Chapter 8: The Telephone System

TRUE/FALSE

1. A telephone from 1930 could not work on today's public switched telephone network.
2. The public switched telephone network is changing from an all analog to a mostly digital system.

3. A LATA is a local calling area.

4. A feature of the public switched telephone system is that calls cannot be "blocked".

5. Telephones connect to the central office via trunk lines.

6. The telephone switching hierarchy is being replaced by a "flat" network topology.

7. Most local loops still use copper wire.

8. A "twisted-pair" is twisted to minimize "crosstalk".

9. The wires in a local loop are called TIP and GND.

10. In a local loop, the red wire is positive.

11. In a local loop, the TIP wire is positive.

12. Local loops can carry voice signals in only one direction at a time.

13. Local loops carry DC current.

14. Local loops carry signaling information.

15. Loading coils allow high-speed data loads to be carried on a local loop.

16. Typically, when a phone is on hook, a voltage of 48 volts appears across it.

17. When a telephone is off hook, the DC voltage across it can drop substantially from its on-hook
value.
18. The DC resistance of a telephone is about 2000 ohms.

19. When a telephone is on hook, the DC current through it is in the range of 20 to 80 mA.

20. Touch-Tone is a registered trademark of AT&T.

21. DTMF is the same as Touch-Tone.

22. DTMF uses sets of 3 tones.

23. The technology to "dial" telephone numbers was invented in 1893.

24. A crosspoint switch allows any incoming line to be connected to any outgoing line.

25. The central office uses 24 volts AC at 20 hertz to cause a telephone to ring.

26. The local-loop is full-duplex.

27. Telephones usually contain a hybrid coil or an equivalent circuit.

28. To allow for "sidetone", a hybrid coil should be slightly unbalanced.

29. The signal levels in analog telephone systems have increased substantially over the past 100
years.

30. The signal levels in modern analog telephone systems are still based on 19 th-century technology.

31. To allow multiplexing, the bandwidth of voice-grade telephone signals is deliberately restricted.

32. The net gain of a telephone system must be greater than 0 dB for an acceptable signal level.

33. Too much gain in a telephone system causes "singing".

34. Echo suppressors prevent oscillations on long-distance telephone circuits.

35. Echo suppressors can be switched off by a subscriber's equipment.

36. C-message weighting increases the bandwidth of a local loop.

37. The reference level for measuring noise in a telephone system is 10 12 Watts.

38. In a telephone system, signal strength is given relative to the zero transmission loss point.

39. TDM is being replaced by the newer FDM technology in telephone systems.

40. DS-1 can be used to carry digital data that did not originate as a voice signal.

41. When using DS-1 to carry data, it is common to use each channel to carry 64 kbps.
42. Digital carriers up to T3 can use copper wires.

43. A DS-1C signal carries twice as many channels as a DS-1 signal.

44. A DS-1C signal uses twice the bit rate of a DS-1 signal.

45. "Stuff" bits are used to compensate for differences in clock rates.

46. Every "in-channel" signal is also an "in-band" signal.

47. Common-channel signaling is being replaced by the more modern MF signaling.

48. Common-channel signaling reduces opportunities for stealing telephone service.

49. ADSL is faster than ISDN.

50. B-ISDN is a slower version of standard ISDN.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. DTMF stands for:

a. Digital Telephony Multiple Frequency c. Dual-Tone Multifrequency
b. Dial Tone Master Frequency d. Digital Trunk Master Frequency
2. PSTN stands for:
a. Public Switched Telephone Network c. Primary Service Telephone Network
b. Private Switched Telephone Network d. Primary Service Telephone Numbers
3. POTS stands for:
a. Private Office Telephone System c. Primary Operational Test System
b. Primary Office Telephone Service d. Plain Old Telephone Service
4. LATA stands for:
a. Local Access and Transport Area c. Local Area Telephone Access
b. Local Access Telephone Area d. Local Area Transport Access
5. A LATA is a:
a. a local calling area c. a way of accessing a tandem office
b. a type of digital local network d. a way of accessing a central office
6. Central offices are connected by:
a. local loops c. both a and b
b. trunk lines d. none of the above
7. Local loops terminate at:
a. a tandem office c. a central office
b. a toll station d. an interexchange office
8. Call blocking:
a. cannot occur in the public telephone network
b. occurs on the local loop when there is an electrical power failure
c. occurs only on long-distance cables
 d. occurs when the central office capacity is exceeded
9. In telephony, POP stands for:
a. Post Office Protocol c. Power-On Protocol
b. Point Of Presence d. none of the above
10. The cable used for local loops is mainly:
a. twisted-pair copper wire c. coaxial cable
b. shielded twisted-pair copper wire d. fiber-optic
11. FITL stands for:
a. Framing Information for Toll Loops c. Framing In The Loop
b. Fiber In the Toll Loop d. Fiber-In-The-Loop
12. Loading coils were used to:
a. increase the speed of the local loop for digital data
b. reduce the attenuation of voice signals
c. reduce crosstalk
d. provide C-type conditioning to a local loop
13. DC current flows through a telephone:
a. when it is on hook c. as long as it is attached to a local loop
b. when it is off hook d. only when it is ringing
14. The range of DC current that flows through a telephone is:
a. 20 mA to 80 mA c. 2 mA to 8 mA
b. 200 mA to 800 mA d. 20 mA to 80 mA

