Pair gain
Encyclopedia
In telephony
, pair gain is a method of transmitting multiple POTS
signals over the twisted pair
s traditionally used for a single traditional subscriber line in telephone
systems. Pair gain has the effect of creating additional subscriber lines. This is typically used as an expedient way to solve subscriber line shortage problems by using existing wiring, instead of installing new wires from the central office to the customer premises. The term was invented in the middle 20th century by analogy with earlier use of gain to extend telephone local loop
s far from the telephone exchange
.
A pair gain system consists of concentrator
s or multiplexer
s which combine the separate signals into a single signal which is transmitted through the existing copper cable pair. The signals are then separated into individual subscriber lines at the customer premises. The pair gain unit which performs the multiplexing can be as simple as providing two telephone connections over a single subscriber line (called an Analog Multi-Line Carrier or AML) in circumstances where a customer wants to add a new phone line for a fax machine or dial-up internet connection. A larger analog pair gain system made by Anaconda in the 1960s provided seven lines. Some pair gain units can expand the number of subscriber lines available over a single copper pair to as many as sixty. Large pair gain units are stored in Serving area interface
s or metal cabinets
typically resembling small apartment-sized refrigerator
s alongside or near roadways that overlie communications rights-of-way.
DACS (Digital Access Carrier System) was a form of pair gain used in the United Kingdom
. It uses a form of Time division multiple access
called ISDN.
Analog pair gain has come into disfavor, as has digital Subscriber Loop Carrier in more recent years, as it is detrimental to high speed dial-up modem connections, does not support 56k and is incompatible with Digital Subscriber Line
(DSL) systems. More recent digital pair gain systems take the concept even further, however, restoring 56k and DSL capabilities by performing the functions of a DSLAM at the pair gain device.
More recently, the term pair gain has been used to refer to any multiplex/demultiplex unit used between the central office and end users, not just equipment used with copper twisted pair.
Where digital loop carrier
(called Remote Integrated Multiplexer in Australia) is installed, broadband Internet subscribers may be disappointed when informed that although initial line checks were successful, high speed connections such as ADSL are unavailable due to infrastructure issues. The problem is that pair gain lines cannot carry high speed data. .
Telephony
In telecommunications, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other....
, pair gain is a method of transmitting multiple POTS
Plain old telephone service
Plain old telephone service is the voice-grade telephone service that remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in many parts of the world....
signals over the twisted pair
Twisted pair
Twisted pair cabling is a type of wiring in which two conductors are twisted together for the purposes of canceling out electromagnetic interference from external sources; for instance, electromagnetic radiation from unshielded twisted pair cables, and crosstalk between neighboring pairs...
s traditionally used for a single traditional subscriber line in telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
systems. Pair gain has the effect of creating additional subscriber lines. This is typically used as an expedient way to solve subscriber line shortage problems by using existing wiring, instead of installing new wires from the central office to the customer premises. The term was invented in the middle 20th century by analogy with earlier use of gain to extend telephone local loop
Local loop
In telephony, the local loop is the physical link or circuit that connects from the demarcation point of the customer premises to the edge of the carrier or telecommunications service provider's network...
s far from the telephone exchange
Telephone exchange
In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
.
A pair gain system consists of concentrator
Concentrator
In telecommunication, the term concentrator has the following meanings:# In data transmission, a functional unit that permits a common path to handle more data sources than there are channels currently available within the path...
s or multiplexer
Multiplexer
In electronics, a multiplexer is a device that selects one of several analog or digital input signals and forwards the selected input into a single line. A multiplexer of 2n inputs has n select lines, which are used to select which input line to send to the output...
s which combine the separate signals into a single signal which is transmitted through the existing copper cable pair. The signals are then separated into individual subscriber lines at the customer premises. The pair gain unit which performs the multiplexing can be as simple as providing two telephone connections over a single subscriber line (called an Analog Multi-Line Carrier or AML) in circumstances where a customer wants to add a new phone line for a fax machine or dial-up internet connection. A larger analog pair gain system made by Anaconda in the 1960s provided seven lines. Some pair gain units can expand the number of subscriber lines available over a single copper pair to as many as sixty. Large pair gain units are stored in Serving area interface
Serving area interface
The serving area interface or service area interface often called B-box, cross-connect box, cross box, ped , or access point is an outdoor telecommunications cabinet usually mounted on the ground on cable right-of-ways, but sometimes also on telephone poles...
s or metal cabinets
Cabinet (furniture)
A cabinet is usually a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors or drawers for storing miscellaneous items. Some cabinets stand alone while others are built into a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood or, now increasingly, of synthetic...
typically resembling small apartment-sized refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
s alongside or near roadways that overlie communications rights-of-way.
DACS (Digital Access Carrier System) was a form of pair gain used in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It uses a form of Time division multiple access
Time division multiple access
Time division multiple access is a channel access method for shared medium networks. It allows several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots. The users transmit in rapid succession, one after the other, each using its own time slot. This...
called ISDN.
Analog pair gain has come into disfavor, as has digital Subscriber Loop Carrier in more recent years, as it is detrimental to high speed dial-up modem connections, does not support 56k and is incompatible with Digital Subscriber Line
Digital Subscriber Line
Digital subscriber line is a family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. DSL originally stood for digital subscriber loop. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ,...
(DSL) systems. More recent digital pair gain systems take the concept even further, however, restoring 56k and DSL capabilities by performing the functions of a DSLAM at the pair gain device.
More recently, the term pair gain has been used to refer to any multiplex/demultiplex unit used between the central office and end users, not just equipment used with copper twisted pair.
Where digital loop carrier
Digital loop carrier
A digital loop carrier is a system which uses digital transmission to extend the range of the local loop farther than would be possible using only twisted pair copper wires...
(called Remote Integrated Multiplexer in Australia) is installed, broadband Internet subscribers may be disappointed when informed that although initial line checks were successful, high speed connections such as ADSL are unavailable due to infrastructure issues. The problem is that pair gain lines cannot carry high speed data. .