Chapter 1:Introduction

1. Telecom significance and historic perspectives

2. Types of communication networks
3. Standardization and standards organizations

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Terminology (1/3)
• In recent years, the word telecommunication has been
• Used so often and applied in so many situations
• Become part of our daily lexicon

• Definition
• Tele means "over a distance" and
• Communicara means "the ability to share“

• Hence, telecommunications literally means "sharing of

information over a distance"

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 2

Terminology (2/3)
• Four essentials/components for effective information
transfer between two points
• Transmitter and receiver
• Channel: A transport mechanism (medium)
• The conveyed information which is coded in such a way as to be
compatible with, and comprehensible to, the receiver

• Protocol: Coding and method of transfer of information over

the medium
• Protocol also defines the procedure to be used
• We need to ensure compatibility of the protocols (the hardest part
of telecommunications system design)

• In some cases, this necessitates the provision of interworking

devices
Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 3
Terminology (3/3)

• Communication can be simplex or duplex

• Simplex: one direction communication
• E.g., radio broadcast, remote control
• Duplex: two way communication and requires a transmitter
and a receiver at both ends of the connection
• Half-duplex: Communication is possible in both directions, but not
at the same time, as only one communications path is available
• Full-duplex: Both communicate at the same time

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 4

Significance of Telecommunication …
• Today telecommunication focus on supporting needs of
consumers
• The focus in the 1980 and 1990 was more on satisfying needs of
companies and enterprises
• Telecommunications has allowed a virtual world
• Telecommunications networks make up the most
complicated equipment in the world
• Telecommunications is a way of life
• Telecommunications plays an essential role on many areas
of everyday living
• Telecommunications services have an essential impact on
the development of a community

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 5

Telecom significance: Voice & text communication
• Voice & text
• Voice & text penetration has already been strong in the developed
world and then in developing ones
• Voice communications are typically narrowband
• Don't require a large amount of network capacity
• Delay must be kept to a minimum for voice services to be
intelligible and easy to use
• Text is not delay sensitive

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 6

 Telecom significance – Data communication
• Data: Refers to the exchange of digitized information
• Depending on the application supported

• Bandwidth
requirements can
range from
medium to high
• May be more or
less delay tolerant
• Data traffic is
growing much
faster than voice
traffic

In 2026, 5G will account for an estimated 53% of total mobile data.

Source: Ericsson mobility report, Nov 2020

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 7

Telecom significance: multimedia and video
• Video
• Are becoming increasingly popular
• Require greater bandwidth and extremely sensitive to delay
• The future is about visual communications

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 8

Telecom significance: IoT services
• M2M/IoT/V2X
• Smart home
• Smart city
• Smart health/education

• Hundrads of billions
connection

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 9

Important events in radio
communications
❖ 1855-1870: James Clerk Maxwell
– Developed Maxwell’s equations relating electric
and magnetic fields
– Was laid off from Aberdeen University before
publishing most notable works

❖ 1876: Alexander Graham Bell

– Files the first patent on telephone in the US
– Elisha Gray files his patent for the telephone just
a few hours later than Bell
– Later, Gray challenge Bell’s patent in court
Important events in radio
communications
❖ 1888: Heinrich Hertz
– Demonstrate the practical existence of radio
communications, by generating and detecting a radio
wave
– “It's of no use whatsoever […] this is just an experiment
that proves Maestro Maxwell was right”

❖ "we just have these mysterious electromagnetic

waves that we cannot see with the naked eye. But
they are there“
❖ Asked about the ramifications of his discoveries,
Hertz replied,
– "Nothing, I guess."
Important events in radio
communications
❖ Guglielmo Marconi
– March, 1897: Transmitted Morse code signals
over a distance of about 6 km
– 13th May, 1897: Sent the first ever wireless
communication over open sea
– 17th December, 1902: A transmission from the
Marconi station in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia,
Canada, became the first radio message to cross
the Atlantic

❖ Marconi was also an effective business

person. The last lawsuit regarding
Marconi's numerous radio patents was
resolved in the US in 1943 (six years
after his death)
Important events in radio
communications
❖ 1900s: Reginald Fessendon demonstrates first wireless
voice communication
❖ 1907: Commercial transatlantic connections
❖ 1915: Wireless voice transmission NYC – SFO
❖ 1920: Westinghouse company starts the first
commercial radio broadcast station
❖ 1936: First commercial television broadcast
Important events in radio
communications
❖ 1947: The transistor is invented by J. Bardeen, W.
Brattain, and W. Shockley (AT&T Bell Labs)
❖ 1948: Shannon presents the famous channel
capacity expression
❖ 1948: Radio relay system between New York and
Boston, 4 GHz, 350 km, 7 hops
❖ 1957: Russians launched the first satellite, Sputnik

