General requirements on interworking between the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) and the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) or Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
The present document identifies the Mobile‑services Switching Centre/Interworking Functions (MSC/IWFs) and requirements to support interworking between:
a) PLMN and PSTN;
b) PLMN and ISDN;
for circuit switched services in the PLMN. It is not possible to treat ISDN and PSTN as one type of network, even when both ISDN and PSTN subscribers are served by the same exchange because of the limitations of the PSTN subscribers access i.e. analogue connection without D‑channel signalling.
Within the present document, the requirements for voice and non‑voice (data) calls are considered separately.
From R99 onwards the following services are no longer required by a PLMN:
- the dual Bearer Services "alternate speech/data" (BS 61) and "speech followed by data" (BS 81);
- the dedicated services for PAD (BS 4x) and Packet access (BS 5x);
- the single asynchronous and synchronous Bearer Services (BS 21..26, BS 31..34).
From Rel-4 onwards the following services are no longer required by a PLMN:
- the synchronous Bearer Service non-transparent (BS 30 NT);
- the Basic Packet access;
- Non-transparent facsimile (TS 61/62 NT) for the A/Gb mode and GERAN Iu mode.
If a PLMN still provides these services it shall fulfil the specification of former releases.
The present document is valid for a PLMN in A/Gb mode as well as in Iu mode. If text applies only for one of these systems it is explicitly mentioned by using the terms "A/Gb mode" and "Iu mode". If text applies to both of the systems, but a distinction between the ISDN/PSTN and the PLMN is necessary, the term "PLMN" is used.
NOTE: The Gb interface does not play any role in the scope of the present document although the term "A/Gb mode" is used.