Course title: Communication Engineering I

Course no.: EEE 3117

Contact hours: 03
Credit: 03

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Course Contents

Introduction: Principle, evolution, networks, exchange and international regulatory bodies.

Telephone apparatus: Microphone, speakers, ringer, pulse tone dialing mechanism, side-
tone mechanism, local and central batteries and advanced features.
Switching system: Introduction to analog system, digital switching systems – space division
switching, blocking probability and multistage switching, time division switching and two
dimensional switching.
Traffic analysis: Traffic characterization, grades of service, network blocking probabilities,
delay system and queuing. Modern telephone services and network: Internet telephony,
facsimile, integrated services digital network, asynchronous transfer mode and intelligent
networks.

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Resources

Textbooks:

1. Telecommunication Switching Systems and Networks by Thiagarajan Viswanathan

2. Digital Telephony by John. C. Bellamy

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Introduction

Telecommunication

Telephone
• One of the most remarkable devices ever invented

• – ‘tele’ – from afar, phone – sound/ voice

An apparatus for reproducing sound, especially that of the human voice (speech) at a great distance by
means of electricity; consisting of transmitting & receiving instruments connected by a line or wire
which conveys the electric current.

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TELEPHONE INSTRUMENTS & SIGNALS

Telephone apparatus in recent

Original Phone invented by
Graham Bell (1876)

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Development of Telephone System

• 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell & Thomas A Watson invented the telephone

• 1877 – there are only 6 telephones in the world

• 1881 – 3,000 telephones

• 1883 – 133,000 (in US)

• …..
• …..
• …..
• 2022- 7,950,000,000+

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Introduction

• In Telephone conversation, the one who initiates the call is referred to as the calling
subscriber and the one for whom the call is destined is the called subscriber.

• In other cases of information transfer, the communicating entities are known as source
and destination, respectively.

A network with point to point links:

The total number of links= L=(n-1)+(n-2)+…..+1+0=n(n-1)/2.

Now calculate, For 50 subscriber, it require 1225 links.

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Switching System

• A switching system is variedly known as a switching office, a switching centre, a

telephone exchange, a switching node or simply a switch.
• With the introduction of switching systems, the subscribers are not connected
directly to one another; instead, they are connected to a switching system.
• The word switching signifies the fact that a connection is established between two chosen
ends by turning on one or more switches.

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Switching System

• In this arrangement, only one link per subscriber is required between the subscriber and
the switching system, and the total number of such links is equal to the number of
subscribers connected to the system.

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Switching System

Signaling is now required to draw the attention of the switching system to establish or
release a connection. It should also enable the switching system to detect whether a called
subscriber is busy and, if so, indicate the same to the calling subscriber.

The functions performed by a switching system in establishing and releasing connections

are known as call processing functions which are part of a number of control
functions performed by the switch.

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Basic Communication Networks

• In the simplest form of a telephone circuit, there is a one way communication involving
two entities, one receiving (listening ) and the other transmitting (talking). This form of
one way communication is known as simplex communication.

• In a normal telephone communication system, information is transferred both ways. An

entity capable of both receiving and sending although these do not take place
simultaneously. An entity is either receiving or sending at instant of time. When one
entity is transmitting , the other is receiving and vice versa. Such form of communication
where the information transfer takes place both ways but not simultaneously is known as
half duplex communication.

• If the information transfer both directions simultaneously, then it is called full duplex
communication.

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 Microphone & Speaker

• The microphone and the earphone are the transducer elements of the telephone
communication system. Microphone converts speech signal into electrical signals and the
earphone converts electrical signals into audio signals. Most commonly used
microphone is a carbon microphone.
• In carbon microphones, a certain quantity of small carbon granules is placed in a box.
Carbon granules conduct electricity and the resistance offered by them is depend upon
the density with which they are packed. One side of the box cover is flexible and is
mechanically attached to a diaphragm. When sound waves impinge on the
diaphragm, it vibrates, causing the carbon granules to compress or expand,
thus changing the resistivity offered by the granules.
• If a voltage is applied to the microphone, the current in the circuit varies according to the
vibrations of the diaphragm.

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Microphone & Speaker

• When the sound waves impinge on the diaphragm, the instantaneous resistance of the
microphone is given by
𝑟𝑖 = 𝑟0 − 𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡
where 𝑟0 = quiescent resistance of the microphone when there is no speech signal, 𝑟=
maximum variation in resistance offered by the carbon granules, 𝑟< 𝑟0 and 𝑟𝑖 =
instantaneous resistance
The negative sign indicates that when granules are compressed the resistance decreased
and vice versa.
• The instantaneous current in the microphone is given by

𝑉 −1
𝐼= = 𝐼0 1 − 𝑚𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡
𝑟0 − 𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡
where 𝐼0 = V/𝑟0 = quiescent current in the microphone and m= 𝑟 /𝑟0 , m<1.

