Telecommunications Essentials, Second Edition: The Complete Global Source - Softcover

Goleniewski, Lillian; Jarrett (editor), Kitty

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0321427610 ISBN 13: 9780321427618

Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional, 2006

Synopsis

“In this updated and expanded edition of her excellent telecommunications primer, Lili explains in just the right detail everything you need to know to become fluent in this most important and fascinating industry. Besides including a satisfying amount of expert technical detail, the book also discusses equally crucial aspects of how communications technology affects society, culture, and politics. Electronic communications is changing the world for the better; learn from Lili’s expertise how you, too, can participate in the revolution.”
—Steve Riley, senior security strategist, Microsoft Corporation

“The book you hold in your hand is a rarity. In more than thirty years of teaching, administration, and research in telecommunications, I have never found a single book that could serve these diverse areas. The search is over. Telecommunications Essentials is best-of-breed in telecommunications publishing and represents the most thorough, comprehensive, and forward-looking resource to date. Both student and practitioner alike will find the unique blend of introductory and advanced material a ‘one-stop-shop.’ If it was a movie, this book would receive two thumbs up!”
—Dr. Art St. George, manager of advanced technologies, University of New Mexico

“Telecommunications Essentials should be on the shelf of every professional working in voice and data networking. It is the first place I go when I need to look up something that I am unsure of or when I encounter a new or unfamiliar term. I have been using Telecommunications Essentials now for two years as the course text for business technology students taking Introduction to Telecommunications. My course covers the entire book and the students end up with a practical knowledge base of the components, technologies, and connectivity that make today’s networks work. This new edition is most welcome since it includes new advances in the areas of fiber optics, wireless, Voice over IP, and broadband technologies that have emerged since the publication of the first edition. This new edition will replace my well-worn copy of my first edition of Telecommunications Essentials, which has served me well so far.”
—Robert Hudyma, professor of business, Ryerson University

“This is an excellent reference book on telecommunications. It’s up-to-date on the latest technology, it’s comprehensive, and most of all, it’s easy to read and understand. Lili has the rare ability to explain very complex subjects well. If you need a good reference book on telecommunications, I would start with this.”
—To Chee Eng, research director, communications, Gartner

“Lillian makes telecoms fun.”
—Ni Quiaque Lai, CFO, Hong Kong Broadband Network Ltd.

“Goleniewski’s Telecommunications Essentials sets the stage by discussing forward-looking applications that are made possible by advances in telecommunications technology, including embedded devices, intelligent wearables, intelligent robot squads, and many others. This initial discussion is quite motivating for students and makes them eager to learn about various networking technologies, which are covered quite well in the rest of the book. The first edition (published in 2003) was already a great book for teaching telecommunications essentials, and it is clear that the second edition brings us up to the present and is a remarkable treatment of the topic.”
—Dr. Lundy Lewis, chair of the Department of Information Technology, Southern New Hampshire University

“The book covers not just the fundamentals of telecommunications, but it easily guides the readers through the wide variety of technical details of next-generation network services, converged network architectures, and technologies. Lillian’s elegant and clear style of presentation makes the book an excellent reference for system developers as well as telecommunications system designers to understand the current and emerging technologies that support business applications.”
—Dr. Tibro Gyires, professor, Illinois State University, School of Information Technology

“When Lili published her first edition of Telecommunications Essentials, I was a consultant in the communications field. Her guide was the only one I used to keep current. Now I’m in different field altogether but I need to understand this highly extensive field. Telecommunications Essentials is comprehensive, user-friendly, insightful, and fun. It’s the only resource to have if you want to know telecom.”
—Dave Feldman, consul, trade and investment, British Embassy

“After four decades of working in the computer and telecommunications fields, and more than twenty years of teaching graduate-level courses in telecommunications and network management at four universities, I finally have a book that meets the needs of students who are working to gain an in-depth and comprehensive grasp of an ever-changing field. Lili Goleniewski wrote that book. Her second edition is an outstanding contribution to the field and will be the best teaching aid I have ever had. If you teach you should use this book. If you want to really learn about telecommunications and data networks you should insist that your school adopt the book as a text.”
—Michael Erbschloe, consultant, author, and educator

