TELECOMMUNICATIONS

AND
NETWORKS
Business Value of Telecommunications
Information Technology Outside Your Organization
Business Value of Extranets
Business Use of the Internet
Telecommunications:
• Communication of information by
electronic means

• Includes digital data transmission

as well as voice transmission
 Network Components

• Computers
– Servers
– Work stations
• Media Personal Computer
– Cables Personal Computer
LAN card
– Fiber optic LAN card
– Radio
– Infrared
• Connection devices

Internet
LAN card

LAN card
Router or Switch
Firewall Shared Printer
Server
 Telecommunications Media

• Twisted-Pair Wire – copper wire twisted into

pairs (Telephone systems)

• Coaxial Cable – sturdy copper or aluminum

wire wrapped with spacers to insulate and
protect it (Cable television)

• Fiber Optics – one or more hair-thin filaments

of glass fiber wrapped in a protective jacket
Telecommunications Media
Twisted Pair
Telecommunications Media
Coaxial Cable
Telecommunications Media
Fiber Optic
 Fiber Optics

• Faster
• More data
• Less magnetic
interference
900 copper wires can be
• Long stretches replaced by one fiber
without repeaters optic line (for telephone
connections).
 COMPONENTS AND FUNCTIONS OF A TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

Communications Channels

• Wireless transmission: Microwave,

Satellites, Paging systems, Cellular
telephones, Personal communication
Services, Personal digital assistants,
Mobile data networks

• Transmission speed: Baud,

bandwidth
 Wireless Technologies

• Terrestrial Microwave – earthbound microwave

systems that transmit high-speed radio signals in
a line-of-sight path between relay stations spaced
approximately 30 miles apart

• Communications Satellites - high-earth orbit

communications satellites placed in stationary
geosynchronous orbits
Telecommunications Media
Wireless Transmission
COMPONENTS AND FUNCTIONS OF A TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

Amoco’s Satellite Transmission System

Telecommunications Media
Wireless Transmission
 Wireless Technologies

• Cellular and PCS Systems – a geographic area divided

into cells with one low-power transmitter device per
cell used to relay calls from one cell to another

• Wireless LANs –high- or low-frequency radio

technology installed in an office or building

• Wireless Web – wireless, Web-enabled information

appliances accessing the Internet, intranets and
extranets
 Telecommunications Processors

• Modems – convert digital

signals from a computer into
analog frequencies that can
be transmitted over ordinary
telephone lines

• Multiplexers – allows a single

communications channel to
carry simultaneous data
transmissions from many
terminals
Modem
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
 Network Topologies

• Star Network: All computers and other

devices are connected to a central host
computer

• Bus Network: Links a number of

computers by a single circuit

• Ring Network: All computers are linked

by a closed loop
Network Topologies
Network Topologies
COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

A Local Area Network (LAN)

COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

A Star Network Topology

COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

A Bus Network Topology

COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

A Ring Network Topology

 Shared Connections

With shared connections, machines have to take turns, and congestion

can slow down all connections.

With switched
connections, each
computer has the full
bandwidth of the
connection at all times.
Performance depends on
how fast the switch can
handle connections.
 Connecting Networks
• The need for standards
• A changing environment

Internet
Backbone fiber optic

Routers or Switches

Switch

Hub

Hub

Radio-based network
 Enterprise Network
Building 1
Building 2
Fiber optic
Switch

Servers
Firewall

Workstations/PCs

Internet – ISP
Subsidiary
 Internetwork Processors

• Switch – makes connections between

telecommunications circuits in a network

• Router – intelligent communications

processor that interconnects networks
based on different protocols

• Hub – a port switching communications

processor

• Gateway – connects networks using

different communications architectures
 Network Management
Functions of Telecommunications Systems

• Traffic Management – manage

network resources and traffic to
avoid congestion and optimize
telecommunications service levels to
users

• Security – provide authentication,

encryption, firewall, auditing and
enforcement
 Network Management
Functions of Telecommunications Systems

