Telecommunications Overview

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Telecommunications Overview

• Chapter 1

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Objectives

• In this chapter, you will learn to
• Define communication and telecommunication
• Illustrate components of a communication system
• Understand the difference between voice, video,
  and data
• telecommunications
• Describe how telecommunication is used in a
  variety of industries
• Identify careers available to telecommunications
  professionals
• Identify the organizations responsible for
  establishing significant telecommunications
  standards and policies

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What is communication?

• The Romans used the Latin word communicare when
  they meant "to make common, to share, or to
  impart.
• Communication is the sharing of information or
  messages between two or more entities.

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Elements of a Communication System

• Source - the originator of the message, whether
  it is a person or machine.
• Transmitter - the equipment that modifies the
  message (either data or voice) into the form
  required for transmission.
• Communications channel - the means of carrying
  the signal from the source to the destination.

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Elements of a Communication System

• Transmission media - may be physical, like a
  copper wire or fiber optic cable, or atmospheric,
  like radio waves.
• Receiver - is the device that captures the
  message from the communications channel and
  converts it into a form that the person or
  machine at the destination can understand.
• Destination - the person or machine to whom the
  message is directed

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Elements of a Communication System
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Flow of Messages

• Simplex - the type of communication in which
  messages flow in only one direction, from source
  to destination.
• Half-duplex communication - occurs when messages
  travel in both directions between the source and
  the destination, but in only one direction at a
  time.
• Full-duplex communication - messages can travel
  over the communications channel in both
  directions simultaneously.

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Flow of Messages
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Relative Number of Sources and Destinations

• One-to-one communication - a single source sends
  information to a single destination.
• One-to-many communication - a single source
  simultaneously sends information to multiple
  destinations.
• Many-to-many communication - occurs when many
  sources issue messages to many destinations.

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Relative Number of Sources and Destinations
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What is Telecommunication?

• Communication that spans a distance.
• Voice telecommunication - using electrical
  signals to transmit human voice across a
  distance, such as telephones and radio
  broadcasts.
• Video telecommunication - the electrically-based
  transmission of moving pictures and sound across
  a distance.
• Data telecommunication - the use of electrical
  signals to exchange encoded information between
  computerized devices across a distance.

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What is Telecommunication?
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Voice

• The telephony infrastructure includes
  cross-continental fiber optic cable to facilitate
  international voice telecommunications and
  national and regional cabling to connect long
  distance calls.
• It includes numerous local, regional, and
  national switching centers where phone calls are
  routed to their destinations by computerized
  telephone switches.
• It also includes local connections (up to three
  miles in length) to residences and businesses
  capable of greater connection speed and volume
  than ever before.
• Finally, it includes the sophisticated telephone
  equipment and applications that users rely on.

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Data

• Telegraph - one of the first data
  telecommunications inventions, uses wire to
  convey electrical pulses that represent letters
  or numbers over a distance.
• Newer data telecommunications technology is not
  only faster, but also ensures better accuracy
  due to more reliable transmission media and
  techniques that enable the receiver to monitor
  the integrity of the data it has received.

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Data

• Present-day data telecommunications technologies
  include
• Encoded information transmitted over traditional
  telephone lines
• Encoded information saved to fixed media, such as
  a hard disk, floppy disk, or CD ROM
• Encoded information exchanged between two
  computers that are directly connected by a single
  cable
• Encoded information exchanged by a group of
  connected computers on a network
• Encoded information exchanged by two devices over
  radio waves

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Types of Telecommunications Companies

• Service providers - those that supply the
  communications channels for voice and data
  transmission.
• Equipment providers - those that supply the user
  and connectivity equipment, such as telephones.

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Growth of the Telecommunications Industry

• The United States government recently released a
  report citing the number of high-speed lines
  connecting individuals and businesses to the
  Internet increased 36 during the first half of
  the year 2001, for a total of 9.6 million
  high-speed connections.
• The number of minutes Americans spend on
  interstate long-distance telephone calls has
  quadrupled in the last 25 years to a total of 600
  billion minutes.
• As of July 2001, the number of computers that
  provide files and Web pages to users on the
  Internet had grown to over 125 million,
  maintaining a 63 annual growth rate.

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Financial Services

• Call center - a facility dedicated to fielding
  customer calls.
• Interactive voice response (IVR) system - a
  method of sending information over the telephone
  by pressing buttons in response to recorded voice
  prompts, to answer routine questions.
• Automatic call distributor (ACD) - uses
  computerized devices attached to the phone lines
  to automatically route calls to specific phone
  extensions.

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Financial Services
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Utilities

• Recent deregulation (the introduction of
  competition for services) in the utilities
  industry has made telecommunications even more
  critical to this industry.
• To persuade their customers not to choose another
  utility provider, utility companies must strive
  harder to please their customers, in part by
  answering questions as promptly as possible.
• An advanced call center at a utilities company
  typically uses both an ACD and an IVR.

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Manufacturing

• The use of advanced voice, video, and data
  telecommunications in manufacturing has resulted
  in faster and more efficient production of goods
  and at the same time it has also increased global
  competition.
• Supply chain management, an electronic means for
  connecting a manufacturer with its suppliers and
  distributors is a notable example of the use of
  telecommunications in the manufacturing industry.