“Telecommunications is not just about the legacy telephone network or the evolving wireless networks or the rapidly expanding Internet. It is about all of these and much more. It requires years of expertise in this fascinating field, combined with skillful writing ability, to develop a book that presents in an interesting and insightful manner the multifaceted disciplines of telecommunications. Lillian Goleniewski has accomplished this immense task with great skill in her book Telecommunications Essentials. Beginning students and professionals alike will benefit from this book. It can serve as an excellent reference book for telecommunications executives and business professionals who need to understand the basics of telecommunications and the workings of next-generation networks. Congratulations to the author on a task well done!”
—Dr. Seshadri Mohan, chair and professor, Systems Engineering Department, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

“Telecommunications Essentials is a brilliant book for a broad and in-depth picture of the nitty-gritty aspects of telecommunications. Lili has a way of explaining complicated topics very well. It is a must-have book for any person who works in the IT world.”
—Lino Alberts, department manager technology operations, RBTT Bank Aruba N.V.

“A truly amazing book. A ‘must-have’ for anyone who wants to know the basics of telecommunication, how it works, and where the industry is heading. This book is excellent for all audiences—from novice to expert. Lili has successfully broken down the complexity of telecommunication so it can be easily understood.”
—Mohd Radzi b. Mohd Yusoff, senior manager, MSC Technology Centre, Sdn Bhd, Malaysia

“Telecommication Essentials describes the most technical elements of the subject in layperson’s terms, while remaining engaging for those with greater understanding. In providing the link between the most complex of telecommunications technology and its most simple applications, both now and in the future, Telecommunication Essentials is the most readable book on the subject both for newcomers and for ‘old hands.’ Lili exudes enthusiasm throughout, providing a vision for the future that draws the reader in.”
—Neil Juggins, head of research, Evolution Securities China

“One of the great challenges facing those responsible for setting public policy or regulation associated with the converging technologies of telecommunications, IT, and media is that before the ‘ink is dry’ on their pronouncements, advancements in the underlying science and technology has often made the ‘new’ policy, laws, and regulation out-of-date or irrelevant. While Lili does not claim to predict the future in her second edition of Telecommunications Essentials, she takes what is to many ‘Rocket Science’ and delivers it up in ways that those responsible for protecting the ‘public good’ and maintaining more competitive communications marketplaces can easily understand. Lili is one of the few telecommunications educators out there, catering to a diverse a reader base, who has been keeping up with Moore’s Law and what it really means in the real world of telecommunications. She continues to maintain her technological neutrality, never attempting to ‘sell’ a particular flavor-of-the-year with regard to who is the ‘best’ at delivering ‘what’ to ‘whom,’ nor falling into a mumbo-jumbo mantra of which national regulatory authority has invented the best-of-the-best new legal regime, something sorely needed by those needing a bias free technology primer.”
—Thom Ramsey, partner, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey (Brussels & Washington, D.C) and former Deputy United States Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, U.S. Department of State

“As a journalist who writes about the Defense Department’s most complicated space programs, I need to have a very clear and current handle on the technology and the operational aspects of the equipment and platforms. I am always on the prowl for materials that provide me that kind of background, concisely and accurately. The best single source for such an understanding was Telecommunications Essentials. That was, until author Lillian Goleniewski put together Telecommunications Essentials, Second Edition. Since the publication of the first Telecommunications Essentials, technology has grown enormously and an understanding of those changes is an absolute must for a reporter who writes stories about the U.S. Air Force’s latest satellite success or folly. In her second edition, Lillian Goleniewski does just that. And, in the same manner of the first, she explains the technology without talking down to or over the head of less-than-savvy readers. Yet, even those knowledgeable in these technology areas will find plenty of gold to mine in the text. With updates on technology and operations, the book is not only a must-have, but will remain a sought-after reference and companion for those who need to understand the industry for years to come.”
—Mike Fabey, air and space warfare reporter, Defense News

Telecommunications Essentials, Second Edition, provides a comprehensive overview of the rapidly evolving world of telecommunications. Providing an in-depth, one-stop reference for anyone wanting to get up to speed on the $1.2 trillion telecommunications industry, this book not only covers the basic building blocks but also introduces the most current information on new technologies. This edition features new sections on IP telephony, VPNs, NGN architectures, broadband access alternatives, and broadband wireless applications, and it describes the technological and political forces at play in the world of telecommunications around the globe.