❖ 1981: 1G cellular: NMT 450 in Scandinavia

❖ 1982: Start of GSM-specification. Aim: Create “pan-
European digital mobile phone system with roaming”
❖ 1983: Start of the American AMPS (Advanced Mobile
Phone System, analog)
❖ 1983: AT&T introduces analog AMPS in Chicago and
Washington D.C. (early cellular system)
Important events in radio communications
❖ 1991: 2G cellular: GSM, digital cellular phone
❖ 1993: DECT, digital cordless phone
❖ 1995: First CDMA (code-division multiple-access)
based wireless system available in Hong Kong
❖ 1997: Wireless LAN – IEEE 802.11
❖ 1998: Specification of UMTS (Universal Mobile
Telecommunication System)

❖ 1998: Iridium: portable satellite telephony (Low

Earth Orbit satellite constellation)
❖ 1999: WLAN standard IEEE 802.11b (WiFi). RF
band: 2.4 GHz (ISM). Rate: 11 Mbps
❖ 1999: Bluetooth standard version 1.0 (WPAN). RF
band: 2.4 GHz (ISM). Rate: 1 Mbps
Important events in radio
communications
❖ 2001: 3G cellular: First WCDMA
system available in Japan
❖ 2002: 1 billion mobile subscribers
❖ 2005: 3.5G cellular:
HSDPA specifications
❖ 2007: 3 billion mobile subscribers
❖ 2008: LTE Release 8 specifications
❖ 2009: 4G cellular: First LTE networks deployed
❖ 2010: 5 billion mobile subscribers
❖ 2011: LTE-Advanced Release 10 is frozen
❖ 2012: 6 billion mobile subscribers
❖ 2014: 7 billion mobile subscribers
❖ 2015: 3GPP Release 12 frozen
❖ 2016: LTE-Advanced Pro Release 13 frozen
❖ 2018: 8 billion mobile subscribers
❖ 2019: 5G Phase 1 Release 15 frozen
Historical Perspective
Telephony Digital Data Integrated
Network Networks Digital
Networks
Year 1880s 1960s 1970s 1980s
Type of Voice Voice Data Voice, data,
traffic video, imaging
Switching Circuit Circuit Packet
Circuit,
technology switching switching switching
packet, and
(analog) (digital) fast packet
switching
Transmissi Copper then Copper, Copper, Copper,
on media microwave microwave, microwave, microwave,
satellite satellite satellite, fiber
optics

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 17

Mobile subscriptions compared to fixed
networks
Ericsson: Subscription penetration Q3 2018
Content
• Significance and historic perspectives
• Types of communication networks
• Standardization and standards organizations

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 20

Communication Networks – Common Types
• Nano network
• Body area network (BAN)
• Personal area networks (PAN)
• Local and wide area data networks (LAN and WAN)
• Metropolitan area networks (MANs)
• Radio networks
• Satellite networks
• Mobile phone networks
• Cable television networks

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 21

Overall telecom network architecture

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 22

Communication Networks – Common Types

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_area_network#/media/File:Data_Networks_classification_by_spatial_scope.png

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 23

Communication Networks - Body Area Network (BAN)
• Also referred to as
• Wireless body area network (WBAN)
• Body sensor network (BSN)
• Medical body area network (MBAN)
• Is a wireless network of wearable computing devices
• BAN devices may be embedded inside body
• Implants, surface-mounted, or may be carried by human (in clothes
pockets, by hand or in various bags)
• Applications
• Primarily in the healthcare domain to monitor vital parameters of
patients suffering from chronic diseases such diabetes, asthma, …
• Other applications include sports, military, or security

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 24

Communication Networks - Body Area Network …

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 25

Communication Networks – Personal Area Networks
• Personal area networks are networks that are meant for
one person
• In the range of 1m
• Example: a wireless network connecting a computer with its
mouse, keyboard, and printer
• Also, a personal digital assistant (PDA) that controls the user's
hearing aid or pacemaker fits in this category

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 26

Communication Networks – Local Area Networks
• Privately-owned packet-switched network within a single
building or campus
• Limited in geographic area (up to few kilometers)
• Widely used to connect personal computers and
workstations in company offices and factories to share
resources (e.g., printers) and exchange information
• LANs are distinguished from other kinds of networks by
their size, transmission technology, and topology

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 27

Communication Networks – MAN and WAN
• Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN)
• Span area ranging from few kilometers to few hundreds of
kilometers (covers a city)
• Could serve as a backbone for a network that interconnects
distributed LANs
• Wide Area Networks (WAN)
• Spans a large geographical area, often a country or continent
• Based on packet-switching techniques
• Consists of
• Customer premises equipment (example a computer or a terminal)
• Network packet switching node (a general purpose computer for
example)
• Transmission facilities
• ….

