Telecommunications Essentials, Second Edition

Provides a comprehensive overview of the world of telecommunications. This book not only covers the basic building blocks, but also introduces the information on various technologies. It also features sections on IP telephony, VPNs, NGN architectures, broadband access alternatives, and broadband wireless applications.

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“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.