in a circuit-switched (e.g., the PSTN) network. 1.3 INTRODUCTORY TOPICS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS Local Local Serving Serving Switch Switch Subscriber Loops Trunks Subscriber Loops Figure 1.4 Subscriber loops connect telephone subscribers to their local serving exchange; trunks interconnect exchanges (switches). and her/his telephone rings, telling her/him that someone wishes to talk to her/him on the telephone. This audible ringing is called alerting, another form of signaling. Once the called subscriber goes off-hook (i.e., takes the telephone out of its cradle), there is activated connectivity, and the call enters the information-passing phase or phase 2 of the telephone call. When the call is completed, the telephones at each end are returned to their cradle, breaking the circuit of each subscriber loop. This, of course, is analogous to turning off a light; the current stops flowing. Phase 3 of the telephone call begins. It terminates the call, and the connecting circuit in the switch is taken down and is then freed-up for another user. Both subscriber loops are now idle. If a third user tries to call either subscriber during stages 2 and 3, she/he is returned a busy-back by the exchange (serving switch). This is the familiar "busy signal," a tone with a particular cadence. The return of the busy-back is a form of signaling called call-progress signaling. Suppose now that a subscriber wishes to call another telephone subscriber outside the local serving area of her/his switch. The call setup will be similar as before, except that at the calling subscriber serving switch the call will be connected to an outgoing trunk. As shown in Figure 1.4, trunks are transmission pathways that interconnect switches. We repeat: Subscriber loops connect end-users (subscriber) to a local serving switch; trunks interconnect exchanges or switches. The IEEE (Ref. 2) defines a trunk as "a transmission path between exchanges or central offices." The word transmission in the IEEE definition refers to one (or several) trans- mission medi