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 28

Communication Networks – ISDN and other
• Integrated Service Digital Networks (ISDN)
• Provides an integrated digital access b/n customer premises and
the network for the transmission of voice, data, image, and video
• Radio-based Networks
• Provide communication over barriers such as mountainous terrain,
bodies of water, and heavy frost
• Single-hope and multi-hope networks
• Satellite Networks
• Operates in the 6-GHz band for the uplink and 4-GHz band for the
downlink
• Mobile communication Networks
• Examples: mobile telephony, radio paging
• Cable television
• READ!

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 29

Content
• Significance and historic perspectives
• Types of communication networks
• Standardization and standards organizations

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 30

Standardization
• Communication networks are designed to serve a wide
variety of users with equipments from different vendors
• Standards are necessary to insure interoperability and
compatibility
• Open standards are needed to enable interconnection of
• Systems
• Equipment and
• Networks from different manufacturers, vendors, and operators

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 31

Standardization
1. Standards enable competition: In proprietary systems
• Specifications are the property of one manufacturer
• Difficult, if not impossible, for a new manufacturer to start to
produce compatible competing systems

2. Standards lead to economies of scale in manufacturing

and engineering
• Market for products adhering to the standard increase
• This leads to mass production and economies of scale in
manufacturing and engineering, VLSI implementations, ….
• Price decreases and further increase acceptance of the new
technology

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 32

Standardization …
3. Political interests often lead to different standards in
Europe, Japan, and the United States
• Standardization is a technical matter and also a political interest
• Hence, approval of global standards is sometimes impossible
• Example: T-1 vs. E-1, SONET vs. SDH, CDMA vs. GSM

• To protect local industry, Europe does not want to accept

American technology and vice versa

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 33

Standardization …
4. International standards are
• Threats to the local industries of large countries
• Open their local markets to international competition
• But opportunities to the industries of small countries
• Their home market is not large enough for expansion and they are
looking for new markets for their technology
5. Standards make the interconnection of systems from
different vendors possible
6. Standards make users and network operators vendor
independent and improve availability of the systems
• Standardized interfaces among systems in the network enable
network operators to use multiple competing suppliers

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 34

Standardization – Examples
• Consider the following examples
• International telephone numbering and country codes
• Television and radio systems
• Frequencies used for satellite and other radio communications
• Connectors and signals for PC, printer, and modem interfaces
• LANs: These enable people to use computers from any
manufacturer in a company network
• Cellular telephone systems: Enable users to choose a handset
from different vendors with different features

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 35

Standards Organizations - Interested parties
• Groups that are interested in standardization and
participate in standardization work
• Network operators
• Equipment manufacturers
• Service users
• Academic experts

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 36

Standards Organizations – Why Support?
• Network operators support standardization to
• Improve the compatibility of telecommunications systems
• Provide wide-area or even international services
• Purchase equipment from multiple vendors

• Equipment manufacturers participate in standardization to

• Get information about future standards for their development
activities as early as possible
• Support standards that are based on their own technologies
• Prevent standardization if it opens their own markets

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 37

Standards Organizations – Why …
• Service users participate in standardization to
• Support the development of standardized international services
• Have access to alternative system vendors (multivendor networks)
• To improve the compatibility of their future network systems

• Other interested parties include

• Governmental officials who are keen on having national
approaches adopted as international standards
• Academic experts who want to become inventors of new
technological approaches

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 38

Standards Organizations – National Authorities
• Approve official national standards
• International standards may include alternatives and options
• So, a national authority selects those suitable for their own national
standards
• These options are included in cases a common global
understanding could not be agreed on

• Example of national standards

1. Details of national telephone numbering plan (international
standards give only guidelines)
2. Frequency allocation: International standards define usage of
frequency bands (e.g., which frequency ranges), whereas the
national authority defines detailed usage of frequencies inside the
country

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 39

Standards Organizations – National Authorities…
• Examples
• BIS - British Standards Institute, UK
• DIN - Deutsche Industrie-Normen, Germany
• ANSI - American National Standards Institute, USA
• SFS - Finnish Standards Institute, Finland