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Microphone & Speaker

• By binomial theorem, the above equation may be expand as

𝑖 = 𝐼0 1 + 𝑚𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 + 𝑚2 sin2 𝜔𝑡 + ⋯
• If the value of m is sufficiently small, which is usually the case in practice,
𝑖 = 𝐼0 1 + 𝑚𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡
𝐼0 =analogous to the carrier wave in AM system and m is the modulation index.

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Microphone & Speaker

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Microphone & Speaker

• The earphone is usually an electromagnet with a magnet diaphragm which is positioned

such that there is an air gap between it and the poles of the electromagnet. When the
electromagnet is energized by passing a current, a force is exerted on the diaphragm.
The voice frequency current from the microphone causes variation in the force exerted by
the electromagnet, thus vibrating the diaphragm and producing sound waves.

• The instantaneous flux linking the poles of the electromagnet and the diaphragm is given
by
𝜙𝑖 = 𝜙0 + 𝜙𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡
where
ϕ0= constant flux due to the quiescent current or the permanent magnet.
ϕ= maximum amplitude of flux variation, ϕ< ϕ0.
ϕi = instantaneous flux.

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Microphone & Speaker

• The instantaneous force exerted on the diaphragm is proportional to the square of the
instantaneous flux linking the path.
Therefore,
𝐹 = 𝐾 𝜙0 + 𝜙𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 2

where K is the constant of proportionality. Expanding the right hand side of the above
equation we have,
𝐹 = 𝐾(𝜙02 + 2𝜙0 𝜙𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 + 𝜙 2 )
when 𝜙/𝜙0 <<1, we can ignore the second-order term in the above equation. We have
𝐹 = 𝐾𝜙02 (1 + 𝐾1 𝐼0 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡)
Where I0 sinωt is the current following through the coil.
We thus see that the force experienced by the diaphragm is in accordance with
the signals produced by the microphone.

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 Half Duplex System

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Side-tone Coupling

In this circuit, the speech of A is heard by

B as well as in A’s own earphone. This
audio signal, heard at the
generating end, is called side tone.
Human speech and hearing system is a
feedback system in which the volume of
speech is automatically adjusted, based
on the side tone heard by the ear. If no
side tone is present, a person tends to
shout, and if too much of side tone is
present, there is a tendency to reduce
the speech to a very low level.
In figure 1.9 the impedance Zb is chosen to be more or less equal to the impedance seen by the circuit to the right of section
AA′. Consequently, with proper side tone coupling the speech signal from the microphone M divides more or less equally in
the two windings P and Q. Since the signals in these two windings are in the opposite direction, only a small induced voltage
appears in the receiver circuit providing the side tone. When a signal is received from the other entity, it travels in the same
direction in both windings P and Q, inducing a large signal in the receiver circuit.
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Basics of Switching Systems

• A major component of a switching system or an exchange is the set of input and output
circuits called inlets and outlets, respectively.
• The primary function of a switching system is to establish an electrical path between a
given inlet-outlet pair. The hardware used for establishing such a connection is called the
switching matrix or the switching fabric.

a model of a switch with N inlets

and M outlets. When N = M, the
switch is called a symmetric
switch.

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Basics of Switching Systems

• When all the inlets/outlets are connected to the

subscriber lines, the output lines are folded
back to the input and hence the switch is called
a folded switch. In a folded switch with N
subscribers, there can be a maximum of only
N/2 simultaneous calls or information
interchanges.

• In a switch, all the inlet/outlet connections may

be used for interexchange transmission. In such
a case, the exchange does not support local
subscribers and is called a transit exchange.

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 Basics of Switching Systems
The model of a switch shown in Figure 1.10(b) is the most general one and supports four different
types of connections:
1. Local call connection between two subscribers in the system
2. Outgoing call connection between a subscriber and an outgoing trunk
3. Incoming call connection between an incoming trunk and a local subscriber
4. Transit call connection between an incoming trunk and an outgoing trunk.

A folded switch supports Type 1 connections and a nonfolded switch supports connections of
Type 4. In a folded switch with N subscribers, there can be a maximum of only N/2 simultaneous
calls or information interchanges. The switch may be designed to provide N/2 simultaneous
switching paths, in which case the switch is said to be nonblocking. In a nonfolded switch with
N inlets and N outlets, N simultaneous information transfers are possible. Consequently, for a
nonfolded switch to be nonblocking, the switch should support N simultaneous switching paths.
In a nonblocking switch, as long as a called subscriber is free, a calling subscriber will always be
able to establish a connection to the called subscriber.

