Chapter 9

Using Telephone
and Cable Networks
for Data Transmission
TELEPHONE NETWORK

Telephone networks use circuit switching. The

telephone network had its beginnings in the late
1800s. The entire network, which is referred to as the
plain old telephone system (POTS), was originally an
analog system using analog signals to transmit voice.
 Telephone Network- Major Components

Local loop

Trunk Trunk
•••

End Tandem
offices offices Regional offices

Local loop: twisted-pair cable that connects the subscriber telephone

to the nearest end office or local central office.
Trunks: transmission media that handle the communication between
offices
Switching Offices: telephone company has switches located in a
switching office. A switch connects several local loops or trunks and
allows a connection between different subscribers
LATA (local-access transport area)
• LATA can be a small or large metropolitan area
• The services offered by the common carriers(telephone
companies) inside a LATA are called intra-LATA services
• Carrier that handles these services is called a local exchange
carrier (LEC)
• Since 1996, there are two types of LECs: incumbent local
exchange carriers and competitive
local exchange carriers
• The services between LATAs are handled by interexchange
carriers (IXCs). IXC provide communication services between
two customers in different LATAs
• The carriers interact with one another via a switching office
called a point of presence (POP)
Point of presences (POPs)
Normally digitized data
Note

The tasks of data transfer and signaling

are separated in modern telephone
networks: data transfer is done by one
network, signaling by another.
Data transfer and signaling networks

Packet-switch

Packet-switch or circuit-switch
Layers in SS7 (signaling system seven)
Protocol that is used in the signaling network is called
Signaling System Seven (SS7).
Layers in SS7 (signaling system seven)
MTP Level 1: uses several physical layer specifications
MTP Level 2: provides services such as packetizing, using source
and destination address in the packet header, and CRC for error
checking
MTP Level 3: provides end-to-end connectivity, route the signal
packets from the source to the destination.
SCCP: The signaling connection control point (SCCP) is used
for special services such as 800-call processing.
Telephone user port (TUP) is responsible for setting up voice
calls. It receives the dialed digits and routes the calls
Transaction capabilities application port (TCAP) provides
remote calls that let an application program on a computer invoke
a procedure on another computer
ISDN user port (ISUP) can replace TUP to provide services
similar to those of an ISDN network
 Services Provided by Telephone Networks

• Two types of services: analog and digital

• Analog services is further classified into analog switched
services and analog leased services.
• Analog switched services : service most often encountered
when a home telephone is used
• Analog leased services: offers customers the opportunity to
lease a line, sometimes called a dedicated line, that is
permanently connected to another customer
• Digital services: Switched/56 Service and Digital Data Service
DIAL-UP MODEMS

Traditional telephone lines can carry frequencies

between 300 and 3300 Hz, giving them a bandwidth of
3000 Hz. All this range is used for transmitting voice,
where a great deal of interference and distortion can
be accepted without loss of intelligibility.
Traditional Telephone line bandwidth

Modern phone line has higher bandwidth

Note

Modem
stands for modulator/demodulator.

Modulator creates
a bandpass analog signal from binary
data
demodulator recovers the binary data
from the modulated signal
Modulation/demodulation
 Modem Standards
V-series Modulation Data Rate Baud Rate
standard
V.32 32-QAM 9600 bps 2400 baud Only 4 bits
represent
data
V.32 bis 128-QAM 14,400 bps 2400 baud Only 6 bits
represent
data
V.34 bis M-QAM 28,800-
33,600 bps
V.90 M-QAM 56 Kbps
(downstream)
33.6 Kbps
(upstream)
V.92 M-QAM 56 Kbps A modem
(downstream) adjusts its
48 Kbps speed
(upstream)
DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

After traditional modems reached their peak data rate,

telephone companies developed another technology,
DSL, to provide higher-speed access to the Internet.
Digital subscriber line (DSL) technology is one of the
most promising for supporting high-speed digital
communication over the existing local loops.
 Asymmetric DSL (ADSL)

Note

ADSL is an asymmetric communication

technology designed for residential
users; it is not suitable for businesses.
 ADSL-Using Existing Loops

Note

The existing local loops (twisted-pair

lines) can handle bandwidths up to
1.1 MHz.

Traditional phone has a low-pass filter in front of it,

Which limits its bandwidth to 4KHz.
Note

ADSL is an adaptive technology.

