)
INTRODUCTION
 INTRODUCTION
Digital PSTN
CO SWITCH
“last mile”

TDM

analog PSTN digital

“last mile” TDM

Subscriber Line

CO SWITCH

LP filter to 4 kHz at input to CO switch (before A/D)

 INTRODUCTION
Digital PSTN
Sample 4 kHz audio at 8 kHz (Nyquist)
Need 8 bits per sample = 64 kbps
Multiplexing 64 kbps channels leads to higher and
higher rates
Only the subscriber line (local loop) remains analog
(too expensive to replace)
Can switch (cross connect) large number of channels
Noise and distortion could be eliminated due to
Shannon's theorems
1. Separation theorem
2. Source coding theorem
3. Channel capacity theorem
INTRODUCTION
 INTRODUCTION
Voice-grade modems still work over new PSTN

CO SWITCH
PSTN

UTP subscriber line

modem
CO SWITCH

But data rates do not increase !

modem Simulate analog channel so can achieve
network/
Shannon rate < native 64 kbps rate
ISP

Internet router
 INTRODUCTION
Where is the limitation ?

The digital network was developed incrementally

No forklift upgrades to telephones, subscriber lines, etc.
Evolutionary deployment meant that the new network needed to
simulate pre-existing analog network
So a 4 kHz analog channel is presented to subscriber
The 4 kHz limitation is enforced by LP filter
at input to CO switch (before 8 kHz sampling)
The actual subscriber line is not limited to 4 kHz
Is there a better way
to use the subscriber line for digital transmissions ?
 DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER ACCESS

• Broadly speaking there are four basic

transmission technologies used in providing
local digital access:
– copper wire pairs,
– fiber,
– coaxial cables and
– wireless.
 DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE (DSL)

• Digital Subscriber Line, or DSL, refers to a

family of technologies that provide a digital
connection over the copper wires of the local
telephone network.
• Achieved using a pair of Modems.
 DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE (DSL)
DSL Types

• xDSL refers collectively to all types of DSL

– IDSL (Integrated Services DSL)
– HDSL (High bit rate DSL)
– SHDSL (Symmetric High-Bit-rate DSL)
– ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)
– G.Lite ( Splitterless ADSL )
– VDSL (Very-high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line)

• Two categories - Symmetric & Asymmetric

– Some technologies support both with multi-rate capability
– Symmetric generally uses Baseband Modulation while
Asymmetric uses Passband modulation
 DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE (DSL)
Bandwidth on Copper
• DSL exploits the unused analogue bandwidth that is
potentially available in the copper telephone line.
• This line is designed to carry frequency spectrum of
normal speech, however they can carry frequencies
above this rather limited spectrum.
• This is the portion that DSL uses.
 DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE (DSL)

xDSL System Reference Model

Analog CO SWITCH
modem PSTN
POTS-C POTS-R

network/
ISP POTS
UTP POTS
SPLITTER SPLITTER PDN

router DSLAM xTU-R

WAN xTU-C

x = H, A, V, ...

POTS xDSL
frequency
DC 4 kHz
 DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE (DSL)
Splitter
Splitter separates POTS from DSL signals
• Must guarantee lifeline POTS services!
• Hence usually passive filter
• Must block impulse noise (e.g. ring) from phone into DSL

ADSLforum/T1E1.4 specified that splitter be separate from modem

No interface specification
Splitter requires installation
• Costly technician visit is the major impediment to deployment
• ADSL has splitterless versions to facilitate residential deployment
 IDSL – ISDN DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

• 1st DSL technology was Basic Rate ISDN ( BRI)

• Bandwidth more than 4 Khz was needed
• Objective of BRI was to provide both speech and
data capabilities with ISDN
• LINE CONDITIONING was required
• In IDSL, ISDN termination at CO is spoofed (
Signalling)
IDSL – ISDN DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
 HDSL

• It is an alternative to the PCM-TDM system (e.g. T1 or E1).