Topics include

• Communications fundamentals, from traditional transmission media, to establishing communicationschannels, to the PSTN
• Data networking and the Internet, including the basics of data communications, local area networking, wide area networking, and the Internet and IP infrastructures
• Next-generation networks, including the applications, characteristics, and requirements of the new generation of networks that are being built to quickly and reliably carry the ever-increasing network traffic, focusing on IP services, network infrastructure, optical networking, and broadband access alternatives
• Wireless networking, including the basics of wireless networking and the technologies involved in WWANs, WMANs, WLANs, and WPANs

Technologies covered include

• IP protocols, including IPv4 and IPv6, IP QoS, and NSIS
• IP telephony, including VoIP, softswitches, SIP, H.323, Megaco and MGCP, and ENUM
• Virtual private networks, including IPsec, BGP-MPLS, VPWS and VPLS VPNs, and VPN security mechanisms
• Digital video and TV standards, including DTV, HDTV, ATSC, DVB, and ISDB
• Convergence and NGNs, IMS, MSPPs, QoS, and MPLS
• Optical networking, including WDM/DWDM/CWDM, ROADMs, optical switches, OTN, ASON and ASTN, GigE/10GigE/EFM and RPR, and GMPLS
• Broadband access, including DSL, DOCSIS, PacketCable and OpenCable, FTTx and PONs, broadband PLT, and HANs
• 3G/4G/5G networks, including WCDMA, HSDPA/HSDPA/HSDPO, OFDM, and MIMO
• Broadband wireless standards, including Wi-Fi, WiMax, WiBro, Bluetooth, UWB, and RFID

As an added bonus, Telecommunications Essentials, Second Edition, is augmented by a dynamic online telecommunications learning center, www.telecomessentials.com/learningcenter. The Telecom Essentials Learning Center includes access to self-tests and quizzes to put your knowledge to the test, links to hundreds of Web sites and educational resources that help build your telecommunications knowledge, and a comprehensive glossary of telecommunications terms.

Educational products from the LIDO Organization, Inc., are further supported by a unique telecommunications knowledge portal, Telecom WebCentral (www.telecomwebcentral.com), which provides access to up-to-the-minute information on the latest applications, information on financial and legal news, and connections to telecommunications career groups and newsgroups.

About this title

About the Author:

Lillian Goleniewski is Founder and President of the LIDO Organization, Inc., an internationally acclaimed provider of education, information, and advisory services in the area of telecommunications technologies, services and networks.

Ms. Goleniewski lectures extensively on telecommunications technology and management topics throughout the world. She is the author and creator of LIDO Telecommunications Essentials® (www.telecomessentials.com). Ms. Goleniewski’s seminars and eLearning series have been conducted on an international basis since 1984, and are offered throughout Asia, Australia/New Zealand, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America.

Prior to forming the LIDO Organization, Ms. Goleniewski held the position of telecommunications operations manager at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the research and development arm of the U.S. utility industry. Before joining EPRI, Ms. Goleniewski was vice-president of operations for a San Francisco-based telecommunications consulting firm.

Ms. Goleniewski graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. She holds a B.A. in psychology and has completed numerous post-graduate studies in information technologies as well as psychology. Ms. Goleniewski was the recipient of a NSF Award to conduct research in the area of human perception and information processing.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

I love telecommunications. It is powerful and it empowers, with far-reaching consequences. It has demonstrated the potential to transform society and business, and the revolution has only just begun.