• Network Monitoring – troubleshoot and watch

over the network, informing network
administrators of potential problems before they
occur

• Capacity Planning – survey network resources

and traffic patterns and users’ needs to determine
how best to accommodate the needs of the
network as it grows and changes
 COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

Wireless LANs

• Wi-Fi (802.11b) standard: Up to 11 Mbps,

low cost, high-speed mobile Internet
access, links work groups

• Bluetooth standard: Up to 720 Kbps,

small personal area networks
 COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

Wide Area Networks (WANs)

• Span large geographical distance

• Consist of variety of cable, satellite, and

microwave technologies

• Switched lines, dedicated lines

 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND ELECTRONIC BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES

Teleconferencing, data conferencing,

and videoconferencing
• Teleconferencing: Ability to confer
with a group of people simultaneously

• Data conferencing: Two or more users

can edit and modify data files
simultaneously

• Videoconferencing: Participants are

able to see each other over video
screens
 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND ELECTRONIC BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES

Digital information services, distance

learning and E-Learning

• Distance learning: Education or training

delivered over a distance to individuals in
one or more locations

• E-learning: Instruction delivered online

using the Internet or private networks
 How the Internet Works
Network
OC3: 155.52 Mbps
service
OC12: 622 Mbps
provider (NSP)

T1: 1.544 Mbps

Backbone
T3: 44.736 Mbps
network

Internet
service
provider (ISP)

Phone Cable Phone

company company company

Dial-up: 33.3 - 56 Kbps

ISDN: 128 Kbps
DSL: 256 Kbps - 6 Mbps Company
Individual Cable: 1 to 10 Mbps Web site
 Internet Connections
• Backbone providers • Phone companies
– AT&T – Regional Bell operating
– GTE companies (RBOCs) (6)
– Worldcom/MCI – Competitive local
– Sprint exchange carriers
(CLECs) (new)
– Qwest
• Cable companies
• Network service providers
– AT&T
– 1998: 39
– Cablevision
– AGIS
– Regional.
– AT&T
• Satellite
– Cable & Wireless
– Direct Satellite
– IBM
– Starband
– MCI/Worldcom
• Internet service providers
– Qwest
– America Online
– Sprint
– Microsoft Network
– UUNet
– Earthlink
M-Commerce

Internet access
everywhere
Cell phones
PDAs
Laptops
Cell Phones and Wireless Communication

Wireless cells work by

handing off the wireless
connection to the next tower
as the caller moves.
Connections to multiple
towers at one time enables
the system to triangulate to
get a fairly precise location
of the cellular device--even
when it is not in a call.
Location knowledge will
make it possible (although
perhaps not desirable) to
offer new business
opportunities as people
move into range.
Trends in Telecommunications
 INFRASTRUCTURE

• Infrastructure – the structure beneath a

structure
• IT infrastructure is the implementation of your
organization’s architecture
 Supporting Network Infrastructures

• Computer network – fundamental

underlying infrastructure for any IT
environment
–Decentralized
–Centralized
–Distributed
–Client/server
–Tiered
 Decentralized Network Infrastructure

• Decentralized – involves little or no sharing

of IT and other resources such as
information
• Almost nonexistent today
 Centralized Network Infrastructure

• Centralized – sharing
information systems in one
central area or on one central
mainframe
• Like decentralized, almost
nonexistent today
 Distributed Network Infrastructure

• Distributed – distributing the

information and processing power of
IT systems via a network
• First true network infrastructure
• Processing activity is allocated to the
location(s) where it can most
efficiently be done
Distributed Network Infrastructure
 Client/Server Infrastructure

• Client/server infrastructure (network) – one or

more computers that are servers which
provide services to other computers,
called clients
• Servers and clients work together to
optimize processing, information storage,
etc
• When you surf the Web, the underlying
network infrastructure is client/server
Client/Server Infrastructure
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
AND
NETWORKS