Professional Documents
Culture Documents
With these few words I would like to give my sincere gratitude towards all the personalities
who gave me immense support and help to me in getting through my first industrial training session in
a very successful manner.
My heartfelt gratitude goes to the Dean Faculty of Engineering Prof. Leelananda Rajapaksha,
Head of the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Prof. J. B. Ekanayake, The staff of the
Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering and the Industrial Training and Career Guidance
Unit of Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya for making necessary arrangements to
conduct the Industrial Training at Sri Lanka Telecom PLC.
Finally, Id like to thank the Sri Lanka Telecom Staff from the technicians to the Engineers for
the knowledge they have given me and for their kindness they have shown throughout my training
session to make it a success.
A.A Senerath
CONTENTS
Chapter 1:
Chapter 2:
Chapter 3:
Chapter 4:
Chapter 5:
Chapter 6:
Chapter 7:
Chapter 8:
INTRODUCTION
11
12
12
3.2 ADSL
13
17
19
20
20
20
21
5.1 Introduction
21
22
23
6.1 Cables
23
24
24
24
Conclusion
26
LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 1.1 SLT Logo
10
10
13
14
14
16
17
18
18
19
20
21
Fig. 5.2 A DP
21
22
22
22
25
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1 Training Schedule
14
15
15
20
24
LIST OF ABRIVIATION
Abbreviation
ADSL
CDMA
CEO
DP
ESN
ICT
IP
IPTV
ISP
IT
MDF
MSAN
OPMC
PEOTV
PLC
PPPoA/PPPoE
PSTN
RJ
SEA-ME-WE
SLT
SNR
STB
SVOD/VOD
TSTV
TV
UG
USB
VCI
VPI
VPN
Wi-Fi
WPA-PSK
Description
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
Code Division Multiple Access
Chief Executive Officer
Distribution Point
Electronic Serial Number
Information and Communications Technology
Internet Protocol
Internet Protocol Tele-Vision
Internet Service Provider
Information Technology
Main Distribution Frame
Multiple Service Access Node
Outside Plant Maintenance Centre
Personalized Entertainment Option Tele Vision
Public Limited Company
Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM/Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
Public Switched Telephone Network
Registered Jack
South East AsiaMiddle EastWestern Europe
Sri Lanka Telecom
Signal to Noise Ratio
Set Top Box
Special Video On Demand/Video On Demand
Time Shift TV
Tele Vision
Under Ground
Universal Serial Bus
Virtual Channel Identifier
Virtual Path Identifier
Virtual Private Network
Wireless Fidelity
Wi-Fi Protected Access-Pre-Shared Key
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1
My Training Session
Sri Lanka Telecom PLC was given to me as the first training session in my undergraduate program at
university of Peradeniya. In order for me to gain the experience in the industrial section I was recruited
as a trainee at SLT PLC from 11th November 2013 till 17th January 2014. During this valuable period I
was able to learn about the importance of work, how to achieve targets and learn new things. In the
course of the 10 week period I was assigned to numerous places to carry out work.
Table 1.1 Training Schedule
Woty7rk site
1.2
Period
From
11.11.2013
To
17.11.2013
ADSL
18.11.2013
08.12.2013
MDF
09.12.2013
15.12.2013
New Connection
16.12.2013
29.12.2013
Development
30.12.2013
05.01.2014
Maintenance
06.01.2014
17.01.2014
Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) is one of Sri Lankas most valuable blue chip companies with a market
capitalization as at 31 December 2013 topping Rs.66 billion. Sri Lanka Telecom is the national ICT
solutions provider and the leading broadband and backbone infrastructure services provider in the
country. The two main shareholders of Sri Lanka Telecom as at year end were the Government of Sri
Lanka which held 49.5% through the Secretary to the Treasury and Global Telecommunication
Holdings N.V. of Netherlands, which owned a 44.98% stake. The balance shares are publicly traded.
Sri Lanka Telecom is the premier telecommunication service provider in Sri Lanka. It provides almost,
every telecommunication service available in the world to its subscribers. It serves its customers with
cutting edge technology coupled with a high quality of service.
Sri Lanka Telecom has a reputed history as the nations leading telecommunication service provider.
