Telecommunication device, system and method

Abstract

The invention is a telecommunications device having a first xDSL modem, a splitter stage (50) for separating POTS transmission from xDSL transmission and then transmitting it over a POTS telephone line (22) and an xDSL telephone line (20), and a second xDSL modem arranged at the subscriber's premises in communication with the first xDSL modem and splitter stage (50), the first xDSL modem being one of a plurality of xDSL modems (40, 42), where an inverse multiplexer (44) is in data transmission connection with one of the xDSL modems (40, 42).The invention further provides a telecommunications device comprising a first xDSL modem, a splitter (50) for separating POTS transmission from xDSL transmission and then transmitting it over a POTS telephone line (22) and an xDSL telephone line (20), and a second xDSL modem arranged at the subscriber's premises in communication with the first xDSL modem and splitter (50), said splitter (50) being one of a plurality of splitters (50), said device further comprising a POTS multiplexer (36) in data communication with said splitters (50).The invention further relates to a telecommunications system with a remote xDSL modem and a PSTN switching center, which has a substation (18) in data transmission connection with the remote xDSL modem via at least one xDSL telephone line (20) and with the PSTN switching center via at least one POTS telephone line (22), in which the substation (18) has a first xDSL modem (40) connected to the xDSL telephone line (20) and assigned to at least one-way transmission, and a second xDSL modem (42) assigned to at least another one-way transmission, and further has a splitter (50) for separating at least one-way POTS transmission from xDSL transmission and then transmitting it to the second xDSL modem (42) via the POTS telephone line (22).

