TABLE OF CONTENTS The primary purpose of the cellular system is to carry telephone calls. However, readers with a radio engineering or data systems background will not have an in-depth knowledge of the fascinating history and deep concepts that underlie telephony. The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is a worldwide technological marvel, and much of its technology is adopted and adapted into the wireless network.
Part 3, "Key Telephony Concepts," provides knowledge of telephony engineering and technology and its application to wireless networks.
In Chapter 11, "The PSTN and Telephone Switching," we look at the basic structure of the PSTN, including the local loop and local access provisioning, PSTN trunks and switches, and private branch exchanges (PBXs). We then take an in-depth look at telephone switches and their functions. With this background, we can present the switching functions that are key to cellular telephone networks, including roaming, paging and registration, all the different types of handoff, and the call statistics that allow us to trace problems and to bill our customers. Chapter 11 provides the tools you need to design and troubleshoot the switches at the mobile switching center (MSC), the nerve center of our cellular network.
In Chapter 12, "Telephony Engineering Concepts," we describe the steps of a telephone call and define the issues that determine quality...