Sri Lanka Telecom has been always upgrading its technology in line with ultra-modern technologies in
the world. Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is the pioneer in telecommunications in Sri Lanka and reputed as
the National Telecom Service provider in the country. It ensures the provision of telecom services to
every customer in the country. The SLT group has a customer base of over six million including
multinational corporations, large and small corporate, public sector, retail and domestic customers.
SLT group provides full range of ICT facilities and services in the areas of voice, data, broadband,
wholesale, enterprise, TV and mobile services. At present there are several subsidiaries operating
under Sri Lanka telecom PLC. They are,
SLT aims to be a key regional player through its Global Services through multiple international
undersea cable systems through major investments in international submarine cable systems such as
SEA-ME-WE 5, SEA-ME-WE 4, SEA-ME-WE 3, Bharat-Lanka submarine cable system and
Dhiraagu-SLT submarine cable system.
1.2.1 SLT Vision
All Sri Lankans seamlessly connected with world-class information, communication and
entertainment services.
1.2.2 SLT Mission
Your trusted and proven partner for innovative and exciting communication experiences delivered
with passion, quality and commitment.
2
1.2.4 Ownership
Having a massive consumer base over 5 million, in the wide range including multinational
organizations, local organizations, public sector, private/public banking sectors and towards the local
domestic consumers SLT attains over Rs. 50 Billion turn over annually. The primary two shareholders
of SLT are the Sri Lankan Government (49.5%) and the Treasury and Global Telecommunication
Holdings N.V. of Netherlands (44.98%) and the rest of the shares are publicly sold.
SLT PLC is headed by the chairman and the board of directors. The board consists of 9 members with
Mr Nimal Welagama as the Chairman and Mr Chan Chee Beng, Mr Jeffrey Jay Blatt, Mr Shameendra
Rajapaksa, Mr Jayantha Dharmadasa, Mr Kalinga Indatissa, Mr Lawrence Paratz, Ms Pushpa
Wellappili, Ms Lai Choon Foong as directors. Mr Lalith De Silva heads the management as the CEO
of the telecommunication giant. There are several senior management members appointed to help the
CEO execute his tasks optimally and efficiently. This management consist of Mr Chinthaka C.
Wijesuriya as Chief Operating Officer, Mr Thilak De Silva as Chief Global Officer, Mr P. Roshan
Kaluarachchi as Chief Marketing Officer, Mr D. W. R. Wijeweera as Chief IT Officer, Mr M. B. P.
Fernandez as Chief Network Officer, Mr Priyantha Perera as Chief Administration Officer and Mr S.
K. Lal Ranjith as Chief Corporate Officer.
1.3
SLT is the only service provider who have both wired and mobile network. Now there are seven
subsidiaries under its umbrella. It is the first fixed line operator in the country. Yet in the fixed wire
line segment SLT act as the dominant service provider. The existing circuit switched network in SLT is
now migrating to NGN which is optimum solution for convergence. So through this NGN which
combines PSTN networks and IP based networks together. Therefore SLT is trying to give an IP
solution for the rapidly increasing telecommunication demand. MSAN projects are being carried out
throughout the country to enhance the number of subscribers who are connected with the wired
network.
SLT is also the leader in broadband service. These days ADSL2+ which is only offered by SLT is the
premium solution for high speed internet connectivity. Not only that SLT shows its strength in
multimedia services through IPTV (PEOTV).MPLS based IP backbone which spread through a
countrywide optical fibre ring network offers VPN, ADSL and voice VPN. So today Sri Lanka
Telecom has become an integrated service provider. For creating a solid foundation in
telecommunication journey and achieving their vision and mission all the members of the SLT
workforce render a great deal of service through their knowledge and decades of experiences.
1.4
When considering the strengths of SLT its major strength is monopoly in fixed wire line segment.
Customers more prefer wire line when compared to CDMA. On the other hand with the acceleration of
ICT usage all are moving towards high speed wire line broad band access. So dominance of the SLT in
wire line section is a great strength.
The cooperativeness, willingness of the talented staff of SLT, has made the company to become one of
the leading telecommunication service providers in Sri Lanka. They are willing to follow the new
technology. Especially engineers are always trying for new experiments and familiarizing for new
technologies to serve the customers with a reliable, advance and versatile network.
Present coverage of SLT is insufficient to cater the demand. It is a major weakness. Attitudes of the
work force have not yet modified to meet the market driven customer centric business model. So skill
development programs and trainings should be conducted to improve the attitudes of staff.