Description

Figure 2 The description is 8 pages long (including 2 pages of illustrations) EN 224 259 B1 The invention relates to a telecommunications device, system and method for the parallel transmission of voice and data messages on a common channel, preferably a conventional copper telephone line. The traditional POTS (plain old telephone service) telephone service, which operates in most public switched telephone networks (PSTN), has very limited capabilities for the simultaneous transmission of voice and data messages, mainly due to its low data transfer rate (max. 56.6 kbit / s). Therefore, new digital transmission systems have been developed and are being used, which are more suitable for transmitting voice and data information simultaneously over copper pairs. One such new system is the so-called xDSL (digital subscriber line), which allows voice and, for example, video information to be transmitted simultaneously over traditional copper telephone lines. The achievable transmission speed is in the order of megabits / s. xDSL data transmission methods are considered an alternative to the more expensive and investment-intensive broadband optical fiber transmission in higher-speed transmission technology. There are many variations of xDSL technology, such as ADSL, RADSL, SDSL, and VDSL. Each of these is optimized for different applications and differs in signal distances, signal speeds, and required bandwidth. ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) is perhaps the best-known xDSL variant, which provides a higher bandwidth for data transmission towards the subscriber than for data transmission towards the service provider. Data rates towards the subscriber can range from 1.5 Mbit / s to a theoretical limit of 8 Mbit / s, while data rates towards the service provider are mostly in the range from 16 kbit / s to a theoretical limit of 1 Mbit / s. The actual achievable data transmission rate depends on the quality of the line, the transmission distance and the position of the pair in the cable. Depending on environmental factors, data can be transmitted over an ADSL line at a speed of about 1.544 Mbit / s up to a distance of 600 m, in a standard 24-core cable. Data transmission rates of 8 Mbit / s are also possible up to 4000 meters. On an ADSL line, information is transmitted in the form of digital pulses in the upper half of the transmission frequency range of the wire pair, a range that is not used for voice transmission.Thus, a POTS voice message can be transmitted simultaneously in the low-frequency part of the transmission frequency range of the pair of wires, and a data message can be transmitted simultaneously in the upper, higher-frequency part of the transmission frequency range of the pair of wires, so that the two transmissions do not interfere with each other and can be independent of each other. The highest transmission speed is achieved on a VDSL (very high bit-rate digital subscriber line). The transmission speed of a message sent to the subscriber on a VDSL line can be in the range of 13-52 Mbit / s, and the data transmission speed of a message sent to the service provider is 1.5-2.3 Mbit / s, over a copper pair. Unfortunately, the ADSL line is only operational up to a distance of 300-1500 m. Digital subscriber line access multiplexing (DSLAM) is a multiplexing method that can be implemented on digital subscriber lines, in which voice and data from different sources are transmitted over a single carrier, using multiplexers and ADSL modems that combine and separate voice and data messages. Line or POTS splitters separate voice and data messages going to the service provider on the ADSL line, routing the voice messages to a telephone switching center, and routing the data messages to service providers such as an IPS (Internet service provider). At the same time, voice and data messages going to the subscriber are combined together for transmission on the subscriber's ADSL line. The POTS splitter at the subscriber's location combines and separates ADSL transmissions in a similar manner, processing the voice between a POTS telephone or other POTS device and the data between an ADSL modem and the subscriber's ADSL line.The disadvantage of the ADSLAM multiplex subscriber line is that it requires the use of relatively expensive, usually professional equipment at the subscriber's premises, and requires the rewiring of the subscriber's telephone line in order to enable simultaneous voice and data transmission. Another disadvantage of the known multiplex system is that it is largely incompatible with the direction of development, the future VDSL system and the FTTC (Fiber to the Curb) optical fiber accelerated line system, which are currently in the planning stage. Our aim with the invention is to eliminate the aforementioned shortcomings of known transmission systems by developing a new telecommunications device, system and method for the parallel transmission of voice and data messages on a common channel, preferably a traditional copper telephone line, using one of the xDSL transmission protocols. The solution to the problem according to the invention is a telecommunications device, which has a first xDSL modem, a splitting stage that separates POTS transmission from xDSL transmission and then transmits it over a POTS telephone line and an xDSL telephone line, and a second xDSL modem that is connected to the first xDSL modem and the splitting stage and is arranged at the subscriber's premises, which first xDSL modem is one of a number of xDSL modems, with which one of the xDSL modems is an inverse multiplexer in data transmission connection. Preferably, the telecommunications equipment has a power supply supplied via a telephone line. Preferably, the telecommunications equipment has a power supply supplied with energy via the xDSL telephone line. The solution according to the invention further comprises a telecommunications device having a first xDSL modem, and a splitter for separating POTS transmission from xDSL transmission and then transmitting it over a POTS telephone line and an xDSL telephone line, and a second xDSL modem arranged at the subscriber's premises in communication with the first xDSL modem and splitter, which splitter is one of a plurality of splitters, and which device further comprises a POTS multiplexer in data transmission communication with the splitters. EN 224 259 B1 Preferably, the POTS multiplexer of the telecommunications equipment, which multiplexes the POTS messages into a combined