University of Diyala

Telecom Switching Systems

Lecture 5
4th Stage
Communication department / Engineering collage

Asst. Lec. Marwa Mohammed

Asst. lec. Marwa Mohammed 1

 An Introduction to Signaling
• In a telephony context, signalling means the passing of information and
instructions from one point to another relevant to the setting up and
supervision of a telephone call.
By tradition, signalling has been divided into two types:
1. Subscriber signalling i.e. signallingbetween a subscriber terminal
(telephone) and the local exchange
2. Trunk signalling i.e. signallingbetween exchanges
Local Local
Exchange Exchange
Trunk Subscriber


Subscriber
Signalling
c c
Signalling
c c
Signalling 
c a c a
s s s s

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• Communication networks generally connect equipment such as
telephones and fax machines via several line sections, switches
and transmission media for the exchange of speech, text, and
data.

• To achieve this, control information has to be transferred

between exchanges for call control. Call control is the process
of establishing and releasing a call. This is referred as
signalling.

• Signalling is the process of generating and exchanging

information among components of a telecommunication system
to establish, monitor or release connections and to control
related network and system operations.

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 Subscriber Signalling
 HO O K O FF

Calling Party D IA L T O N E Called Party
A_Number B_Number

NUMBER

R IN G IN G T O N E R IN G IN G S IG N A L

B ANSW ER

C O N V E R S A T IO N

HOOK ON
HOOK ON

Asst. lec. Marwa Mohammed

Forms of Signalling

The information that must be transmitted between

subscribers, and between switching centres falls
broadly under three classes:

1. Supervisory signals or line signals.

2. Routing signals or register signals

3. Management signals or inter-register signalling

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Classification

Traditional signalling uses the same channel to carry voice/data

and control signals to carry out the path setup for speech or data
transfer.

Hence basically, signalling technique is classified into:

1. Inchannel signalling or per trunk signalling (PTS).

2. Common channel signalling (CCS).

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Classification cont.
The Inchannel signalling is classified further into four
categories as shown in Fig. 1

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Classification cont.

The common channel signalling (CCS) is classified

according to the transmission of signals between
exchangers. They are :

1. Associated signalling

2. Non-associated signalling

3. Quasi associated signalling

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INCHANNEL SIGNALLING

Inchannel signalling is also known as per trunk signalling and

it uses the same channel which carries user voice or data to
pass control signals related to that call or connection. No
additional facilities are required.

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INCHANNEL SIGNALLING cont.

• The D.C. signalling is simple, cheap and reliable even for unamplified
audio circuits.

• However, for amplified audio circuits, low frequency A.C. signalling may
be adopted.

• The Voice Frequency signalling is used when FDM (Frequency Division

Multiplexing) transmission systems are used, because low frequency
signalling and D.C. signalling cannot be provided.

• This Voice Frequency signalling may be In-band or Out-band.

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 In-band Signaling
In-band voice frequency uses the same frequency band as the voice, which is
300-3400 Hz, which has to be protected against false operation by speech.
One such instance took place when a lady’s voice which has generated a tone
at around 2600Hz lasting for a duration of 100ms was detected as the line
disconnect signal due to which her calls were frequently being disconnected
in the middle of her conversation. Such problems precluded the in-band
signalling during the speech phase.
The advantages of In-band signalling are:
• The control signals can be sent to every part where a speech signal can
reach.
• The control signals will be independent of the transmission systems as they
are carried along with the speech signals.
• The Analog to digital and Digital to analogy conversion processes will not
affect them.

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 Out-band Signaling

The out-band signalling uses frequencies which are above the

voice band but below the upper limit of 4000 Hz of the nominal
voice channel spacing. The signalling is done throughout the
speech period and thus continuous supervision of the call is
allowed. Extra circuits are needed to handle the extremely narrow
band width of this signalling, due to which it is seldom used.

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Both of these in-band and out-band voice frequency signalling
techniques have limited information transmission capacity.
In order to provide enhanced facilities, common channel
signalling is used.

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 COMMON CHANNEL SIGNALLING
The rapid development of digital systems paved way for the new
signalling system called common channel signalling. Instead of
using the same link for signalling information and message as in
Inchannel signalling, the common channel signalling (CCS) uses a
dedicated line for the signalling information between the stored
program control elements of switching systems.

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 COMPARISON BETWEEN
IN CHANNEL & COMMON CHANNEL SIGNALLING

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Type of Common Channel Signalling

A caller's ability to talk with someone in any part of

the world almost instantly and clearing the path after
the conversation instantly depend on the capability of
the network. The concept of CCS has been extended
in mid 1960’s to improve the network capability.
There are tow type of CCS:

1. signallingSystem-6 (SS6)
2. signallingSystem-7 (SS7)

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signallingSystem-6 (SS6)

• The first signalling system developed is called as signalling

system number 6 (SS6).
• SS6 was introduced in the 1970s as an early CCS method for
telecommunication trunks between international switching
centres (ISCs).
• SS6 used a fixed-length signal unit (28-bit signal units).
• The first development of the SS6 in North America was used
in the U.S. on a 2400 bps data link. Later these links were
upgraded to 4,800 bps.
• SS6 networks are very slow.

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 Signalling System-7 (SS7)

• Signalling system 7 (SS7) was first defined in 1980, with

revisions in 1984 and 1988.
• SS7 is a high-speed communication network. Except in North
America, SS7 is referred to as a common channel inter office.
• One of the most significant reasons, the carriers employs this
system is to save time and money on the network.
• The SS7 is a global standard for telecommunication.
• The standard defines the procedures and protocols by which
network elements in the PSTN transfers information over a
digital signalling network to effect wireless (cellular) and
wireless call setup, routing and control.
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SS7 signalling Between Exchange

• A common channel signalling system, optimized for digital

networks, it allows direct transfer of call information transfer
between exchange processors.
• Comprising a number of layered and modular parts, each
with a different function, it is a powerful general-purpose
signalling system capable of supporting a range of
applications and administrative functions, including:

ISDN (integrated services digital network)

Intelligent networks (INS)
Mobile services (e.g. cellular radio)
Network administration, operation and management

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 Advantages of Using SS7
SS7 has several advantages compared with traditional signalling
systems. Some obvious advantages are the following:

 FAST - the time for call set up is reduced to less than one second
in most cases.
 HIGH CAPACITY - each signalling link can handle the
signalling for several thousand simultaneous calls.
 ECONOMICAL - much less signalling equipment is required,
compared to traditional signalling systems.
 RELIABLE - by using alternate signalling routes, the
signalling network can be made very secure.
 FLEXIBLE - the system can contain many more signals, for
example, and can be used for other purposes than telephony.
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