With the invention of the telephone, human communications and commerce were forever changed: Time and distance began to melt away as barriers to doing business, keeping in touch with loved ones, and being able to immediately respond to major world events. Through the use of computers and telecommunications networks, humans have been able to extend their powers of thinking, influence, and productivity, just as those in the Industrial Age were able to extend the power of their muscles, or physical self, through the use of heavy machinery.

Today, new inventions and developments are again poised to make telecommunications a force to be reckoned with, forever changing human communications and commerce, and introducing machines as members of the networked society. This is an exciting era, and we face a host of new telecommunications technologies and applications that bring breathtaking new opportunities, particularly in the industries of entertainment, education, health care, government, advertising, lifestyle, and, sadly, warfare.

Although the information and communications technologies (ICT) industry has suffered greatly in recent years, exciting developments continue unabated in many areas that are key to the ongoing evolution of broadband devices, applications, and network infrastructures. These remarkable developments are propelling broadband evolution, creating good reasons to pursue next-generation networks.

What This Book Covers

The rapid progress in embedded devices, intelligent wearables, virtual reality, robotics, grid computing, and real-time communications is ushering in a new era of applications—applications that require enormous bandwidth, low latencies, minimal loss, guaranteed performance, wireless broadband, and converged infrastructures.

This book provides a thorough foundation for understanding a wide range of telecommunications principles and technologies. It provides a concentrated, high-level overview of the terminology and issues that comprise telecommunications, and it discusses the major telecommunications infrastructures, including the PSTN, the Internet, cable TV, and wireless. It also examines the latest perspectives and developments governing next-generation networks, including next-generation architectures, infrastructures, IP telephony, VPNs, broadband access alternatives, and broadband wireless applications. Even though the ICT industry has gone through some hard times lately, logic dictates that we can only look forward to greater emphasis on the use of ICT.

The book is divided into four parts:

• Part I, “Communications Fundamentals,” explains the basics, the arts and sciences of telecommunications. It begins by explaining the factors that are contributing to the telecommunications revolution and talks about some of the exciting new technologies that are on the horizon. Part I gives you a good grounding in the basics of telecommunications technology and terminology, covering communications fundamentals, and including the characteristics and uses of the various transmission media. Part I also discusses the processes involved in establishing communications channels, examining the differences between circuit-switched and packet-switched networks, and it explores the nature of the traditional PSTN.
• Part II, “Data Networking and the Internet,” introduces the basics of data communications and networking. It discusses today’s local area and wide area networking alternatives, as well as how the public Internet is structured. It also explores next-generation network services, such as VPNs, VoIP, and IPTV.
• Part III, “Next-Generation Networks,” explores the realm of broadband networking, next-generation network architectures, optical networking, broadband access alternatives, and home area networking.
• Part IV, “Wireless Communications,” discusses the world of wireless networking—including wireless WANs, MANs, LANs, and PANs—and it also explores emerging technologies, including the near and distant future of communications and its convergence with related information technology industries.

The book also includes a very comprehensive glossary of ICT-related terms.

Prevailing Conditions

In almost every aspect of life, it’s important to put and keep things in context. A good idea in one situation might be a terrible idea in another situation. This is often the case with telecommunications; there is no one-size-fits-all, be-all and end-all telecommunications solution. In assessing telecommunications needs, it is important to think about the prevailing conditions, so that you can choose the best transmission media, the best network architecture, and so on for the situation. It’s also important to remember that prevailing conditions change. So what’s right for you today may change six months down the road. As you plan a telecommunications strategy, it is important to look as far into the future as you can, to make your network as adaptable to future innovations as possible.

If you are new to the communications and information industry, or if you simply want an understandable yet comprehensive overview of telecommunications, this book is for you. Telecommunications Essentials, Second Edition, will equip you with a blueprint on which you can build. The telecommunications landscape is vast; for a newcomer, it is treacherous terrain to navigate. This book provides a logical progression in putting together all the pieces of the telecommunications puzzle. It helps you master the basic building blocks of key technologies, from the principles of telecommunications transmission and networking to the current and evolving nature of the Internet, broadband architecture, and optical networking, addressing both wired and wireless alternatives.

About this edition

• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0321427610
• ISBN 13: 9780321427618
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 928