15. The separation of control functions from signal switching is known as:
a. step-by-step switching control c. common control
b. crossbar control d. ESS
16. The typical voltage across a telephone when on-hook is:
a. 48 volts DC c. 90 volts DC
b. 48 volts, 20 hertz AC d. 90 volts, 20 hertz AC
17. The typical voltage needed to "ring" a telephone is:
a. 48 volts DC c. 90 volts DC
b. 48 volts, 20 hertz AC d. 90 volts, 20 hertz AC
18. The bandwidth of voice-grade signals on a telephone system is restricted in order to:
a. allow lines to be "conditioned" c. allow signals to be multiplexed
b. prevent "singing" d. all of the above
19. VNL stands for:
a. voltage net loss c. via net loss
b. volume net loss d. voice noise level
20. Signal loss is designed into a telephone system to:
a. eliminate reflections c. improve signal-to-noise ratio
b. prevent oscillation d. reduce power consumption
21. The reference noise level for telephony is:
a. 1 mW c. 1 pW
b. 0 dBm d. 0 dBr
22. The number of voice channels in a basic FDM group is:
 a. 6 c. 24
b. 12 d. 60
23. Basic FDM groups can be combined into:
a. supergroups c. jumbogroups
b. mastergroups d. all of the above
24. In telephone system FDM, voice is put on a carrier using:
a. SSB c. PDM
b. DSBSC d. PCM
25. PABX stands for:
a. Power Amplification Before Transmission
b. Private Automatic Branch Exchange
c. Public Automated Branch Exchange
d. Public Access Branch Exchange
26. SLIC stands for:
a. Single-Line Interface Circuit c. Subscriber Line Interface Card
b. Standard Line Interface Card d. Standard Local Interface Circuit
27. In DS-1, bits are "robbed" in order to:
a. provide synchronization c. cancel echoes
b. carry signaling d. check for errors
28. "Bit-stuffing" is more formally called:
a. compensation c. justification
b. rectification d. frame alignment
29. ISDN stands for:
a. Integrated Services Digital Network c. Integrated Services Data Network
b. Information Services Digital Network d. Information Systems Digital Network
30. Basic ISDN has not been widely adopted because:
a. it took to long to develop
b. it is too slow
c. it has been surpassed by newer technologies
d. all of the above

COMPLETION

1. A ____________________ is a local calling area.

2. Central offices are connected together by ____________________ lines.

3. One central office can be connected to another through a ____________________ office.

 4. With 7-digit phone numbers, ____________________ thousand telephones can connect to a
central office.

5. Call ____________________ is when it becomes impossible for a subscriber to place a call due
to an overload of lines being used.

6. New ____________________ switching equipment uses TDM to combine signals.

7. Most local loops still use ____________________ copper wire.

8. As compared to a hierarchical network, a ____________________ network never needs more

than one intermediate switch.

9. ____________________ coils were used to reduce the attenuation of voice frequencies.

10. In a twisted-pair telephone cable, the red wire is called ____________________.

11. In a twisted-pair telephone cable, the green wire is called ____________________.

12. Of the red and green 'phone wires, the ____________________ wire is positive with respect to
the other.

13. A telephone is said to have ____________________ the line when the central office sends it dial
tone.

14. The ____________________ functions are provided by a SLIC.

15. A ____________________ coil prevents loss of signal energy within a telephone while allowing
full-duplex operation over a single pair of wires.
16. In a crosspoint switch, not all ____________________ can be in use at the same time.

17. The old carbon transmitters generated a relatively ____________________ signal voltage.

18. The generic term for Touch-Tone signaling is ____________________.

19. A ____________________ line provides more bandwidth than a standard line.

20. In the telephone system, amplifiers are called ____________________.

21. An echo ____________________ converts a long-distance line from full-duplex to half-duplex

operation.

22. ____________________ weighting is an attempt to adjust the noise or signal level to the
response of a typical telephone receiver.

23. In FDM telephony, the modulation is usually ____________________.

24. In FDM telephony, ____________________ bands separate the channels in a group.

25. Because of "bit robbing", a channel in a DS-1 frame allows only ____________________ kbps
when used to send digital data.

SHORT ANSWER

1. For a certain telephone, the DC loop voltage is 48 V on hook and 8 V off hook. If the loop current
is 40 mA, what is the DC resistance of the local loop?

2. For a certain telephone, the DC loop voltage is 48 V on hook and 8 V off hook. If the loop current
is 40 mA, what is the DC resistance of the telephone?

3. Which two DTMF tones correspond to the digit "1"? (Use the table in the text.)

4. Calculate the dB of VNL required for a channel with a 3 ms delay.

5. If a telephone voice signal has a level of 0 dBm, what is its level in dBrn?