1.4.1
2.1
There are 3 main types of CDMA phones that SLT utilizes currently of which only which two are in
production by the respective companies.
1. AIJI CDMA (currently not in production)
2. ZTE CDMA
3. Huawei CDMA
The AIJI CDMA only has one variant while ZTE and Huawei models have different variants. Most of
the CDMA phones use a serial port to communicate with the computer to enable internet access via
CDMA. The newest phone to be offered is the Huawei model which has a USB interface for internet
access.
10
2.2
The CDMA repair station of the OPMC Kandy is the best place that follows the 5S system introduced
by the Japanese people. All the places were labelled properly from the cupboard to the pencil holder.
The Repair station has a storage unit which holds all the new equipment as well as the faulty ones
which are to be shipped to the Colombo head repair centre. Once a week the faulty equipment were
shipped in packages and I had the privilege of going through the process of arranging and packaging
the materials to be shipped. I was advised by the technical officer in charge of the repair section in the
proceedings of the packaging.
The chargers, antennas and batteries were packaged separately according to each brand and
kind. These were packed in cardboard boxes and labelled properly.
The faulty phones were shipped separately as phone bases. The phone base is defined as a
CDMA phone without the charger, batteries and antenna. That is the base consists of the phone
and handset only.
These phones were packed in cardboard boxes and labelled properly. One cardboard package
would usually consist of 10 or 12 phones. These were separated by brand and type of the
CDMA phone
The new replacements were all arranged in an orderly manner according to the 5S system. The
chargers and batteries were all neatly placed in separate containers with the respective label
describing the equipment
The new arrived repaired phones were kept inside safely and sent to the repair station
according to the demand for new phones i.e. replacements for repairs.
The repair station was organized according to the 5S system. There was replacement items placed
inside a cupboard properly labelled. This layout made my adaptation towards the work flow very easy
and I got the hang of the things so quickly that I was the one giving advice to my fellow batch mates.
Usually the repairs were done on the spot as the customer waited in the waiting area. The repair area
was very user friendly and easy to work around.
There was some very unhappy customers and I had to face their blame and criticism because of faulty
equipment. The customers were satisfied with the work we were able to accomplish but some were
really furious with the service the SLT has been providing. The work at the CDMA section was fun
and exciting.
11
3.1
SLT offers three packages to its customers. These lines are named Mega-Line which can provide all
the three packages in a single as the customer wishes. These packages would be
1. Single Play
This offers only the wired telephone line to the customer. The customer could request
later for an increase of the package. The line is drawn from the nearest distribution
point as soon as payments are settled.
2. Double Play
This package includes the telephone with ADSL internet or the telephone with PEOTV.
The customer must request for the double play package and buy the necessary
equipment which is usually an ADSL router and a splitter for an ADSL internet
connection. For a PEOTV connection the customer must buy additionally an STB
(which is usually included in the instalment charges).
3. Triple Play
This includes all the services SLT offers to its megaline customers. This comes with
telephone, ADSL internet and PEOTV connection. The customer must buy the
necessary hardware required (this can be paid in instalments with the phone bill).
12
The connection is usually done by SLT supervised staff, but the customer can choose whether to install
them by his/her self. The connection layout should be done according to Fig. 3.1.
3.2
ADSL
ADSL is the one of the latest technologies provided by SLT for internet accessing at high speed and at
a relatively low cost. It is called asymmetric because it facilitates different speeds for downloading
and uploading. Usually downloading speed of ADSL can be more than 10 times the regular
downloading speed of an analogue modem. ADSL customer is always connected to the internet while
the telephone line is always free for voice calls. That is ADSL facilitates simultaneous voice and data
transmission via normal copper local loop.
3.2.1 ADSL Connectivity
The first thing that I learnt was how to access the router via its IP address. The router is normally
addressed as 192.168.1.1 or can be checked using the command prompt using the command shown in
Fig. 3.2.
Then I was advised to access the router via a web browser and check the line status. This is shown in
Fig. 3.3. The line status is explained in Table 3.1. The downstream values are for the data downloading
line and the upstream values are for the data uploading line.
13
Explanation
This is the signal to noise ratio.
