Course Title: Telecommunications and Modern Telephone Systems

Duration: 2 Weeks (10 Days)

Target Audience: Individuals seeking a foundational understanding of telephony, including IT support staff, aspiring telecom technicians, administrative staff managing phone systems, or anyone interested in the evolution and function of telephone networks.

Overall Goal: To provide participants with a comprehensive overview of traditional and modern telephone systems, including underlying principles, key technologies, components, and current trends.

Week 1: Fundamentals of Telephony

Day 1: Introduction to Telecommunications

• Topics: What is Telecommunications? History and evolution (telegraph to telephone), Basic components of communication (transmitter, medium, receiver), Importance of standards (ITU).
• Objectives: Understand the basic concepts of telecommunication, appreciate the historical context, identify key components in any communication system.
• Activities: Lecture, historical timeline discussion, Q&A.

Day 2: The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)

• Topics: PSTN architecture (local loop, central office/exchange, trunk lines), Analog signaling, Circuit switching concept, Telephone numbering plans (E.164).
• Objectives: Understand the structure and function of the traditional telephone network, grasp the concept of circuit switching.
• Activities: Lecture, diagram sketching of PSTN.

Day 3: Analog vs. Digital Telephony

• Topics: Differences between analog and digital signals, Voice digitization (Sampling, Quantization, Coding – PCM), Advantages of digital transmission (clarity, capacity, efficiency), Introduction to T-carriers (T1/E1).
• Objectives: Differentiate between analog and digital signals, understand the basics of converting voice to digital format, recognize the benefits of digital systems.
• Activities: Lecture, demonstration of analog vs. digital sound (if possible), discussion.

Day 4: Signaling and Switching

• Topics: In-band vs. Out-of-band signaling, Introduction to Signaling System 7 (SS7) and its role, Types of switching (manual, electromechanical, electronic/digital), Basic call setup process in PSTN.
• Objectives: Understand the need for signaling, learn about SS7’s function, differentiate switching types, trace a basic phone call path.
• Activities: Lecture, discussion on call setup, Q&A.

Day 5: Basic Telephone Systems & Components

• Topics: Key System Units (KSUs), Private Branch Exchange (PBX) basics (analog/digital), Types of telephone sets (analog, digital, proprietary), Introduction to basic features (hold, transfer, voicemail).
• Objectives: Identify different types of on-premise phone systems, understand the role of a PBX, recognize different phone types.
• Activities: Lecture, identifying components, review of Week 1.

Week 2: Modern Telephone Systems & Technologies

Day 6: Introduction to VoIP and SIP

• Topics: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) concepts, Packet switching vs. Circuit switching revisited, How VoIP works (codecs, RTP/RTCP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) – purpose and basic call flow.
• Objectives: Understand the fundamental principles of VoIP, differentiate packet switching, learn the role of SIP in modern telephony.
• Activities: Lecture, diagram of a VoIP call setup.

Day 7: IP PBX Systems

• Topics: What is an IP PBX? Components (Server, IP Phones, Gateways, SIP Trunks), On-premise vs. Hosted/Cloud PBX, Key features (IVR, call queues, conferencing, voicemail-to-email), Benefits over traditional PBX.
• Objectives: Define IP PBX and its components, compare deployment models, identify advanced features and advantages.
• Activities: Lecture, comparison table creation (Traditional PBX vs IP PBX), demo of a softphone/IP phone interface (if possible).

Day 8: Mobile Telephony Networks

• Topics: Evolution of mobile networks (1G, 2G/GSM, 3G/UMTS, 4G/LTE, 5G), Basic cellular network architecture (BTS, BSC, MSC, Core Network), SIM cards, Mobile Number Portability (MNP). Nigerian context: Major operators (MTN, Glo, Airtel, 9mobile), NCC role, 5G rollout status.
• Objectives: Understand the progression of mobile technology, identify key components of a cellular network, relate concepts to the local Nigerian mobile landscape.
• Activities: Lecture, discussion on mobile generations, overview of Nigerian operators.

Day 9: Unified Communications (UC) & Modern Features

• Topics: What is Unified Communications? Integration of voice, video, messaging, presence, collaboration tools (e.g., Microsoft Teams, Zoom Phone), WebRTC technology, VoLTE (Voice over LTE), Wi-Fi Calling.
• Objectives: Define UC, understand the integration of different communication methods, learn about modern voice technologies like VoLTE and WebRTC.
• Activities: Lecture, demo of a UC platform (if available), discussion on benefits for businesses.

Day 10: Future Trends & Course Review

• Topics: Future trends (AI in communications, advanced 5G use cases, integration with IoT), Security considerations in modern telephony, Troubleshooting common issues, Course summary and final Q&A.
• Objectives: Identify emerging trends, understand security basics, and review key concepts learned over the two weeks.
• Activities: Lecture, group discussion on future trends, final assessment/quiz (optional), feedback session.