The Essential Guide to Telecommunications by Annabel Z. Dodd

The Essential Guide to Telecommunications is probably one of the most well written and useful books you will find on our Telecom Bookshelf.

Annabel Z. Dodd does a great job in capturing a snapshot of the current telecom industry, in all of its different flavors. You will find technical overviews of numerous telecom technologies and transport methods. These include business telephone systems, circuit switching, local and long distance networks, cable, wireless, cellular and PCS, paging, Voice Over IP, satellites, broadband services, DSL, T-1's, ISDN, ATM, and much, much more.

Dodd's writing is understandable and enjoyable to read. Even those with little or no technical training should be able to understand the text. The author seems to assume that the reader has only a minimal amount of technical knowledge, but does know something about the telecom industry in general. This is the perfect book for telecom salespeople who want to learn more about the products and services they are selling, or for those who just want to keep up-to-date on the latest in telecom technology.

This book not only gives you explanations of how various telecom technologies work, but compares them side-by-side from both technical and practical (business) points of view.

Where and when does using a wireless network make sense? What type of fiber offers the most capacity? How many T-1's are in a T-3? You will find the answer to all of these questions and more in The Essential Guide to Telecommunications. I highly recommend it.

Chapter Overview:

1. Basic Concepts
Analog And Digital
Bauds, Bits, Bytes And Codes - Getting Down To Basics
Bandwidth - Measuring Capacity
Compression and Multiplexing
LANS, MANS, AND WANS
2. Telephone Systems And Cabling
Telephone Systems - From Stand-Alone To Connected Telephones
Add-On Sales To Key Systems, PBXs And CENTREX Systems
LAN/PBX/ACD Connectivity To Enhance Productivity
Media: Fiber And Unshielded Twisted Pair Copper
3. Network Service Providers
The Bell System Prior To And After 1984
Competitive Access Providers (CAPS) To Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECS)
Resellers
4. Local Competition And The Telecommunications Act Of 1996
Local Competition Prior To The Telecommunications Act Of 1996
Regulations Prior To The Telecommunications Act Of 1996
Factors Leading To The Passage Of The Telecommunications Act Of 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996
Summary
5. The Public Network
Switched Services - Local And Long Distance Calling
Dedicated Services
Network Intelligence And Signaling
6. Specialized Network Services
T-1 - 24 Voice Or Data Paths Over One Telephone Circuit
T-3 The Capacity Of 28 T-1 Lines, 672 Channels
ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network
Digital Subscriber Line Technology (DSL)
Frame Relay - A Shared Wide Area Network Service
ATM - Asynchronous Transfer Mode
SONET - Synchronous Optical Network
7. Modems And Access Devices
Transferring Data From Computers To Telephone Lines
DCE - Connections To Telephone Lines
Modems - Analog Telephone Lines With Digital Devices
NT1's Connecting Devices To An ISDN Line
CSU/DSUs - Connecting Devices To A Digital Line
Cable Modems - Using Cable TV Facilities For Data Communications
Cable TV Set-Top Boxes
Appendix: Modem Standards
8. The Internet
The History Of The Internet
The World Wide Web - Linking and Graphics
E-Mail - Computers That Send, Store And Receive Messages
Privacy On The World Wide Web
Internet Addresses
Electronic Commerce And Advertising On The Web
Web Congestion - World Wide Wait
Intranets - Impact Of Web Technology On Internal Operations
Extranets - Using Internet Technology With Customers, Partners and Vendors
Security On The World Wide Web - Establishing Trust
Conclusion - Reliability, Security And Capacity
9. Convergence
Savings On Carriers' Networks
Technical Advances Leading To Improvements In IP Networks
Examples of Converged Networks
Applications For Convergence
Summary
10. Wireless Service
Historical Background Of Mobile And Cellular Services
Cellular Telephone Service - Advanced Mobile Phone Services (AMPS)
PCS - Personal Communications Services
Cellular Vendors
Smart Devices For Internet And Remote Access
Called Party Pays - An Impediment To Cellular Usage
Wireless For Local Telephone Service
Cellular Services For Data Communications
Specialized Mobile Radio - Originally For Voice
Paging Services
Low Earth Orbiting Satellite Networks (LEOs) And Middle Earth Orbiting Satellites (MEOs)
Time Division Multiple Access And Code Division Multiple Access

Glossary
Bibliography
Index

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