SNR
Margin
Line
Attenuatio
n
Data Rate
14
The Table 3.2 shows the connection reliability based on SNR Margin and the Table 3.3 shows the
connection reliability based on Line Attenuation. If the line expectations are not met the service cannot
be provided and then the problem is transferred to the maintenance section so they would come and
clean the line or draw a new line depending on the situation.
Table 3.3 Connection Reliability based on SNR Margin
SNR Margin
Less than 15 dB
15 20 dB
Greater than 20 dB
Connection Reliability
Very bad. Connection is unreliable and should not be provided
Connection is ok and can be given at supplied data rate.
Excellent connection. Data rate can be increased if requested.
Connection Reliability
Outstanding
20dB-30dB
Excellent
30dB-40dB
Good
40dB-45dB
Ok connection
45dB-50dB
50 dB or above
The connection was given only and only if both the criteria are met. I was advised to check the phone
line rosette for any loose connection and any visible damages to the line so that if it was fixable we
were supposed to fix it without filing a report to the maintenance unit. Most of the ADSL problems
were due to customers unawareness of IT knowledge.
15
16
IPTV PEOTV
IPTV is a system for delivering television programming via a broadband connection using Internet
protocols. Since IPTV arrives over telephone lines, telephone companies are in a prime position to
offer IPTV services initially.
SLT is the pioneer of providing IPTV service in Sri Lanka and it is the one and only IPTV service
provider. The IPTV service provided by SLT is named as PEOTV.
The requirements to get provided with PEOTV
1. A broad band connection.
2. An ADSL router is necessary for connecting SLT broadband network to enable access to
PEOTV service and SLT broad band internet service.
3. A Set Top Box (STB) is needed for decoding the PEOTV signal so that it can be viewed on the
television set.
4. A Splitter.
PEOTV stands for Personalized Entertainment Option Tele Vision. SLT offers various entertainment
options through this service. These would be
Live TV
17
18
19
20
4.1
Test Room
The test room is also a part of the MDF which is used to test the line connection and reliability. This
consists of a test phone which can be plugged into the line which is to be checked. The problems
encountered in the lines would be
Line disconnection
Grounding faults
Current faults
These problems would be overcome by using the test phone. Usually a high voltage ring is applied to
remove oxide and hence remove current faults. This voltage would be around 100V which is twice the
normal operating voltage. The grounding faults, short circuit faults and disconnection faults can be
found by measuring the voltage between the lines. There is a device with the test phone that is used to
detect the type of the fault. These faults can only be found from the test room and must be fixed in the
field.
4.2
Wiring at MDF
In the MDF different wire pairs were used for the different types of connections that were required.
The Table 4.1 shows the colour codes for these wires.
Table 4.5 Wire Colours used in MDF
4.3
Wire Colour
Used for
PSTN
ADSL
There are three different frames in the Kandy MDF. These are Krone, Ericsson and MSAN. These
frames are connected to the exchange side via arrestors which protects the exchange side due to high
voltage charges from the telephone lines. This damage is nearly prevented as the arrestors are placed in
the customer side of the MDF. The Fig. 4.2 shows such a burnt arrestor.
21
22
Introduction
The new connection section is responsible for the setting up of new connections to the new customers
and removing connections from the past customers. This section usually draws a wire line from the
nearest distribution point to the customers house. The work I did was really interesting in this section
as it was somewhat similar to the ADSL section and there was field travel involved.
5.1.1 Issuing a new connection
When the phone connection is considered the copper wires run from the exchange to the customer.
These wires were interchanged at two points which were the cabinet and the DP (Distribution Point is
shown in Fig. 5.2. In the Kandy town area the primary side of the cabinet is connected to the exchange
via underground cables. The secondary side is wired to the DP. When a new connection is given the
nearest DP box to the customers house is found and a loop from the DP is drawn to the customers
house to the telephone. A DP box usually contains 10 loops. Most of the cabinets are intercepted
through an MSAN which is connected by optical fibre to the exchange. An MSAN is shows in Fig.
5.1.
23
Fig. 5.18 A DP
5.2
Cables used
5.2.1 RJ45/CAT5
This is called the Ethernet cable and is used to connect the router to the STB for PEOTV or used to
connect a computer to a router. The colour code on how to connect the cable is shown in Fig. 5.3.
The crimping tool is used to clip the wires tight in place. The wires are to be cut about 0.5 inches and
then arranged as in Fig. 5.3 on both the ends of wires and crimped using the crimping tool which is
showed in Fig. 5.4.