• The T1 line uses AMI which is affected by high frequency
attenuation. This limits the length of T1 line to 1 km.
• HDSL uses 2B1Q encoding method which is less susceptible
to attenuation.
• A data rate of 2 Mbps can be achieved upto a length of 3.6
kms.
• HDSL is a form of DSL providing T1/E1 connections over two
or three twisted pair copper lines.
• It is mostly used to replace traditional T1/E1 connections
such as connecting PBXes to telephone company.
 HDSL

• Uses 2B1Q coding (same as ISDN) to provide 784 kbps on single pair
• HDSL line has 768 kbps of data or 12 nos. of 64kbps channels and 16
kbps for overhead.
• T1 / E1 frame mapped to HDSL. Two pairs used for T1 rate (
1.544Mbps) and Three pairs for E1 rate (2.048Mbps)
• Some implementations support E1 on two pairs by increasing the no.
of chls. to 16 per 6 msec frame.
• Distance supported is about 3.7 Kms (12,000 feet) on 0.5mm wire
• Range can be extended using repeaters
• Additional info on HDSL available in ANSI T1 1994
• ITU has published G.991.1 covering HDSL
 HDSL

• Most mature of DSL technologies

• Full Duplex on each pair
• Major applications -
– Multiline POTS
– Leased Circuits
– Campus Networks
 HDSL

Carrier Customer
Telephone company
serving area Premises

Upto 12000 feet

2 copper twisted pair

784 kbps on each pair

8 kbps overhead

Network
Network DS-1 HDSL central HDSL Interface
Element office remote
terminal terminal
 HDSL2

• Developed in late 1990’s, uses single pair

• Improvements over HDSL :
• Uses error correcting codes like Trellis Coded Modulation which
provide 5-6 db of coding gain
• Uses 16 PAM modulation with 3 info bits and 1 redundant bit
• Separate spectrum for upstream and downstream

• General performance given in ANSI T1 2000

• Works upto 2.7 kms ( 9000 feet) on 0.4 mm cable or upto 3.7 kms (
12000 feet) on 0.5 mm cable
• For longer distances T1E1.4 developed two pair version of HDSL
referred as HDSL4
 SDSL

• Single pair high bit rate DSL – Carries upto 2.304 Mbps
• Developed by ETSI TM 6
• Similar to HDSL2 and uses TCM
• Also specifies 2 pairs each carrying 1.168 Mbps and 3 pairs each
carrying 784 kbps

• G.shdsl ( G.991.2)
• Defines payload from 192 kbps upto 2.304 Mbps on a single pair in
increments of 8 kbps
• Includes many features of HDSL2 like symmetric bit-rates, multi-rate
operation and 16 level Trellis Coded PAM
• Contains Annexures specific to different regions – Annex A for
North America, Annex B for Europe
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

• Like HDSL provides physical mechanism for

transmission and reception but does not
indicate how service is provided
• ADSL follows CAP ( Carrierless
Amplitude/Phase modulation) , QAM or DMT
• Each provides separate upstream and
downstream DMT primary mechanism
accepted by ANSI T1.413 specification for
ADSL
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

• ADSL is a form of DSL, a data communications technology that

enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines

• ADSL is capable of providing up to 50 Mbps, and supports

voice, video and data.

• ADSL is the #1 Broadband Choice in the World with over 60%

market share

• ADSL is now available in every region of the world

ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

What does ADSL mean

• Asymmetric - The data can flow faster in one direction than the
other. Data transmission has faster downstream to the
subscriber than upstream

• Digital - No type of communication is transferred in an analog

method. All data is purely digital, and only at the end,
modulated to be carried over the line.

• Subscriber Line - The data is carried over a single twisted pair

copper loop to the subscriber premises
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
ADSL standards :
Standard name Common name Downstream Upstream
rate rate
ITU G.992.1 ADSL (G.DMT) 8 Mbit/s 1.0 Mbit/s
ITU G.992.2 ADSL Lite (G.Lite) 1.5 Mbit/s 0.5 Mbit/s
ITU G.992.3/4 ADSL2 12 Mbit/s 1.0 Mbit/s

ITU G.992.3/4 Annex J ADSL2 12 Mbit/s 3.5 Mbit/s

ITU G.992.3/4 Annex L RE-ADSL2 5 Mbit/s 0.8 Mbit/s
ITU G.992.5 ADSL2+ 24 Mbit/s 1.0 Mbit/s
ITU G.992.5 Annex L RE-ADSL2+ 24 Mbit/s 1.0 Mbit/s
ITU G.992.5 Annex M ADSL2+ 28 Mbit/s 3.5 Mbit/s
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
ADSL Range
• In general, the maximum range for DSL without a repeater is 5.5
km
• As distance decreases toward the telephone company office,
the data rate increases
Data Rate Wire gauge Wire size Distance
1.5 or 2 Mbps 24 AWG 0.5 mm 5.5 km
1.5 or 2 Mbps 26 AWG 0.4 mm 4.6 km
6.1 Mbps 24 AWG 0.5 mm 3.7 km
1.5 or 2 Mbps 26 AWG 0.4 mm 2.7
• For larger distances, you may be able to have DSL if your phone
company has extended the local loop with optical fiber cable
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

ADSL Speed Factors

• The distance from the local exchange

• The type and thickness of wires used

• The number and type of joins in the wire

• The proximity of the wire to other wires carrying ADSL, ISDN

and other non-voice signals

• The proximity of the wires to radio transmitters.

ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

ADSL network components

• The ADSL modem at the customer premises(ATU-R)

• The modem of the central office (ATU-C)

• DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM)

• Broadband Access Server (BAS)

• Splitter - an electronic low pass filter that separates the

analogue voice or ISDN signal from ADSL data frequencies.
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
ADSL Loop Architecture

DSL

Voice Switch

ISP

Central Office Subscriber premises

ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

DSL Access
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

Mbit/s Mbit/s

ADSL ADSL
kbit/s Modem Line Modem kbit/s

POTS POTS
Filter Filter

POTS
Linecard
Exchange End Customer End
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

ADSL Requirements

• Phone-line, activated by your phone company for ADSL

• Filter to separate the phone signal from the Internet signal

• ADSL modem

• Subscription with an ISP supporting ADSL

ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
How does ADSL work
• ADSL exploits the unused analogue bandwidth available in the
wires

• ADSL works by using a frequency splitter device to split a

traditional voice telephone line into two frequencies
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
ADSL Modulation
• Modulation is the overlaying of information (or the signal)
onto an electronic or optical carrier waveform

• There are two competing and incompatible standards for

modulating the ADSL signal:

– Carrierless Amplitude Phase (CAP)

– Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT)

ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
Carrierless Amplitude Phase
• Carrierless Amplitude Phase (CAP) is an encoding method
that divides the signals into two distinct bands:

1. The upstream data channel (to the service provider), which is carried
in the band between 25 and 160kHz

1. The downstream data channel (to the user), which is carried in the
band from 200kHz to 1.1MHz .

• These channels are widely separated in order to minimize

the possibility of interference between the channels.
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

Discrete Multi-tone (DMT)

• Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT) separates the DSL signal so that the

usable frequency range is separated into 256 channels of
4.3125kHz each.

• DMT has 225 downstream frequency bins (or carriers) and 25

upstream frequency bins.

• DMT constantly shifts signals between different channels to

ensure that the best channels are used for transmission and
reception.
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
Discrete Multi-tone (DMT)
• The modulation technique that has become standard for ADSL is called the
discrete multitone technique which combines QAM and FDM.
• The DMT divides a 1.104 MHz bandwidth into 256 channels about 4.312 kHz each.
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
Discrete Multi-tone (DMT)
• Voice. Channel 0 is reserved for voice communication.
• Idle. 1 to 5 are not used and provide a gap between voice and data
communication.

Upstream data and control:

• Channels 6-30 (25 channels) are used for upstream data transfer and
control:
– 1 channel for control.
– 24 channels are for data transfer.
• If there 24 channels, each using 4 kHz with QAM modulation:
– Bandwidth = 24 X 4000 X 15 = 1.44 Mbps.
• However, the data rate is normally below 500 kbps because some of the
carriers (channels) are deleted at frequencies where the noise level is
large (some of channels may be unused).
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
Discrete Multi-tone (DMT)
Downstream data and control
• Channels 31-255 (225 channels) are used for downstream data and
control:
– 1 channel for control.
– 224 channels for data transfer.
• If there are 224 channels, we can achieve up to 13.4 Mbps:
– Bandwidth = 224 X 4000 X 15 = 13.4 Mbps.
• However, normally the data rate is below 8 Mbps because some of carriers
are deleted at frequency where the noise level is large (some of channels
may be unused).
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
Discrete Multi-tone (DMT)
• ADSL modem installed at a customer’s site.
• The local loop connects to a splitter which separates voice and data
communications.
• ADSL modem modulates and demodulates the data, using DMT, and creates
downstream and upstream channels.
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
Discrete Multi-tone (DMT)
Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM)
• At the telephone company site, instead of an ADSL modem,
– A device called a DSLAM is installed that functions similarly.
– It packetizes the data to be sent to the Internet (ISP server)
ADSL – ASYMMETRIC DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

The DMT frequency bands

• Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)
• OFDM – Orthogonal frequency Division Multiplexing
• Subsignals are orthogonal if spaced precisely by the baud rate
• Sinc function has zero at center of nearby modem
• This implies that the signals are orthogonal - no ICI

