Chapter -5

Introduction to Digital Subscriber

Line Technologies
 DSL-Digital Subscriber Line
• A family of technologies, known as DSL, or
digital subscriber line, has been developed to
increase the data transmission rate over
ordinary local loops to the order of a few
megabits per second and it is simultaneously
available for ordinary telephone service.
 DSL Flavors
DSL is often called xDSL
since there are many varieties (different x)
e.g. ADSL, HDSL, SHDSL, VDSL, IDSL, etc.
There were once many unconnected types
but now we divide them into three main families
The differentiation is by means of the application scenario
• HDSL (symmetric, mainly business, data + telephony)
• ADSL (asymmetric, mainly residential, Internet access)
• VDSL (very high rate, but short distance)
 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
 Splitter
Splitter separates POTS from DSL signals
• Must guarantee lifeline POTS (Plain old
telephone service) services
• Hence usually passive filter
• Must block impulse noise (e.g. ring) from phone
into DSL
Splitter requires installation
• ADSL has splitterless versions to facilitate
residential deployment
• Symmetric. Within this class, the data rate
transmitted in both directions (downstream and
upstream) is the same. This is a typical
requirement of business customers.
• Asymmetric. In this case, there is asymmetry
between the data rates in the downstream and
upstream directions, with the downstream data
rate typically higher than the upstream (usually
appropriate for applications such as Web
browsing).
• A DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM) terminates
the data channel at the other end of the
subscriber loop and sends traffic onto the
carrier’s backbone data network,implemented
byIP, ATM, frame relay technology, or fixed
data circuits, where it heads to a remote data
center or the Internet.
 High-Bit-Rate DSL
• The high-bit-rate DSL (HDSL) increases the section
length and thus reduces the need for intermediate
repeaters.
• This technology uses 2B1Q (two bits are transmitted in
each four-level symbol) encoding that has superior
spectral and distance characteristics.
• HDSL is not a consumer access technology because it is
symmetrical, uses two pairs, and does not allow a
voice-band telephone connection to coexist in the
same subscriber loop.
• HDSL systems use two cable pairs for full-duplex
transmission.
• The line code in use is 2B1Q, which means that
each pair of bits is coded into one quaternary
symbol with four values to the line.
• That reduces the symbol rate on the line to half
of the binary rate and the lower transmission rate
decreases attenuation and crosstalk.
• The HDSL system transmits the same data rate to
both directions just as conventional 1.5/2-Mbps
copper cable transmission systems.
• HDSL was developed to transport DS1
services at 1.544 Mbit/s and 2.048 Mbit/s
over telephone local loops without a need for
repeaters.
Typical ADSL Installation
 ADSL equipment

Standard Telephone Lines

Central Office Building

Residential
Customer
ADSL Rack
of Line Cards

DSLAM

ADSL Modem or
Gateway

Fig. from ref [8]

Operation
 ADSL modem
• 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.

36
 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)

Figure 9.13 Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) 37

ADSL - Internet+Peo TV
MODEM INSTALLATION

BSNL/ BROADBAND /BATHINDA 39

• Discrete multitone (DMT) modulation in which
the entire frequency band is divided into
4.3125-kHz-wide subbands, called bins.
• Bins are numbered from 0 to 256, and the
upper cutoff frequency of each bin is given as
k × 4.3125kHz, where k is the bin index.
 VDSL
Optical network expanding (getting closer to subscriber)

Optical Network Unit ONU at curb or basement cabinet

FTTC (curb), FTTB (building)

These scenarios usually dictates low power

Rates can be very high since required reach is minimal!

Proposed standard has multiple rates and reaches