POTS transmission and transmits them to the telecommunications line, is on the other hand adapted to extract POTS messages from the combined POTS transmission and send them to the splitting stages. Preferably, the POTS multiplexer is implemented with a pair of digital amplifiers. Preferably, the POTS multiplexer is implemented as a digital loop carrier. Preferably, the POTS multiplexer is implemented with remote switches. The solution according to the invention further comprises a telecommunications system with a remote xDSL modem and a PSTN switching center, which has a substation in data transmission connection with the remote xDSL modem via at least one xDSL telephone line and with the PSTN switching center via at least one POTS telephone line, which substation has a first xDSL modem connected to the xDSL telephone line and assigned to at least one-way transmission, and a second xDSL modem assigned to at least another one-way transmission, and further has a splitting stage separating at least one-way POTS transmission from xDSL transmission and then transmitting it to the second xDSL modem via the POTS telephone line. Preferably, the telecommunications system has at least one subscriber telephone line. Preferably, the telecommunications system has a splitter stage in at least one-way communication with the subscriber telephone line. Preferably, subscribers' telephone lines are connected to the multiplexing substation of the telecommunications system. Preferably, a low-pass frequency filter is connected to the subscriber line at the subscriber's premises. Preferably, a POTS telephone set is connected to the low-pass filter. Preferably, there is a data transmission connection between the remote xDSL modem and the substation according to the ASDL protocol. Preferably, a data transmission connection according to the ADSL or VDSL protocol is implemented on the subscriber line. Preferably, the telephone lines of the telecommunications system are wire pairs. The solution according to the invention is, on the other hand, a telecommunications method in which at least one xDSL message is sent to a substation on at least one xDSL telephone line, at least one POTS message is also sent to the substation on at least one POTS telephone line, the two messages are combined into a combined message consisting of at least one xDSL message and at least one POTS message at at least one splitting stage of the substation, the combined message is transmitted to the xDSL modem of the subscriber's telephone network, to which telephone network a telephone set capable of receiving POTS messages is connected via a low-pass frequency filter. The invention further provides a telecommunications method in which a substation receives xDSL messages from a group of subscribers over an xDSL telephone line and POTS messages from a group of subscribers over an xDSL telephone line. It is transmitted over a POTS telephone line, and at the substation, using at least one splitting stage, combined messages are formed from the xDSL messages and POTS messages, and the combined messages are multiplexed to the telephone network of the recipient subscriber, via his xDSL modem, to which telephone network a telephone set capable of receiving POTS messages is connected via a low-pass frequency filter. According to a further solution, the telecommunications equipment has at least one xDSL modem arranged remotely from the subscriber's premises, to which a subscriber's telephone line is directly connected, at least one xDSL modem of the subscriber's telephone network is inserted between the subscriber's telephone line and non-POTS equipment at the subscriber's premises, and a frequency filter is inserted between the subscriber's telephone line and the POTS equipment of the subscriber's telephone network. Preferably, the subscriber's telephone network is the subscriber's existing home telephone network used without modification. Preferably, in the subscriber's telephone network, the low-pass frequency filter of the POTS telephone set is installed before the local xDSL modem, at the point where it is connected to the subscriber's telephone line. A further solution is a telecommunications method for transmitting a subscriber's xDSL messages, in which method at least one xDSL modem is installed outside the subscriber's premises and directly connected to the subscriber's landline telephone line, at least one xDSL modem is connected to the landline telephone line at the subscriber's premises, and a telephone set capable of receiving POTS messages is connected to the subscriber's telephone network by interposing a low-pass frequency filter. Preferably, the method uses the subscriber's existing telephone network to transmit the xDSL message, without rewiring. In the telecommunications system according to the invention, a group of subscribers is assigned a substation arranged near the subscribers, in which voice and data messages are combined and separated. Data transmission is implemented with a modified xDSL carrier, which also provides power supply to the substation via a landline via an xDSL line. All this can be done on conventional telephone lines. A substation serves one or more subscribers. The advantages of the solutions according to the invention are one or more of the following: a) a high-speed data transmission connection between the substation and the telephone service provider can be implemented on a single xDSL line for each subscriber connected to the substation, b) it is not necessary to transform or rewire the subscribers' telephone network, c) a very simple low-pass frequency filter is sufficient to separate the audio signals from the signal coming from the xDSL line for a POTS telephone or other device. The filter can be simply mounted in the telephone socket and does not require professional installation, EN 224 259 B1 d) digital pair amplifiers, digital loop carriers, and remote switching units can be used in parallel with xDSL transmission, e) the distance that can be covered is approximately 1 km greater than otherwise, f) a larger number of subscribers can be placed in one shelf space than before, g) lower consumption per subscriber, h) the substation does not require a local power source, it can be powered from a central office via a telephone line. The essence of the invention will be described in detail below, based on the drawing of an exemplary embodiment. In the drawing, Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram of the telecommunications system according to