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Basics of Switching Systems

• As long as subscriber is free, a calling subscriber will always be able to establish a

connection to the called subscriber. This network is known as non blocking network.

• In a blocking network, the number of simultaneous switching paths is less than the
maximum number of simultaneous conversations.

• The maximum number of simultaneous switching paths that can be established in a

switch is called its switching capacity.

• The probability that a user may get blocked is called blocking probability. Whether a
switch is blocking or nonblocking, it must provide full connectivity or full availability,
in the sense that any of the N inlets can be connected to any of the N outlets in the
switch.

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 Elements of switching System

• Three main parts, (i) switching structure, (ii) control

susbsystem, and (iii) signalling subsystem
• The subscriber lines are terminated at the subscriber
line interface circuits, and trunks at the trunk
interface circuits.
• There are some service lines used for maintenance
and testing purposes.
• Junctor circuits imply a folded connection for the local
subscribers and the service circuits. It is possible that
some switching systems provide an internal
mechanism for local connections without using the
junctor circuits.
• Line scanning units sense and obtain signalling
information from the respective lines.
• Distributor units send out signalling information on
the respective lines.
• Operator console permits interaction with the
switching system for maintenance and administrative
purposes.
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 Components of Switching System
1. Switching structure: Switching structure, which is made up of a number of switching
elements interconnected in a particular fashion, is also known as switching matrix or
switching fabric. The switching elements are usually arranged in geometrical fashion within
the structure.

2. Control subsystem: The control subsystem of the switching system is responsible for
all happenings within the switching system. In some switching systems, the control
subsystem may be an integral part of the switching matrix itself. Such systems are known
as direct control switching systems. Those systems in which the control subsystem is
outside the switching network are known as common control switching systems.

3. Signaling subsystem: In this instance, it is the control subsystem that instructs the
signaling subsystem to send out dial tone on the particular subscriber line. When the
subscriber dials a number, it is the control subsystem which interprets the digits and selects
the appropriate outlet to which the subscriber inlet needs to be connected.
(i) subscriber loop signalling and (ii) interexchange signalling
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Switching Parameters
Where
1. Number of inles/outlets, N Cs=Cost per switching element
2. Number of switching elements, S Cc=Cost of the common control system
Cch=Cost of the common hardware
3. Cost of switching system, 𝐶 = 𝑆 × 𝐶𝑠 + 𝐶𝑠 + 𝐶𝑐ℎ
4. Switching Capacity, SC
𝑆𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 2 𝑆𝐶
5. Traffic Handling Capacity, TC= 𝑇𝐶 = =
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑁
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝐸𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝐶 𝑖𝑓 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑
6. Equipment Utilization afctor, 𝐸𝑈𝐹 =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝐸𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚
7. Number of switching stages, K
8. Switching element advantage factor, λ
9. Average switching time per stage, 𝑇𝑠𝑡
10. Call setup time, 𝑇𝑠 = 𝑇𝑠𝑡 𝐾 + 𝑇0
𝑆𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑁 𝑆𝐶
11. Cost capacity index, 𝐶𝐶𝐼 = = The higher the value of CCI,
𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝐶
the better is the design.
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Manual Switching System

• Local battery (LB) exchanges

• Central battery (CB) exchanges.

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Battery Exchanges
A microphone requires to be energized in order to produce electrical signals corresponding to the speech
waveform. In the very early switching systems, the microphone was energized using a battery at the
subscriber end. Later, a battery located at the exchange was used. Accordingly, one may place the
exchanges in one of two categories:
• Local battery (LB) exchanges: In the LB systems, dry cells were used in subscriber sets to power the
microphone. These cells have limited power output and cannot be used for signalling over long lines to
the exchange. LB subscriber sets were provided with a magnetogenerator where a subscriber needed to
rotate a handle to generate the required alternating current to operate indicators at the exchange.
• Central battery (CB) exchanges: A subscriber set is energised from a powerful central battery at the
exchange. Almost all the present day telephone exchanges are CB systems. With the advent of mobile
communications, LB systems are reappearing as the mobile set is powered using dry cells. It is not
inconceivable that future landline systems may also resort to LB structures if low cost reliable power
supplies for the subscriber premises become available. A simple CB system operated by a human being
is shown in Figure 1.12.

