Tag: gsm

Archaic Telecom

Libyan Rebels Keep GSM Network Going

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Aljazeera has a long, interesting article detailing how engineers kept cell service online in the rebel-controlled eastern part of Libya.

According to reporter Evan Hill, Gaddafi’s government severed a fiber cable connecting Tobruk in the east to Ras Ajdir in the west. Without access to central HLR servers, a GSM network element containing a registry of cell phone numbers, service was lost in eastern Libya.

But a separate cell provider, Libyana, was able to restore voice communication by configuring a spare HLR located in Benghazi.Continue reading

Archaic Telecom

Wideband Audio Anyone?

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Glad I’m not the only curmudgeon who’s troubled by the state of 21st century audio! The lower quality of digitally compressed MP3 (compared to CD ) made the front page of yesterday’s New York Times. Economics and convenience are to blame for the lossy, lower-sampled recording formats that are used to cram more tunes into our portable devices.

So why are our cell phone conversations still stuck with a slice of audio spectrum that dates to the 1930s? I’ve written about a newer wide band codec (G.722 standard) that could deliver a far broader 7kHz of sound. Unfortunately, you’re more likely to experience that on station-to-station calls in a large corporate environment (courtesy of Avaya, Cisco, and other enterprise players).

Outside of the confines of an office park, we’re all struggling to make ourselves heard over a skinny, tinny sounding 3.3kHz swath. I found some of the answers as to why this is the case from a presentation given at this year’s eComm event.Continue reading