the invention, Figure 2 is a block diagram of the telecommunications device according to the invention. The service provider 10 of FIG. 1 is typically a telephone company having one or more PSTN switching centers 12 in its telephone network, with which it provides POTS service to one or more subscribers 14. The service provider 10 preferably also has one or more xDSL modems 16 (typically ATU-C units) that are capable of transmitting high-speed data to the subscribers 14. A substation 18 is installed within 500-100 meters of a smaller or larger group of subscribers 14, to which the subscribers of the subscribers 14 are connected via lines 24. One or more xDSL lines 20 for high-speed transmission of the substation 18 are in data transmission connection with the group of xDSL modems 16 of the service provider 10. The xDSL lines 20 are conventional, wired telephone lines. An essential feature of the solution according to the invention is that the xDSL line 20 connecting the substation 18 to the xDSL modem 16 is used only for high-speed transmission in terms of signal transmission, and in addition, in the unused lower half of the transmission frequency range of the xDSL line 20, the power supply of the substation 18 is taken from the xDSL modem 16 as needed. Thus, it is not necessary to install a locally connected power supply at the substation 18. The substation 18 is also connected to the PSTN switching center 12 via one or more POTS telephone lines 22. As mentioned, the substation 18 is on the other hand connected to a group of subscribers 14 via subscriber telephone lines 24. At the subscriber end of the telephone lines 24 14 , a transceiver 26 xDSL modem suitable for ADSL or VDSL signal processing is arranged, which xDSL modem 26 is followed by a computer 28 or other non-POTS device connected to the high-speed telephone network of the subscriber 14 .The subscriber 14 generally also has one or more POTS devices, typically 32 POTS telephones, which are connected to the telephone line 24 through a low-pass filter 30. The low-pass filter 30 is conveniently arranged in the connector of the POTS telephone 32, and does not require a specialist to install it. The low-pass filter 30 is only required if it is necessary for the smooth operation of the POTS device. The operation of the telecommunications system according to Figure 1 is described below: from the service provider 10, to one or more subscribers 14 connected to the substation 18 with their subscriber lines 24, one or more high-speed messages arrive from the xDSL modem 16, via the xDSL telephone line 20 to the substation 18. Furthermore, at the same time, the substation 18 receives power via the xDSL line 20. The xDSL modem is typically an ADSL modem. At the same time, POTS messages also arrive at the substation 18 via the PSTN switching center 12, via the POTS telephone lines 22. The substation 18 combines the xDSL and POTS messages to be sent to the same recipient subscriber 14 into a combined message and transmits them as multiplex messages via the subscriber telephone lines 24 to the recipients. Data transmission over subscriber telephone lines 24 is preferably performed using a VDSL modem, according to the VDSL protocol, but for longer distances it may be more advantageous to use an ADSL modem and protocol.The recipient subscriber 14 receives the high-speed transmission (message) over the telephone line 24 and the xDSL modem 26, which it routes to, for example, his computer 28. The subscriber 14 takes the POTS messages from the telephone line 24 through the low-pass filter 30 and uses them to operate his POTS telephone set 32 ​​or other POTS equipment. The low-pass filter 30 filters out the signals of the higher-frequency xDSL message and allows only the lower-frequency signals of the POTS message to pass. The POTS and / or xDSL message from the subscriber 14 on the subscriber's telephone line 24 is forwarded by the substation 18 in different ways, either over the xDSL telephone line 20 to the remote xDSL modem 16 or over the POTS telephone line 22 to the PSTN switching center 12. If the substation 18 has more than one xDSL telephone line 20, then inverse multiplexing can also be used to handle high-speed traffic between the substation 18 and the xDSL modem 16. The telecommunications system of FIG. 1 may also include POTS multiplexers 36 for multiplexing POTS messages, such as digital amplifier pairs, digital loop carriers, and remote switching units for separating, connecting, and transmitting multiple POTS lines at the service provider 10 and substation 18 over a common telecommunications line or medium 38. The telecommunications medium may be a conventional POTS telephone line, HDSL, fiber optic line, or other medium suitable for the above purpose. Figure 2 shows a simplified block diagram of the substation 18 of Figure 1. At the transmission station 18, a transceiver xDSL modem 40 (typically an ADSL modem) is connected to the xDSL telephone line 20. One or more additional xDSL modems 42 may be connected to additional xDSL telephone lines 20. Multiple xDSL modems 40, 42 may be combined using an inverse xDSL multiplexer 44. The substation 18 may also include a power supply 46, but is normally powered remotely via the xDSL telephone line 20, as already described. HU 224 259 Β1 way. One or more transceivers 48 xDSL modems, usually VDSL modems, are arranged on the side of the substation 18 that is connected to the subscriber telephone lines 24. A splitter 50 is usually inserted between the xDSL modem 48 and the telephone lines 24. The POTS multiplexer 36, which splits the combined POTS messages arriving on the telecommunications line 38 into individual POTS messages 54, is also connected to the subscriber telephone line 24 through the splitter 50. The substation 18 has a logic control unit 52, which controls the operation of the units in a manner suitable for implementing the described. Any or all of the above units can be implemented electronically, using a computer, or some of them can be implemented using traditional techniques, mechanically, using electromechanical devices, or even using software, or using hardware combined with software. The units mentioned in the detailed description are functional units, the entire substation 18 can be implemented as a single array, the functional units being implemented as a single integrated circuit. However, the functional units can also be arranged locally separated from each other within distances at which their functionality is maintained.