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 40

Standards Organizations – European
• Responsible for developing European-wide standards
• E.g., helps to open national borders to improve pan-European
telecommunications services
• Examples include
1. ETSI- European Telecommunications Standards Institute:
Telecommunications network operators and
manufacturers participate in standardization work (e.g.,
GSM)

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 41

Standards Organizations – European …
2. European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
• Or European Committee for Standardization (CEN/CENELEC)
• Standardizes information technology
• It corresponds to IEC/ISO on a global level and handles
environmental and electromechanical aspects of
telecommunications

3. Conférence Européenne des Administrations des Postes

et des Telecommunications
• Or European Conference of Posts and Telecommunications
Administrations (CEPT)
• Was doing the work of ETSI before the European Commission

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 42

Standards Organizations – American
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• Largest professional societies
• Some of these standards (e.g., LAN standards) have been
accepted by the ISO as international standards
• ISO 8802.x  IEEE 802.x (for Ethernet LAN family)

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 43

Standards Organizations – American …
• Electronic Industries Association (EIA)
• For electronic equipment manufacturers
• Example standards: Connectors for personal computers such as
the data interface standard EIA RS-232

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

• Is a government organization that regulates wire and radio
communications
• Example: Specifications for radiation and susceptibility of
electromagnetic disturbances of telecommunications equipment

• Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)

• Develops global 3rd generation cellular systems together with ETSI
from Europe and the Association of Radio Industries and
Broadcasting (ARIB) from Japan
• Adapt the global standard to the American environment

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 44

Standards Organizations – Global Organizations
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• A specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for
telecommunications
• Has nearly 200 member countries
• Sandardization work is divided between two major standardization
bodies: ITU-T and ITU-R
• Global organizations work together to avoid duplicating
effort and creating multiple standards for the same purpose

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 45

Standards Organizations – Global …
• ITU-T
• Comité Consultatif International de Télégraphique et Téléphonique
(CCITT)
• Or International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee
• “T” comes from telecommunications
• ITU-T standardizes public telecom networks (e.g., ISDN)
• ITU-R
• Comité Consultatif International des Radiocommunications (CCIR)
• or International Radio Consultative Committee
• “R” stands for radio
• ITU-R works with radio aspects e.g., usage of radio frequencies
worldwide and specifications for radio systems

• ITU-T and ITU-R publish recommendations standards for

telecommunications networks
Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 46
Standards Organizations – Global …
• International Standards Organization/International
Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC)
• Is a joint organization responsible for the standardization of
information technology
• ISO has done important work in the area of data communications
and protocols
• IEC in the area of electromechanical (for example, connectors),
environmental, and safety aspects

• These organizations work together closely to avoid

duplicating effort and create multiple standards
• As a consequence, some ITU recommendations may
contain merely a reference to an ISO standard.

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 47

Standards Organizations – Other Organizations
• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
• Responsible for the evolution of the Internet architecture, e.g., it
standardizes TCP/IP protocol suite

• Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)

Forum
• An open organization of cellular system manufacturers
• Defines the 3rd generation cellular system and ensure compatibility
among different equipment vendors

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 48

Standards Organizations – Other Organizations
• Telemanagement Forum (TMF)
• Is an organization of system manufacturers that works to speed the
development of network management
• Telecommunications network operators will be able to control and
supervise their multivendor networks efficiently from the same
management center management standards

Telecommunication Networks - Ch. 1 – Fundamentals 49

3GPP: leading standardization body
3GPP ecosystem
3GPP organizational structure
❖ 3GPP has three Technical Specification Groups (TSG)
❖ Each TSG has a set of Working Groups (WG) which
– Meet regularly few times a year (from four to six times), and
– Are responsible for development of Reports and Specifications that
belong to their area of competence
3GPP family of technologies
❖ The 3GPP technologies from these groups are constantly
evolving through Generations of commercial cellular/mobile
systems
❖ Although these Generations have become an adequate
descriptor for the type of network under discussion, real
progress on 3GPP standards is measured by the milestones
achieved in particular Releases
❖ New features are ’functionality frozen’ and are ready for
implementation when a Release is completed
❖ Although this adds some complexity to the work of WGs,
such a way of working ensures that progress is continuous
and stable
3GPP family of technologies
3GPP works on a number of Releases in parallel, starting
future work well in advance of the completion of the current
Release
2000 2004 2008 2012

Time schedule of 3GPP standards

3GPP Standardization process
❖ The 3GPP process is such that more topics are started than
eventually end up in the specifications.
❖ Within the study, only a small set of features is usually
entering to specification.
❖ Sometimes a study is closed after it is found that there is not
enough gain to justify the added complexity. A change
requested in the work item phase could also be rejected for
this same reason.