Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the
transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio,
optical or other electromagnetic systems.
Telecommunications, or telecom,
refers to the process of exchanging information such as voice, data, and video
transmissions via electronic technologies like telephones (wired and wireless),
microwave communications, fibre optics, satellites, radio and television
broadcasting, and the internet.
Telecommunications are the
means of electronic transmission of information over distances. The information
may be in the form of voice telephone calls, data, text, images, or video.
Today, telecommunications are used to organize more or less remote computer
systems into telecommunications networks. These networks themselves are run by
computers.
A telecommunications
network is an arrangement of computing and telecommunications
resources for communication of information between distant locations.
A
telecommunications network includes the following components:
1. Terminals for
accessing the network
2. Computers that
process information and are interconnected by the network
3. Telecommunications
links that form a channel through which information is transmitted from a
sending device to a receiving device.
4. Telecommunications
equipment that facilitates the transmission of information.
5. Telecommunications
software that controls message transmission over the network.
Scope of
Telecommunications Networks
Two
principal types of telecommunications networks can be distinguished from the
point of view of their geographical scope. They are:
1. Local
area networks
2. Wide
area networks
(1) Local
area network (LAN): is a privately owned network that interconnects
processors, usually microcomputers, within a building or on a campus site that
includes several buildings.
Characteristics of a LAN:
a. LANs
are the principal tool of workgroup computing.
b. LANs
ensure high-speed communication within a limited area and enables the users to
share facilities (peripherals) connected to it.
c. LAN Usually
include a large-capacity, secondary storage device, where database and
applications software are maintained, managed by a microcomputer acting as a file
server that delivers data or program files to other computers.
d. LAN Facilities
(peripherals) may include jukebox optical memory and fast printers.
e.
Frequently, one of the facilities (peripherals) in a LAN is the gateway
hardware and software that give the network users access to other networks.
f. More
group members may connect to the network from remote sites using wireless
telecommunications.
g. Links
and equipment of LANs are owned by the user company, and these networks are
generally much faster than WANs.
h. LANs
are generally composed of a network of microcomputers.
(2) Wide
area network (WAN): is a telecommunications network that covers a
large geographical area.
Characteristics of a WAN:
a. The
information system of an entire organization may be structured as a hierarchy.
The WANs system architecture looks very much like an organization chart.
b. WANs
connect all the divisional minicomputers to the headquarters mainframe with a
variety of local microcomputers and terminals located at remote sites
connected, in turn, to the minicomputers.
c. WANs
provide the backbone through which all other nodes (computers and terminals)
communicate.
d. WANs
often use telecommunication links and equipment provided by specialized
vendors, called common carriers.
e. WANs
serve to interconnect multiple LANs and can make specific resources available
to a large number of workstations.
(3) Metropolitan
Area Networks (MAN) - are telecommunications networks that
interconnect various local area networks within a metropolitan area, that is,
within approximately a 50-mile range.
Characteristics of a MAN:
a.
Purpose of MANs is to interconnect various LANs within a metropolitan area,
that is, within approximately a 50 - mile range.
b.
Generally, the speed of MANs is equal to that of LANs and they use similar
technology.
(4) Interorganizational Information Systems - are
shared by two or more companies.
Characteristics of Interorganizational Information
Systems:
a. These
systems help several firms share information in order to coordinate their work,
collaborate on common projects, or sell and buy products and services.
b.
Internet has emerged as a global public network of networks.
c. Some
interorganizational systems are employed in knowledge work.
d. Can be
used to connect a firm's computers to the information systems of its customers,
suppliers, and business partners, and are also used to execute business
transactions.
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