The system uses a data rate
based on the condition of
the local loop line.
Discrete multitone technique
Discrete multitone technique (DMT)
• Standard modulation technique for ADSL
• QAM + FDM
• available bandwidth of 1.104 MHz is divided into 256
channels
• Each channel uses a bandwidth of 4.312 kHz
• Channel 0 is reserved for voice communication.
• Channels 1 to 5 are not used and provide a gap between
voice and data communication
 Discrete multitone technique (DMT)
• Channels 6 to 30 (25 channels) are used for upstream
data transfer and control. One channel is for control,
and 24 channels are for data transfer. If there are 24
channels, each using 4 kHz (out of 4.312 kHz
available) with QAM modulation, we have 24 x 4000
x 15, or a 1.44-Mbps bandwidth, in the upstream
direction
• Channels 31 to 255 (225 channels) are used for
downstream data transfer and control. One channel is
for control, and 224 channels are for data. If there are
224 channels, we can achieve up to 224 x 4000 x 15, or
13.4 Mbps
Bandwidth division in ADSL
Customer site: ADSL modem

Splitter and data line need installation

(maybe expensive)
 Telephone company site: DSLAM

DSLAM: Digital subscriber line access multiplexer

 Other DSL technologies
• ADSL Lite (or Universal ADSL or splitter less ADSL):
allows an ASDL Lite modem to be plugged directly into a
telephone jack and connected to the computer. The splitting is
done at the telephone company
• High-bit-rate digital subscriber line (HDSL) : uses 2B1Q
encoding which is less susceptible to attenuation and provides
a higher data rate.
• Symmetric digital subscriber line (SDSL) is a one twisted-
pair version of HDSL. It provides full-duplex symmetric
communication supporting up to 768 kbps in each direction.
• Very high-bit-rate digital subscriber line (VDSL) is similar
to ADSL, uses coaxial, fiber-optic, or twisted-pair cable.
Summary of DSL technologies
CABLE TV NETWORKS

The cable TV network started as a video service

provider, but it has moved to the business of Internet
access. In this section, we discuss how this network
can be used to provide high-speed access to the
Internet.
Traditional cable TV network
Traditional cable TV network
• The cable TV office, called the head end, receives
video signals from broadcasting stations and feeds the
signals into coaxial cables
• signals became weaker and weaker with distance, so
amplifiers were installed through the network to renew
the signals
• At the other end, splitters split the cable, and taps and
drop cables make the connections to the subscriber
premises
Note

Communication in the traditional cable

TV network is unidirectional.
Hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network
Hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network
• The network uses a combination of fiber-optic and
coaxial cable
• The regional cable head (RCH) feed the distribution
hubs.
• Modulation and distribution of signals are done at
distribution hubs; the signals are then fed to the fiber
nodes through fiber-optic cables
• The fiber node splits the analog signals so that the
same signal is sent to each coaxial cable.
• Each coaxial cable serves up to 1000 subscribers
Note

Communication in an HFC cable TV

network can be bidirectional.
CABLE TV FOR DATA TRANSFER

Cable companies are competing with telephone

companies for the residential customer who wants
high-speed data transfer.
Division of coaxial cable band by CATV

• All three bands are divided into 6-MHz channels

Note

Downstream data are modulated using

the 64-QAM modulation technique.
Note

The theoretical downstream data rate

is 30 Mbps.
Note

Upstream data are modulated using the

QPSK modulation technique.
Note

The theoretical upstream data rate

is 12 Mbps.
Sharing: Upstream sharing

 The upstream bandwidth is 37 MHz.

 There are six 6-MHz channels available.
 How can the channels be shared in an area
with 1000,2000 or even 200,000 subscribers?
 Using FDM/timesharing.
 Subscribers have to contend for the channels
with others.
Sharing: Downstream sharing
 The downstream band has 33 channels of 6 MHz.
 Each channel must be shared between a group of
subscribers
 We have a multicast situation.
 If there is data for any of subscribers in the group, the
data are sent to that channel.
 The cable modem for the group matches the address
carried with the data to the address assigned by the
provider. If the address matches, the data are kept;
otherwise, they are discarded.
Cable modem (CM)
The cable modem (CM) is installed on the subscriber
premises. It is similar to an ADSL modem.
In cable company: Cable modem transmission system(CMTS)
• installed inside the distribution hub
• receives data from the Internet and passes them to the combiner,
which sends them to the subscriber
• also receives data from the subscriber and passes them to the
Internet
Data Transmission Schemes: Data Over Cable
System Interface Specification(DOCSIS)
 Defines all the protocols necessary to transport data
from a CMTS to a Cable Modem.
 Upstream Communication
 CM checks for specific packets sent by CMTS.

The packet asks any new CM to announce itself on

a specific upstream channel
 The CMTS sends a packet to CM, defining its

allocated downstream and upstream channels.

 The CM starts ranging process (to determine the

distance between CM and CMTS for

synchronization).
Data Transmission Schemes: Data Over Cable System
Interface Specification(DOCSIS)
 The CM sends a packet to the ISP, asking for the

IP address.
 The CM and CMTS exchange some packets to

establish security parameters.

 The CM sends its unique identifier to the CMTS.

 Upstream communication can start in the allocated

upstream channel.
 Downstream Communication

 No contention because only one sender.

 The CMTS sends the packet with the address of

the receiving CM, using the allocated downstream

channel.