DS0: The One True Standard
The DS0 is the building block of the telco. It is used both by itself and in aggregate forms. DS0 is the only DDS that is the same in the United States, Europe, and Japan.
The DS0 is the basic rate of 64Kbps used to transmit individual telephone calls; it is the building block of the telco's voice and data structure. Actual available bandwidth depends on the signal-encoding standard used. (Some signal-encoding technologies, for example, allow multiple bits per baud, which can give a higher overall bit rate.)
The DS0 is different from those faster versions in that it doesn't use a framing format. Anything above 56Kbps is usually a fractional or full T1.
The data transport capability of the telco is based on variations of the DS0, as shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Speeds of Dedicated Digital Services
Name |
Speed |
Consists Of |
DS0 |
64Kbps |
1 DS0 |
DS1 |
1.544Mbps |
24 DS0s |
DS2 |
6.312Mbps |
96 DS0s |
DS3 |
44.736Mbps |
28 DS1s |
The following sections look at some of the more popular iterations in more detail.