This section contains the following information:
This course is hosted by our training partner
Telecommunications Research Associates (TRA) and
is a foundation course designed to introduce you to the traditional voice telephony
network. The course is comprised of several web-based training modules that are
intended to build on one another to create a solid understanding of the traditional
circuit-switched voice network. Upon completion of this course, you should
be able to:
- Describe the overall process of placing a standard 2-party plain old telephone service (POTS) call.
- Understand the switching hierarchy.
- Describe the voice transcoding process.
- List the benefits, liabilities, and standards used to compressing voice calls.
- List the tiers of the ANSI and ITU digital transmission hierarchy.
- Identify the basic building blocks of an SS7 network and describe their function.
- Describe how ISUP is used to setup a standard 2-party POTS call.
Participants need not have prior training or experience
in basic telephony.
To register for this online course, you will need to first
log in to the MetaSwitch
customer portal.
The TDM Foundations course is taken entirely on-line,
on-demand. You can complete these modules at your own pace. However all course modules
must be completed within 12 months of registering for this course.
The course is split into the following modules.
- M1 - Telephony Network Basics (TEL111) (Duration: 2 hours.)
This module provides a technical introduction to the workings of traditional voice
telephony. The module provides a high-level look at the entire telephone network
providing a solid baseline for deeper study of speech coding, transmission, switching
and signaling. Content describes the major piece parts of a telephone network, the
basic functions of switching and transmission equipment, how calls are routed, and
how switches signal each other.
- M2 – Introduction to Circuit Switching (TEL213) (Duration: 1 hour.)
This module presents a technical introduction to circuit switching in telephone
networks. The module explains the switching hierarchy, where centralized switching
fits and what it provides, how switched capacity is determined, and describes
Time-Space-Time architecture.
- M3 – Speech Coding (TEL121) (Duration: 2 hours.)
This module provides a technical introduction to digital speech coding. The
module explains how voice is digitized in traditional Pulse-Code Modulation,
the difference between the North American mu-law and the European A-law coding,
how speech is compressed and affects the Mean Opinion Score, how Linear Predictive
Coders achieve balance between speech quality and deficiency, and other speech
coding fundamentals.
- M4 – Digital Transmission Hierarchies (TEL122) (Duration: 2 hour.)
This module provides a technical introduction to digital transmission systems
used within circuit-switched telephone networks. In North American, digital
channels are multiplexed into DS1, DS3s, and SONET systems. The equivalent
hierarchy for most of the rest of the world is comprised of E1s, E3s, and SDH
systems. This module explains the channels for each system, what's in the
overhead bits and what they accomplish, how performance is measured, how systems
are synchronized and what methods are used to accommodate the lack of perfect
synchronization.
- M5 – SS7 Basics (SIG211) (Duration: 1 hour.)
This module introduces the Signaling System Number 7 (SS7) protocol and the
motivations behind the deployment of SS7 over the years. The architecture of
an SS7 network is described and the components of the network are defined and
explained. Typical applications relying on SS7 are described, as are basic
call control, supplementary services, centralized database services and
Intelligent Network services.
Upon completing all modules of this on-line course, TRA will notify
MetaSwitch so that we can mail a certificate documenting your accomplishment directly to you.