SBIR-STTR Award

The army's current tactical communications architecture consists of three very capable but independent systems: the army digital data system (adds), the mobile subscriber equipment (mse), and the combat net radio functional system (cnr). Fully automated interfaces between these systems do not exist. In addition, each system has been tailored for only one type of communication service and in the case of adds only handle one service (e.g., data). With the advent of digital communication systems it is now possible to combine services (e.g., voice, data, graphics, facsimile and video) into a single integrated digital communication system. The commercial communication world is moving to provide integrated services. This proposed effort is to develop the rational and architecture for a tactical integrated services digital communication system employing mse, cnr, eplrs

Integrated services digital network (isdn) is a new communications concept that is being advanced in the commercial world. Isdn as it's name implies is a totally digital concept providing simultaneous voice, data, fax, and video service to subscribers over conventional telephone lines. Basic subscriber service is defined as two 64 kb/s voice and data channels and one 16 kb/s control and signaling channel for a combined subscriber data rate of 144 kb/s. The army's new tactical digital telephone architecture consisting of tri-tac switching and multiplex equipment and the mse system is based on 16 kb/s channel rates and subscriber rates. In the phase i study concepts were developed that would provide subscribers to subscriber isdn-like capabilities over a 16 kb/s voice channel totally transparent to the mse and tri-tac transmission and switching equipment. Wideband isdn concepts were described (i.e., up to 256 kb/s) that are also transparent to the mse. In phase ii it is proposed to demonstrate the concepts on actual mse system using modified off-the-shelf, software controlled, adaptive rate multiplexers currently being used in the commercial world.