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Transportation

• Examples of the transportation industrys use of
  telecommunications include
• computerized flight control for airport traffic
• software that issues maps and directions based on
  a given starting point and destination
• government-sponsored transportation hotlines that
  inform callers about road construction and
  hazardous road conditions
• systems for suggesting the most efficient route
  between multiple locations

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Retail

• E-business - the use of data telecommunications
  to conduct business transactions.
• The apparel and sportswear segment of the retail
  industry uses particularly sophisticated and
  unique telecommunications technology for their
  online business.
• Before the products even reach a retailers point
  of sale (such as a Web site), telecommunications
  technology helps with manufacturing, quality
  control, inventory, distribution, and product
  shipping.

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Healthcare

• Telemedicine - a field that brings patients and
  healthcare professionals together by exchanging
  voice, video, and data over distances when they
  cant meet face-to-face.
• Improves the quality of healthcare because
  ailments can often be diagnosed and treated
  faster.
• Also streamlines the record-keeping process for
  clinicians who spend a great deal of time
  entering data about their cases.

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Government and Education

• Many government agencies use advanced
  telecommunications to provide faster and easier
  access to public services.
• Telecommunications also plays a significant role
  in education. In South Carolina, a large public
  school district is improving education through
  distance learning.
• Distance learning - the use of
  telecommunications technology to inform, educate,
  or train students across distances.

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New Frontiers for Telecommunications Technology

• Fiber optic cable - a transmission media that
  contains thin strands of fiber in its core and
  uses pulses of light to convey signals.
• Capable of carrying higher amounts of data,
  voice, or video within a given time span than any
  other type of media.

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New Frontiers for Telecommunications Technology
contd
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Careers in Telecommunications

• No matter what type of telecommunications
  position you seek, the following will serve you
  well
• The ability to install, maintain, and
  troubleshoot the system of cables and wires that
  carry telecommunications services
• A thorough knowledge of the public telephone
  network, and the carriers and regulations that
  are part of it
• Familiarity with enhanced telephone services
  (such as IVR and ACD)
• A mastery of the basic principles of electricity

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Careers in Telecommunications

• No matter what type of telecommunications
  position you seek, the following will serve you
  well
• A clear understanding of how computers accept and
  interpret data from other computers over a
  network
• The ability to design, install, and troubleshoot
  basic networks
• An understanding of how the Internet works
• Familiarity with wireless transmission methods

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Careers in Telecommunications

• Areas within the field of telecommunications that
  you might consider specializing in
• Networked convergence of voice, video, and data
• Electronics and circuit design and engineering
• Development of telephony and computer
  applications
• Wireless telephony and networking
• Information security

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Careers in Telecommunications
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Telecommunications Standard Organization

• Standards - documented agreements containing
  technical specifications or other precise
  criteria that stipulate how a particular product
  or service should be designed or performed.
• American National Standards Institute (ANSI) -
  ensures that the test results from one
  manufacturer can be accurately compared to other
  manufacturers results.
• Both ANSI and ITU are involved in setting
  standards for Integrated Services Digital Network
  (ISDN) communications.

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ANSI

• The ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
  - an organization composed of over a thousand
  representatives from industry and government who
  together determine standards for the electronics
  industry.
• ANSI does not dictate that manufacturers comply
  with their standards, but requests them to
  voluntarily comply.

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TIA and EIA

• The EIA (Electronics Industry Alliance) - is a
  trade organization composed of representatives
  from electronics manufacturing firms across the
  United States.
• TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association) -
  focuses on standards for information technology,
  wireless, satellite, fiber optics, and telephone
  equipment.

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IEEE

• IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic
  Engineers) - an international society composed of
  engineering professionals.
• Its goals are to promote development and
  education in the electrical engineering and
  computer science fields.

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ATIS

• ATIS (The Association for Telecommunications
  Industry Solutions) - a North American trade
  association made of thousands of companies that
  provide communications equipment and services.
• Its membership reviews emerging technology and
  agrees on standards and operating procedures to
  ensure that services and equipment supplied by
  multiple companies can be easily integrated.

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ISO

• ISO (International Organization for
  Standardization) - a collection of standards
  organizations representing 130 countries with its
  headquarters located in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Its goal is to establish international
  technological standards to facilitate global
  exchange of information and barrier-free trade.

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ITU

• The ITU (International Telecommunications Union)
  - a specialized United Nations agency that
  regulates international telecommunication usage,
  including radio and TV frequencies, satellite and
  telephony specifications, networking
  infrastructure, and tariffs applied to global
  communication.
• Provides developing countries with technical
  expertise and equipment to advance their
  technological base.

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U.S. Government Regulatory and Legislative Bodies

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - founded
  in 1934 in response to the growth and need for
  control over the telecommunications industry, is
  the primary national regulatory agency involved
  in telecommunications.
• Public Service Commission (PSC) - the states
  equivalent to the FCC.

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Summary

• Communication is the conveyance and understanding
  of meaningful information from one entity to
  another.
• Data telecommunication refers to use of
  electrical signals to exchange encoded
  information between computerized devices across a
  distance.
• Within the field of telecommunications,
  professionals typically divide its services into
  three categories voice, video, and data.
• The telephone is the primary means of
  transmitting and receiving voice signals.