Essential Guide to Telecommunications : Making Sense of New Technologies, the Internet and Wireless

by Dodd, Annabel Z.; Dodd, Annabel

• ISBN13: 9780130142955
• ISBN10: 0130142956
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-07-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference

Summary

In today's "wired" world, practically everyone needs to understand telecommunications. With The Essential Guide to Telecommunications, Second Edition you can -- even if you have no technical background at all. Leading consultant Annabel Z. Dodd covers all the fundamental concepts you need to know to understand the industry -- and make smarter buying decisions. This new Second Edition has been updated with up to the minute coverage of today's most critical issues, including the technologies and leading-edge applications associated with digital convergence. Dodd covers the powerful new roles played by IP networking in telephony, streaming media, call centers, PBXs, and beyond. She introduces cable modems, xDSL, and other high-speed Internet access alternatives; reviews frame relay, ATM, and ISDN; and offers up-to-the-minute insight into the telecom industry's new competitive landscape. Along the way, you'll master all the basics of telecommunications, including: the differences between analog and digital signals; what bandwidth is; why protocols and architectures matter; what multiplexing and compression are; the role of the public network; the evolution of the Internet; and much more.

Author Biography

Annabel Z. Dodd is a faculty member at Northeastern University's State-of-the-Art Program, where she teaches telecommunications for the non-technical. Formerly a marketing manager at Bell Atlantic and telecommunications manager at a Fortune 500 company, she is a top telecom consultant and a popular speaker on telecommunications issues.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
Fundamentals	p. 1
Basic Concepts	p. 3
Analog and Digital	p. 4
Analog Signals	p. 5
Digital Signals	p. 7
Digital Telephone Company Equipment--Saving Money on Maintenance and Space	p. 11
Bauds, Bits, Bytes and Codes--Getting Down to Basics	p. 11
Overview	p. 11
Baud Rate vs. Bits per Second--Signal vs. Amount of Information Sent	p. 12
Codes--Adding Meaning to Bits	p. 12
Bytes = Characters	p. 14
Bandwidth--Measuring Capacity	p. 14
Narrowband vs. Wideband--Slow and Fast	p. 15
Protocols and Architectures	p. 16
Architectures--Communications Framework for Multiple Networks	p. 17
Compression and Multiplexing	p. 18
Compression--Manipulating Data for More Capacity	p. 18
Streaming Media	p. 21
Multiplexing--Let's Share	p. 23
LANS, MANS, and WANS	p. 25
LANs--Local Area Networks	p. 26
WANS--Wide Area Networks	p. 31
MANs--Metropolitan Area Networks	p. 31
LAN and WAN Congestion	p. 31
Higher Speed Services for LAN Traffic	p. 33
Higher Speed Services for LAN-to-LAN Backbone and LAN-to-WAN Traffic	p. 33
New Devices for Carrier and Internet Service Provider Networks	p. 34
Appendix	p. 36
Telephone Systems and Cabling	p. 37
Telephone Systems--From Stand-Alone to Connected Telephones	p. 38
What Is a PBX?	p. 39
Connecting Telephone Lines to PBXs	p. 39
PBX Telephones	p. 40
Centrex	p. 41
Key Systems	p. 46
In-Building Wireless PBX and Key System Telephones--On-Site Mobility	p. 46
Direct-Inward Dialing--Bypassing the Operator for Incoming Calls	p. 48
Convergence and Telephone Systems	p. 50
Add--On Sales to Key Systems, PBXS and Centrex Systems	p. 52
Call Accounting--Tracking Calls and Usage	p. 52
Voice Mail--A Way to Take Messages	p. 53
ACDs--Specialized Equipment to Handle Large Volumes of Calls	p. 58
Network-Based ACD Functions	p. 60
LAN/PBX/ACD Connectivity to Enhance Productivity	p. 61
Downloading ACD Statistics to PCs	p. 61
Voice Response Units--Using the Telephone as a Terminal	p. 62
Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)--Routing Callers More Intelligently	p. 63
ACDs and Internet-Based Orders and Inquiries	p. 65
Media: Fiber and Unshielded Twisted Pair Copper	p. 65
Electrical Properties of Copper Cabling	p. 66
Fiber Optic Cabling--High Capacity and High Costs	p. 67
Industry Overview	p. 75
Network Service Providers	p. 77
The Bell System Prior to and After 1984	p. 88
Bell and Independent Telephone Companies	p. 90
Impact of the Telecommunications Act of 1996	p. 93
Interexchange Carriers	p. 95
Transporting Calls Between Local Phone Companies and Interexchange Carriers	p. 96
