What Does Line Load Control Mean?
Line load control is the equipment or mechanism that is employed in telephone systems to ensure that line overloading does not interrupt the continuous delivery of service. A line load control accomplishes continued service mostly by temporarily denying service in some or all non-essential lines to ensure the service on essential lines is not interrupted. It is a network-provided service feature and it selectively denies call origination to certain lines based on criteria that determine their priority. It helps in balancing the demands and ensures quality of service required by a switching center.
Techopedia Explains Line Load Control
Line load control selectively restricts calls to certain lines during emergencies or overloading conditions to ensure essential traffic is not interrupted. In a typical line load control arrangement, the lines are categorized into classes of significance or importance. For instance, the lines at the switching center may be classified into three classes: A, B and C, where A represents the most essential lines which may be used in national defense or emergency situations. The other classes may represent all other lines. When a line overloading condition occurs, the calls originating from lines that are classified as B or C are denied so that the essential lines from class A are not interrupted.
This form of line load control usually takes place in switching centers where a service manager takes care of the line load control equipment and line classification.
Some of the overload indicator levels include:
- Sudden surge of line finders and line switches connecting to lines and remaining connected
- All finders busy in several line groups
- Increasing number of permanent signals
- High battery drain (measured in amps)
The line load control mechanism is applied only when necessary. Line load control is very useful in allowing people to communicate during peak loads and in panic control during emergency situations.