Claims

1. A telecommunications device comprising a first xDSL modem (16), a splitter (50) for separating POTS transmission from xDSL transmission and then transmitting it over a POTS telephone line (22) and an xDSL telephone line (20), and a second xDSL modem (26) arranged at a subscriber's (14) location in communication with the first xDSL modem (16) and splitter (50), the first xDSL modem (16) being one of a plurality of xDSL modems (40, 42), characterized in that an inverse multiplexer (44) is in data transmission communication with one of the xDSL modems (40, 42).

2. A telecommunications device according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a power supply (46) supplied with energy via a telephone line.

3. Telecommunications device according to claim 2, characterized in that it has a power supply (46) supplied with energy via an xDSL telephone line (20).

4. A telecommunications device comprising a first xDSL modem (16), a splitter (50) for separating POTS transmission from xDSL transmission and then transmitting it over a POTS telephone line (22) and an xDSL telephone line (20), and a second xDSL modem (26) arranged at a subscriber's (14) location in communication with the first xDSL modem (16) and splitter (50), the splitter (50) being one of a plurality of splitters (50), characterized in that it has a POTS multiplexer (36) in data communication with the splitters (50).

5. Telecommunications apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the POTS multiplexer (36) for multiplexing the POTS messages (54) into a combined POTS transmission and transmitting them to the telecommunications line (38) is, on the other hand, adapted to extract POTS messages (54) from the combined POTS transmission and send them to the splitting stages (50).

6. Telecommunications apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the POTS multiplexer (36) is implemented with a pair of digital amplifiers.

7. Telecommunications device according to claim 4, characterized in that the POTS multiplexer (36) is implemented as a digital loop carrier.

8. Telecommunications device according to claim 4, characterized in that the POTS multiplexer (36) is implemented with remote switches.

9. A telecommunications system with a remote xDSL modem (16) and a PSTN switching center (12), having a substation (18) in data transmission connection with the remote xDSL modem (16) via at least one xDSL telephone line (20) and with the PSTN switching center (12) via at least one POTS telephone line (22), characterized in that the substation (18) has a first xDSL modem (40) connected to the xDSL telephone line (20) and assigned to at least one-way transmission, and a second xDSL modem (42) assigned to at least another one-way transmission, and further has a splitter (50) for separating at least one-way POTS transmission from xDSL transmission and then transmitting it to the second xDSL modem (42) via the POTS telephone line (22).

10. A telecommunications system according to claim 9, characterized in that it has at least one subscriber telephone line (24).

11. A telecommunications system according to claim 10, characterized in that it has a splitter (50) in at least one-way communication with the subscriber telephone line (24).

12. A telecommunications system according to claim 10, characterized in that telephone lines (24) of subscribers (14) are connected to its multiplexing substation (18).

13. A telecommunications system according to claim 10, characterized in that a low-pass frequency filter (30) is connected to the subscriber line (24) at the subscriber's (14) premises.

14. A telecommunications system according to claim 13, characterized in that a POTS telephone set (32) is connected to the low-pass frequency filter (30).

15. A telecommunications system according to claim 9, characterized in that there is a data transmission connection according to the ASDL protocol between the remote xDSL modem (16) and the substation (18).

16. A telecommunications system according to claim 10, characterized in that a data transmission connection according to the ADSL or VDSL protocol is implemented on the subscriber line (24).

17. A telecommunications device or system according to claim 9, characterized in that the telephone lines (20, 22, 24) are wire pairs.