Bridging the Voice Gaps With Switching Technology

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Switching establishes connections between telecommunication network nodes or routes. In the past, switchboard operators manually switched connections so that people were able to communicate through telephone networks. Today, switching technology is highly advances allowing digital voice packets travel between IP addresses within telecommunications networks. Let’s take a look at some of the basics.

Switching Technology Basics

The technology includes local, tandem and transit switches. Telecommunications providers use local switches to support specific areas and tandem switches to connect various switches within a network. Transit switches support long-distance connections. The three main switching types are circuit, packet and message. Here's a little more information about each type.

  1. Circuit Switching

One of the most common switching types, circuit switching enables data transmission by establishing a dedicated route between the sender and the receiver. For data transmission to occur, a link must be set up, held and released. The route is set the instant the connection is active, and the connection lasts for the length of the conversation.

  1. Packet Switching

As its name implies, packet switching organizes data in packets or blocks. Each packet features a header that includes source, destination and node address details. It then reaches its destination via different routes. This type of independent routing reduces bandwidth load and overcomes transmission interruptions. In some telecommunications networks, such as cellular communications, packet switching incurs a fee per unit of transmitted data.

  1. Message Switching

Message switching is the transmission of a message through radio and telecommunications networks. While circuit switching involves a dedicated route between the sender and receiver, message switching does not rely on dedicated routes. Each message has its own destination source address and the network treats it as an independent entity. The network can send it on the most efficient route through a system of intermediate devices until it reaches its destination. Message switching relies on storage and forwarding and is also known as Store and Forward Switching. Email is a prime example of message switching.

Learn More About Switching Technology

Working for a communications system company in the USA, we are required to fully understand digital switching technologies. At a local level, we can configure and install an E1 switch for companies that seek to manage internal telecommunications traffic more effectively. Some clients are seeking more secure voice communications through packet encryption. So we need to install an encryption device that secures conversations before the data packets leaves the private networks of that company.