Subscriber Signaling

Introduction:
Signaling is the use of signals for controlling communications. This may
constitute an information exchange concerning the establishment and control of a
telecommunication circuit and the management of the network—in contrast to manual
setup of circuits by users or administrators, for example the sending of a signal from the
transmitting end of a telecommunication circuit to inform a user at the receiving end that
a message is to be sent.

The vast majority of the customers of telecommunication networks are

subscribers who are attached to their local exchanges by analog subscriber lines. The
signaling between subscriber and local exchange is known as subscriber signaling. The
original, and still predominant, application of subscriber signaling is plain old telephone
service (POTS) calling. However, subscriber signaling today also supports
supplementary services such as call waiting, call forwarding, caller identification, etc.

The purpose of network signaling is to set up a circuit between the calling and
called parties so that user traffic (voice, fax, and analog dial-up modem, for example)
can be transported bi-directionally. When a circuit is reserved between both parties, the
destination local switch places a ringing signal to alert the called party about the
incoming call. This signal is classified as subscriber signaling because it travels
between a switch (the called party's local switch) and a subscriber (the called party). A
ringing indication tone is sent to the calling party telephone to signal that the telephone
is ringing. If the called party wishes to engage the call, the subscriber lifts the handset
into the off-hook condition. This moves the call from the set-up phase to the call phase.

At some point in the call phase, one of the parties will wish to terminate the call,
thereby ending the call phase. The calling party typically initiates this final phase, which
is known as the clear-down or release phase. The subscriber signals the network of the
wish to terminate a call by placing the telephone back in the on-hook condition; hence,
subscriber signaling. The local switch proceeds with network signaling to clear the call
down. This places an expensive resource (the circuit) back to an idle condition, where it
can be reserved for another call.
Experimental Discussion:
In this experiment, the students were tasked to observe the telephone handset
status when the handset is lifted off the cradle and when the handset is replaced on the
cradle, how telephone status is detected by the analog line interface, the DC loop
current in the analog line and what it represent, how dial tone is transmitted to the
telephone set and what does it look like in the oscilloscope when a number is dialed and
how does the central office make a telephone set ring.

When the telephone set was lifted off the cradle the oscilloscope showed a 5V
and a signal representing that there is current flowing through the telephone handset
and when it was placed back, the signal went down and the 5V was gone. Meaning that
the current is not flowing through the line.

The DTMF dialing tones are digitized and multiplexed by the interface line
CODEC before they are sent to the signaling circuit of the central office and the central
office makes the telephone set ring by applying and AC current signal through the
telephone set whenever a call is being made to an analog telephone set.
Conclusion and Recommendation:
After this experiment, the students were able to learn that the signals involved in
subscriber signaling convey either supervisory or addressing information. They were
also familiarized with what subscriber signaling is. The students also observed how
SLIC performs in an analog line interface and a Subscriber Line Interface Circuit (SLIC)
modules are used for analogue telephone line interface applications, connecting to a
standard analogue telephone handset. They enable signals to be transmitted and
received, power to be fed to the line and monitoring of the line condition.
The students also observed the DTMF tones that is transmitted to a telephone
set that is the result of serial PCM codes that the central office sends through CODEC.
They also observed how DTMF dialing tones are digitized and multiplexed by the
interface line CODEC before being sent to the central office and they observed how the
central office makes an analog telephone set ring.

Glossary:
 Ringing - is a telecommunication signal that causes a bell or other device to alert
a telephone subscriber to an incoming telephone call. Historically, this entailed
sending a high-voltage alternating current over the telephone line to a customer
station which contained an electromagnetic bell.

 Tip and Ring- Tip and ring are the names of the two conductors or sides of a
telephone line. The terms originate in reference to the telephone plugs used for
connecting telephone calls in manual switchboards.

 Subscriber Line Interface Circuit (SLIC) modules- are used for analogue
telephone line interface applications, connecting to a standard analogue
telephone handset. They enable signals to be transmitted and received, power
to be fed to the line and monitoring of the line condition.

 Signaling- is the use of signals for controlling communications. This may

constitute an information exchange concerning the establishment and control of
a telecommunication circuit and the management of the network—in contrast to
manual setup of circuits by users or administrators
References:
 http://mathscinotes.com/2014/05/measuring-telephone-ring-power/
 https://docplayer.net/16258222-Analog-access-to-the-telephone-network.html
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringing_(telephony)
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_and_ring