5.2.2 RJ11/Copper line
The RJ11 clip is used in phone lines. This is just a normal copper wire. The RJ11 consists of 4 pins but
only 2 pins are used as only two copper wires were used in the line drawn. Hence the centre two pins
were used for the phone line and crimped properly using the crimping tool. An RJ11 clip is shown in
Fig. 5.5
24
Cables
Typically 0.4mm and 0.9mm gauges were used for underground and aerial cables.
Aerial cables have 20, 30, 50, 100, 150 and 200 pair cables while underground cables have 10, 20, 30,
50, 100, 200, 400 and up to 2400 pair cables.
6.1.1 Installation
Conduit numbering is done in such way that the order of numbering of the exchange side is reversed in
the customer side of the cable conduit.
6.1.2 Cable Length
There should be surplus at the end of the cable for splicing.
Normal Maintenance
The work I was tasked with was to go with the maintenance crew and observe what they were doing. I
was given instructions by the engineer in charge of the maintenance section Mr C. P. Pathirana to give
a report on the observations during my stay at the maintenance section. Me and my colleague did this
field survey and submitted a report. A very brief version of this report is given in Table 7.1. We
observed all the DPs in the given lane and how the loop cables run along the telephone posts. We
learnt by the observation that the DPs are numbered in such a way that the farthest DP from the cabinet
is given the number 1 and the numbers were increasing as the line drew closer to the cabinet.
Table 7.6 Observation report given to SLT in brief
Cabinet Number
KY 206
KY 206
KY 206
DP Number
28
29
30
KY 206
31
KY 206
33
KY 206
36
Remarks
DP box is partially open.
DP box is partially open.
DP box is partially open.
Obstruction of branches.
DP box partially opened.
DP box cover not present.
Missing earth connection.
DP box partially opened.
26
7.2
The coin box section is also under the maintenance section and is in charge of maintaining the coin
boxes placed by SLT throughout the city. There are two coin box types. These would be
CDMA
PSTN
The CDMA coin boxes require power to operate hence there is an internal battery in the circuitry. This
battery supplies power to the coin box while the solar panels inserted above charges the battery.
Replacement of the battery is done when the battery completely dies out.
7.2.2 PSTN coin box
This coin box system cannot give much information as the CDMA ones as there is only cable
connection to the phone. This system requires no external power to operate hence no charging is
required. This system requires regular maintenance and is no longer newly implemented as it is a
hassle to work with.
7.2.3 Coin box Mechanism
One of the key components in the coin box is the coin detection and valuation mechanism. The
mechanism is shaped in Z shape to prevent any theft operations. This mechanism differentiates the
coin value by size, weight and type of the material of the coin.
27
Chapter 8: Conclusion
I was assigned to Sri Lanka Telecom for a period of 10 weeks for my first training session as an
undergraduate of the University of Peradeniya. This session gave me an immense understanding of the
practical situations of the communication systems as well as human resource handling or human
related affairs.
When considering the technical affairs, I was able to gain experience on maintenance procedures and
instalment procedures followed by SLT in the service they provide to the community. The
demonstration of the network layout and interconnecting different customers via MDF was an eyeopener for the academic work that I learnt at the university.
When focusing on the non-technical related learning, I was able to grasp the importance of human
resource handling and to communicate to a much wider personnel levels in this training session. I had
the ability to get the impressions from the lowest grade personnel to the highest grade personnel as I
was interacting with almost everyone in the OPMC section. The work with the low grade technical
staff helped me understand the miscommunications between the workforce levels. These minor things
that had happened helped me understand that by correcting these miscommunications any company
would thrive to its utmost success. These facts have determined me to improve such mistakes in a
place I would work for in the future.
Learning to work in a well-developed and organized is a tedious process. Since this is my first training
experience I have managed to grasp the handle of it and had grown an eager to do my second training
session even more effectively and efficiently. The experience I gained in different divisions helped me
28
understand the importance of each division and the importance of the dependency and the interactions
between these divisions.
During my training period I was mostly involved in maintenance related processes hence as a
suggestion in improving the industrial training process I would prefer to be involved in the
implementation and design work under guidance and supervision as well to some certain extent. This
would enable the engineering trainee to grasp the fundamentals of a system rather than just skimming
through the details in maintenance work.
29