Digitalto Analog Converters
DACs convert between digital and analog signals. Two common implementations of this type of equipment are modulator-demodulators (modems) and the conversion that is applied at the CO for each analog circuit.
A modem converts the unipolar digital signals that are transmitted by your computer into an analog signal stream. A unipolar signal is a signal that has only a single voltage polarity. So, instead of having both positive and negative sides to a signal stream, only a positive or negative side is present. Different forms of compression have been developed to allow for transfer rates as high as 53 kbps over an analog circuit. The bandwidth in these 56 kbps technologies is constrained because of crosstalk concerns at the CO. True 56 kbps causes problems with standard voice transmission channels, so limiting them allows for peaceful coexistence between voice and modem.
These digital-to-analog (D/A) and analog-to-digital (A/D) conversions are necessary because the signal coming from your computer is digital, but the communication path is analog. In the event that the circuit is digital in nature, such as an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) circuit, the A/D and D/A conversions are not necessary. The only thing that the equipment might require is the formatting of the digital signal into an ISDN-compliant stream.
Analog circuits also require an A/D conversion, but at the CO. This conversion is necessary because the service provider infrastructure is composed of many different types of digital mediums. The only portions of the service provider network that are typically analog are the analog service lines and their associated facilities.
From a basic standpoint, the analog signal is converted into a digital signal, multiplexed into a high-bandwidth circuit for transmission through the service provider network, and converted back into an analog signal at the remote CO, as shown in Figure 1-7, for the terminating subscriber connection.
Figure 1-7 A/D Conversion Example
Figure 1-7 A/D Conversion Example

- Analog Digital
The line termination for each analog circuit at CO must also do a conversion (unless deployed through a Subscriber Line Carrier [SLC], in which case it is done prior to the CO). The primary focus of this book is on digital communication mediums. For an overview of the pulse code modulation process (PCM), refer to Chapter 3.
Continue reading here: Analog Service Deployments
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