Competitive Access Providers (Caps) to Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (Clecs)	p. 98
Resellers	p. 101
Resellers and Switchless Resellers	p. 102
Agents	p. 104
International Alliances	p. 105
Local Competition and The Telecommunications Act of 1996	p. 107
Local Competition Prior to the Telecommunications Act of 1996	p. 109
Uneven Competition for Local Telephone Service Throughout the U.S.	p. 109
Local Competition following Passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996	p. 113
Strategies for Entering the Local Calling Market--Resale, Wireless, Cable TV and Construction of Facilities	p. 115
Regulations Prior to the Telecommunications Act of 1996	p. 121
Factors Leading to Passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996	p. 122
The Telecommunications Act of 1996	p. 124
Major Features of the Act	p. 125
FCC Rulings, Legal Challenges and Progress Toward Deregulation	p. 132
Local Access Fees--A Major Source of Bell Company Revenues	p. 135
Local Number Portability	p. 135
Summary	p. 139
Appendix	p. 140
The Public Network	p. 143
Switched Services--Local and Long Distance Calling	p. 145
Attributes of Real-time Switching Services	p. 146
DTMF: Access to Voice Mail and Computers	p. 147
Analog or Digital--"The Last Mile"	p. 149
Dedicated Services	p. 154
Overview of Dedicated Services	p. 154
Attributes of Dedicated Lines	p. 155
Why Private Lines?	p. 157
Topologies of Dedicated Lines--The View from the Top	p. 159
Outsourcing to Manage Private Networks	p. 162
Network Intelligence And Signaling	p. 165
Overview of Signaling	p. 165
Background	p. 167
Common Channel Signaling, Efficiency and Redundancy	p. 170
End and Tandem Central Offices	p. 170
Signaling System 7--The Glue for Links Between Carriers	p. 171
SS7 Components	p. 173
SS7 in IP-Based Networks	p. 175
Advanced Technologies, The Internet, Convergence and Wireless	p. 177
Specialized Network Services	p. 179
T-1--24 Voice or Data Paths over one Telephone Circuit	p. 181
Channel Banks--Connecting T-1 to Analog PBXs and Central Offices	p. 182
DS-0 and DS-1--64,000 or 56,000 vs. 1,544,000 BPS	p. 183
Media used for T-1 Signals	p. 184
European vs. American and Japanese T-1--24 vs. 30 Channels	p. 185
An Explanation of Time Division Multiplexing and its Limitations	p. 185
A Sampling of T-1 Configurations Using T-1 for Combining Voice, Fax, Video and Data	p. 186
Digital Cross Connects--Flexible Capacity	p. 186
Fractional T-1--When 24 Paths Are Not Required	p. 187
T-3--The Capacity of 28 T-1 Lines, 672 Channels	p. 188
ISDN--Integrated Services Digital Network	p. 189
Basic Rate Interface ISDN--Two Channels at 64 Thousand BPS	p. 190
Primary Rate Interface ISDN--24 Channels	p. 193
Digital Subscriber Line Technology	p. 196
Obstacles to Digital Subscriber Line Availability--Cost, Ease of Implementation and Availability	p. 199
DSL--A Technical Explanation	p. 200
DSL Lite--Lower Cost Service	p. 201
DSLAMs--Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexers	p. 202
DSL--For Internet Access and as a Response to Competition from Cable Companies	p. 203
Frame Relay--A Shared Wide Area Network Service	p. 203
Connections to Frame Relay--Frame Relay Access Devices and Access Line Speeds	p. 204
Frame Relay for Transmitting Voice	p. 205
Frame Relay Pricing--Ports, Circuits and Committed Information Rate	p. 206
Potential Congestion on Frame Relay	p. 207
ATM--Asynchronous Transfer Mode	p. 207
Fixed-Sized Cells--Less Processing	p. 208
Asynchronous Switching--Improving Network Utilization	p. 209
Scalability--The Ability to Use ATM for Both High- and Low-Speed Applications	p. 209
Elements of an ATM Network	p. 210
SONET--Synchronous Optical Network	p. 215
SDH--Synchronous Digital Hierarchy and SONET	p. 216
SONET Functions--The Four Layers	p. 216
SONET Rings--For Greater Reliably	p. 217
Telephone Company SONET Offerings	p. 219
SONET Connections to Wave Division Multiplexers and ATM Switches	p. 219
SONET Technology--High-Capacity Networks at Lower Costs	p. 220
Modems and Access Devices	p. 221
Transferring Data from Computers to Telephone Lines	p. 221
DCE--Connections to Telephone Lines	p. 224
Modems--Analog Telephone Lines with Digital Devices	p. 225
Fax Modems	p. 225
56 KBPS Modems--To Achieve Higher Speeds	p. 226
Modem and Fax Servers--Sharing Resources Within Organizations	p. 227
PCMCIA Modems--Smaller Is Better	p. 229
NTIs--Connecting Devices to an ISDN Line	p. 231
