An Economic Analysis of Local Digital Time Division Exchange Networks

Digital time division switching may lead to important savings in local exchange areas experiencing high growth rates, digital trunk or subscriber carrier penetration and a large demand for special services. To capture these savings a wire center design with integrated pair gain and special services systems, as well as operational support systems, is postulated. Wire center savings are primarily the result of a reduction in the getting started cost of the assumed switch, a reduction in central office hardware with digital trunking and digital pair gain systems, a reduction in outside plant costs, a reduction in special service equipment through integration of switching and transmission treatment functions, a reduction in main distributing frame size and a reduction in operations expenses. These results are based on a "paper design" of a digital time division switch with projected cost profiles which may not be realizable in the near future.