Where can I find technical information (software, hardware, protocols,
technologies) on how pre-paid phone card companies use T-1 and T-3
lines to transmit voice over these digital lines?

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Request for Question Clarification by efn-ga on 20 Oct 2003 18:07 PDT

I believe books will give you better information than Web sites,
though at a higher cost.  Would a list of books be an adequate answer?

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Clarification of Question by maxtel-ga on 22 Oct 2003 15:44 PDT

A list of books will also work, but I need as many book names as
possible. Any link for a website will also be very helpful.

Thank you.

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Request for Question Clarification by efn-ga on 26 Oct 2003 21:52 PST

Hi maxtel-ga,

Sorry to bother you with another request for clarification, but I want
to confirm that the answer I am preparing will work for you before I
post it.

Pre-paid phone card companies use T-1 and T-3 lines for voice
communication the same as anybody else and there are few books about
just those kinds of lines, so most of my answer directs you to
resources on modern telecommunications in general.  A general
reference book is likely to have at least a chapter on digital lines
like these.  I can suggest some books, list some bibliographies on the
Web, and list some relevant Web sites or pages.

A phone card company is likely to use an "enhanced services platform"
that answers calls from customers, validates card numbers, and routes
calls out over a network.  Since you asked about the use of lines and
not how the service is provided, I was not planning to refer you to
information about enhanced services platforms.

If you can confirm that this answer is on the right track, I will
proceed.  If it's not, it might be helpful if you explained more about
what information you need.

Thanks,

--efn-ga

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Clarification of Question by maxtel-ga on 27 Oct 2003 21:53 PST

Hi efn-ga, thank you very much for willing to help me on my question.
The main reason behind my question is because since I am thinking
about starting up a pre-paid calling card company, so I would like to
have as much technical information about it as possible. I want to
know the different technologies that are available, the types of
software and hardware required, the different protocols used, and the
different lines (analog and digital) that are used by pre-paid calling
card companies. Any technical information concerning this question
will be welcome as well. I hope my question is clearer now, but if you
need any more clarification, please feel free to write me back.

Thank you.

Hi maxtel-ga,

I am not confident that I can give you a satisfactory answer, but I
did some work on this question, so I will post what I have as a
comment, and if you think it's worth your price, I will be happy to
post it as an answer, or if you think it's close, I can work on it
some more and then post it as an answer.


A prepaid phone card company uses T-1 and T-3 lines the same as
anybody else connected to the public switched telecommunications
network.  So I think you just need information about how modern
telecommunications work.

As I said, I think you can get better, more usable information from
books than from web sites, so this comment has three parts.  First, I
will recommend some books.  Then, since you asked for as many book
names as possible, I will list some bibliographies that are available
on the Web.  Finally, I will suggest some relevant Web sites.


Books
-----

Introduction to T1/T3 Networking by Regis J. "Bud" Bates.  Artech
House,
September 1992.

This book comes first because it relates most specifically to your
question.  It's the oldest one on the list, but probably still useful.

There are not many books specifically on T-1 and T-3 lines, so the
rest of this list contains general telecommunications books that are
likely to cover these topics along with many others.

Newton's Telecom Dictionary by Harry Newton.  CMP Books, 19th edition,
March
2003.

This one comes second because I have used it extensively in my work
with telecommunications application software.  It has a great deal of
useful information.  The technical level is not consistent, possibly
reflecting multiple contributors.  Some entries assume the reader
knows little, others assume the reader knows a lot.  Some entries are
just there for entertainment value, which you may or may not
appreciate.  Still, this is a well-regarded and very useful reference,
likely to be helpful when you read other books.

The Irwin Handbook of Telecommunications by James Harry Green. 
McGraw-Hill, 4th edition, February 2000.

I have also used this book.  It covers many topics in detail.  It's
not organized so you can read it from beginning to end and have all
terms defined before they are used; it's more suitable as a reference
than as a tutorial.

The remaining books are recommended on the basis of Web reviews and
citations.  I have not used them myself.

New McGraw-Hill Telecom Factbook by Joseph A. Pecar and David A.
Garbin.  McGraw-Hill, 2nd edition, August 2000.

The Essential Guide to Telecommunications by Annabel Z. Dodd. 
Prentice-Hall, 2nd edition, July 1999.

Telecommunications Essentials by Lillian Goleniewski.  Addison-Wesley,
December 2001.


Bibliographies
--------------

The Top 10 Telecommunications Books according to about.com

http://satellite.about.com/library/weekly/aatp_telecom_books.htm

Recommendations from Training Services on Demand, Inc.

http://www.tsod.com/telecom_books.htm

A search on amazon.com for "telecommunications" in the Books
department found 26,115 results.

http://www.amazon.com


Web Pages and Sites
-------------------

Explanation of how T-1 lines work on the howstuffworks site

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question372.htm

Tom Farley's TelecomWriting.com site

http://telecomwriting.com/

Just one of the many companies that would like to sell you a turnkey
platform for telecom applications

http://www.voiceware.net/index.html

If you don't want to operate your own hardware, there are companies
that will sell you just the service.  For example:

http://www.telcan.net/wholesale/prepaidcard_features.asp


Search Strategy
---------------

telecommunications books

t-1 t-3 books

turnkey enhanced services platform


I hope this information is helpful.

--efn-ga