CSU/DSUs--Connecting Devices to a Digital Line	p. 232
Cable Modems--Using Cable TV Facilities for Data Communications	p. 232
Cable Modems for Remote Access	p. 237
Cable TV Set-Top Boxes	p. 238
Modem Standards	p. 239
The Internet	p. 243
The History of the Internet	p. 244
Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs)	p. 246
Who Runs the Internet?	p. 247
Who Owns the Internet?	p. 248
Peering--A Way to Exchange Data Between Networks	p. 248
Internet Services	p. 248
The World Wide Web--Linking and Graphics	p. 249
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)--Web Speak	p. 250
Home Pages	p. 251
Hosting--Computers Connected to the Internet with Home Pages	p. 251
Browsers--Moving from Web Site to Web Site	p. 253
E-mail--Computers That Send, Store and Receive Messages	p. 255
E-mail Attachments--To Aid Collaborative Projects	p. 256
Internet2	p. 257
Privacy on the World Wide Web	p. 257
Internet Service Providers and Portals	p. 260
Internet Service Providers	p. 260
Portals--Content As Well As Internet Access	p. 262
Internet Addresses	p. 265
The Structure of Internet Addresses	p. 265
New Internet Address Names	p. 266
Electronic Commerce and Advertising on the Web	p. 267
Advertising on the Web--A Source of Revenue	p. 267
Money Spent to Produce and Maintain Web Sites	p. 268
Online Commerce--What Sells?	p. 270
Web Congestion--World Wide Wait	p. 272
Intranets--Impact of Web Technology on Internal Operations	p. 274
Extranets--Using Internet Technology with Customers, Partners and Vendors	p. 276
Security on the World Wide Web--Establishing Trust	p. 277
Conclusion--Reliability, Security and Capacity	p. 279
Convergence	p. 283
Savings on Carriers' Networks	p. 285
More Competition, Falling Margins on Voice Services	p. 285
Elimination of Overlay Networks	p. 286
New Competitors	p. 288
Technical Advances Leading to Improvements in IP Networks	p. 288
Improvements in Switching Routers	p. 289
Digital Signal Processors	p. 290
Voice Compression	p. 291
Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)	p. 292
Programmable Switches	p. 293
Examples of Converged Networks	p. 295
Free Calls Over the Internet	p. 296
H.323--A Way to Make Telephone Calls Over IP	p. 296
Calls Over the Internet from PCs to Telephones	p. 297
Calls Over the Internet from Telephones	p. 297
Carriers with Their Own Facilities	p. 298
Data-Only Networks Using IP and ATM	p. 299
Applications for Convergence	p. 300
Prepaid Debit Cards	p. 300
Document Sharing	p. 301
VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) Between Corporate Sites and for Electronic Commerce	p. 302
Security on Virtual Private Networks	p. 304
Voice and Data Using IP on Dedicated Lines Between Customer Premises	p. 305
Connecting Telephone Systems to IP Networks	p. 305
Call Center Connections to the Internet	p. 307
IP-Based Telephone Systems	p. 309
Transparency of Changes to the Public Network	p. 310
Summary	p. 310
Wireless Services	p. 313
Historical Background of Mobile and Cellular Services	p. 317
Spectrum Allocation	p. 317
Cellular Telephone Service--Advanced Mobile Phone Services (AMPS)	p. 318
The Cellular Market	p. 320
Digital-Advanced Mobile Phone Service--D-AMPS	p. 322
PCS--Personal Communications Services	p. 325
PCS--Lack of Interoperability and Antenna Requirements	p. 327
Cellular Vendors	p. 327
Smart Devices for Internet and Remote Access	p. 329
Called Party Pays--an Impediment to Cellular Usage	p. 331
Wireless for Local Telephone Service	p. 332
Using the Same Number for Cellular and Wireline Services	p. 333
Cellular Services for Data Communications	p. 334
Limitations of Circuit-Switched Cellular for Data Communications	p. 334
CDPD--Cellular Digital Packet Data, IP Wireless	p. 335
Specialized Mobile Radio--Originally for Voice	p. 336
Private Networks over Mobile Radio Frequencies	p. 336
BellSouth Mobile and American Mobile Satellite Company Packetized Radio on Specialized Mobile Radio Spectrum	p. 337
Specialized Mobile Frequencies for Voice--Nextel	p. 337
Paging Services	p. 338
Paging vs. Wireless Telephone Service	p. 339
Nationwide and Worldwide Reach of Paging	p. 339
Two-Way Paging Using Narrowband PCS	p. 340
Low Earth Orbiting Satellite Networks (LEOs) and Middle Earth Orbiting Satellites (MEOs)	p. 341
Vendors of LEOs and MEOs	p. 342
Time Division Multiple Access and Code Division Multiple Access	p. 343
Glossary	p. 347
Bibliography	p. 356
Index	p. 357
About the Author	p. 365
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