• No guard frequencies are needed

• Don’t need N independent modems
• – efficient digital implementation by FFT algorithm
 DMT – Discrete Multi Tone
• Measure SNR(f) during initialization
• Bit-load QAM signals according to SNR
• Each individual signal narrowband --- no ISI
• Symbol duration > channel impulse response time --- no
ISI
• No equalizer required
• Discrete Multitone is a form of FDM (Frequency
Domain Multiplexing)
• Discrete Multitone is a form of MCM (MultiCarrier
Modulation)
• It uses many different carriers, each modulated QAM
• Each tone is narrow
• low baud rate (long frame)
• channel characteristics are constant over tone
• Number of bits per tone chosen according to SNR
• Put more bits where SNR is good
• DMT is OFDM (Orthogonalized FDM)
• Carrier spacing is precisely baud rate
• Center of tone is precisely the zero of all other sincs
• ICI minimized
• ISI minimized by having a long interframe guard time

• DMT modem can be efficiently implemented using FFT

DFT is mathematically equivalent to a bank of filters
Filtering is equivalent to cyclic convolution So use cyclic
prefix rather than guard time
Basic DMT-transceiver
Note: Line transmits analog signal!
 Discrete Multi-tone (DMT) modulation

• Transmission band divided

into sub-channels (BW = 4 kHz)
their frequency difference
equals symbol rate => enables
non-interfering sub-carriers
• Tone ordering: On initialization,
test-tone determines number
of levels in Quadrature Amplitude
Modulation (QAM) for each
subchannel (each can carry
0 - 32 kb/s)
• Number of subchannels 256
• Current downstream rates Discrete Multi-tone (DMT) modulation
256 kb/s ... 8 Mb/s
depending on line
conditions and operator
specifications in ADSL

Tone ordering (bit-loading)

ADSL DMT Implementation Parameters
ADSL DMT block diagram
 Carrierless Amplitude Modulation
• Carrierless amplitude and phase( CAP) modulation is a specialized form
of QAM.
• No explicit modulation of a carrier( or carriers) occurs.
• Instead, two separate modulated signals are directly generated with
DSP filter functions: one for an in-phase channel and one for a
quadrature channel.
• The in-phase filter converts l channel data directly into a filtered DSP
cosine wave while the quadrature filter converts Q channel data into a
filtered DSP sine wave.
• In this manner the symbol rate is locked to an implied carrier
embedded in to the filter algorithm.
• Typically, the embedded carrier frequency is equal to the baud rate so
there is one cycle of a "carrier“ in each symbol interval.
• After the in-phase and quadrature-phase signals are added, the result
is converted into an analog signal and filtered to smooth the DSP
sampling frequency.
Carrierless Amplitude Modulation
Summary of DSL technologies
 Fiber in the loop
• Fiber in the loop (FITL) is a generic term that
refers to one of three more specific
descriptions of the use of fiber for local
distribution.
• The first category is fiber to the cabinet
or fiber to the neighborhood.
• These systems are often installed by local
telephone companies as part of the feeder
portion of their local distribution facilities.
 Fiber in the loop
• Traditional copper pairs for voice service
extend from the cabinet to subscriber
residence.
• Because relatively long copper pair is used for
the last mile, they do not provide much
opportunity for enhanced service offerings. T
heir use and justification are strictly based on
reducing the cost of POTS distribution.
 Fiber in the loop
• The second category of FITL is a fiber-to-the-curb (F
TTC) system.
• As the name implies, these systems are designed to
reach within 1000 feet of a subscriber residence.
• An FTTC system is generally intended to provide
enhanced services such as v ideo or high-speed data
using ADSL or VDSL.
• Distribution of the enhanced services from the "curb"
location is carried over wire pairs or coaxial c able.
• These systems are essentially identical t o advanced
DLC systems with optical transport.
 Fiber in the loop
• The third category of FITL is fiber to the home( FTTH).
• These systems obviously offer opportunities for
extremely large bandwidths to the home but have
significant deployment obstacles.
• First, installation in established neighborhood is
expensive because underground installations (under
streets and driveways) are normally required.
• Second providing network power to subscriber
equipment is a major problem.
• The lack of power for enhanced service applications is
not much of a consideration but power to telephones is .
• Local exchange carriers go to great efforts to ensure
independence from commercial power systems for both
their office switching systems and the connected
subscriber.
Hybrid fiber coax system configuration