Locating telephony loop impairments with frequency domain refectometry
Date
2002
Authors
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ORCID
Type
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Usage of the Internet is growing at a rapid pace. This growing popularity has had an
impact on the content available over the Internet. Today, many bandwidth hungry
applications are available to end users: music files, streaming audi0jvideo, and video
conferencing. To be of practical use, larger bandwidth applications require higher
speed Internet connections to the consumer. One method of providing high speed
Internet access to a home or small business is through twisted pair telephone cables.
Use of twisted pair to provide high speed Internet service is not without its problems.
Many loop impairments exist that hinder high speed service, or prevent it altogether.
Purposely placed impairments include loading coils and bridged taps. Unintentional
impairments include wire splices and water in the cable casings. The locations of
these impairments help the telephone companies (telco's) determine which lines have
potential problems in delivering Internet access.
A new technique called frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) has been proposed to
locate these loop impairments. This thesis focuses on proving the viability of using
FDR to accurately detect loop impairments. A physical device was designed and
constructed to use the FDR technique. The device was tested on various telephone
loop configurations. The device was also compared with a commercially available
product. The results of the testing indicate FDR is a viable alternative fqr locating
loop impairments. It performs at least as well as commercially available products.
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Citation
Degree
Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Department
Electrical Engineering
Program
Electrical Engineering