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Manned Central Battery Exchange
• The system consists of one or more
switchboards manned by operators. The
subscriber lines are terminated on jacks
mounted on the switchboard. There is one jack
for every subscriber line. Associated with each
jack is a light indicator to draw the attention of
the operator.
• When a subscriber lifts the hand set, the off-
hook switch is closed, causing a current to flow
through the handset and the lamp relay coil.
The lamp relay operates and the indicator
corresponding to the subscriber lights up. The
operator establishes contact with the subscriber
by connecting the head set to the subscriber
line via the head set key and a plug-ended cord
pair.

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Manned Central Battery Exchange

• To establish contact, a cord is plugged into the subscriber jack and the key corresponding to the
chosen cord is thrown in position to connect the head set. On being told the number required by the
subscriber, the operator verifies whether the called party is free, and if so, sends out the ringing
current to the called subscriber using a plug-ended cord pair. The ringing circuit at the subscriber
end is usually a bell shown as B in Figure 1.12, with a capacitor C, in series. They always remain
connected to the circuit and allows the alternating ringing current from the exchange to pass
through the bell but prevents the loop direct current.
• If the called party is busy, the calling subscriber is told about the same. When the called party
answers, his indicator lamp lights up. The operator then establishes a connection between the
calling and the called party by plugging in the cord pair to the called party jack. In a manual
switching system, the operator has full control of a connection. He enables the signaling systems,
performs switching, and releases a connection after a conversation.

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 Manned Central Battery Exchange

11/15/2024 Single termination switchboard 38

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Manual Switching System

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• Apart from ITU-T, significant contributions to data
network standards have come from the
International Standards Organisation (ISO) which is
a voluntary, nontreaty organisation. National
standards organisations like American National
Standards Institute (ANSI), British Standards
Institution (BSI), Association Francaise de
Normalisation (AFNOR), Deutsches Institut für
Normalische (DIN) and Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS) are members of ISO. The Institute of
Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE),

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Telephone Set

Telephone means ‘tele’ – from a far and phone – sound/ voice

An apparatus for reproducing sound, especially that of the human voice (speech) at a great
distance by means of electricity; consisting of transmitting & receiving instruments
connected by a line or wire which conveys the electric current.

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Telephone diagram

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Telephone Set

Functions of telephone set:

• Notify the subscriber when there is an incoming call with an audible signal – bell or visible
signal – flashing light
• Provide a signal to a telephone network verifying when the incoming call has been
acknowledged & answered
• Receiver is lifted off hook
• Convert speech energy to electrical energy (Tx) and vice versa (Rx)
• Microphone, Speaker
• Incorporate some method of inputting and sending destination telephone numbers
• From tel. Sets to central office
• pulses rotary dialer
• frequency tones touch tone

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Telephone Set
• Regulate the amplitude of the speech signal
• To avoid crosstalk
• Notify the tel. Office when a subscriber wishes to place an outgoing call (handset lifted
off hook)
• Dial tone
• Ensure that a small amount of the transmit signal is fed back to the speaker
• Feedback signal- sidetone/talkback
• Provide an open circuit (idle condition) to the local loop when the telephone is not in use
(on hook)
• Closed ckt – busy (off hook)
• Provide a means of transmitting & receiving call progress signals between the central
office switch & the subscriber
• On & off hook signal, busy, ringing, dial tone

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Telephone Set

• Essential Components of telephone set:

1. Ringer Circuit
• Electronic oscillator
• To alert the destination party of the incoming calls
2. On/Off Hook Circuit
• Simple single throw-double-pole STDP switch
• On hook (idle, open switch), off-hook (in use, closed switch)
3. Dialing circuit
• Enables the subscriber to output signals representing digits
• Rotary dialer/Electronic dial pulsing circuit/touch tone keypad

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Telephone Set
4. Equalizer circuit
• Combination of passive components (resistors & capacitors)
• To regulate the amplitude & frequency response of the voice signals
• Helps to solve the important problem of interdependence of the transmitting and
receiving efficiencies and the wide range of trx current caused by a variety of local loop
cables with different dc resistances.
5. Speaker/ receiver
• Converts electrical signals received from the local loop to acoustical signals (sound waves)
• Enclosed in the handset of the telephone along with a microphone
6. Microphone/ transmitter
• Converts acoustical signals in the form of sound pressure waves from the caller to electrical signals
7. Hybrid network
• Hybrid coil/duplex coil
• Special balanced transformer used to convert 2-wire (local loop) circuit into 4-wire (telephone set)
circuit
• Outgoing signal –1 to 2V, incoming – half of outgoing signal

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Block diagram of telephone set

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Simple Telephone Ringer Circuit

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