Is ch06

Information Systems,
Tenth Edition
Chapter 6
Telecommunications and Networks

Information Systems, Tenth Edition
Principles and Learning Objectives
• A telecommunications system consists of several
fundamental components
– Identify and describe the fundamental components
of a telecommunications system
– Discuss two broad categories of telecommunications
media and their associated characteristics
– Briefly describe several options for short-range,
medium-range, and long-range communications

(continued)
• Networks are an essential component of an
organization’s information technology infrastructure
– Identify the benefits of using a network
– Describe three distributed processing alternatives
and discuss their basic features
– Identify several telecommunications hardware
devices and discuss their functions

(continued)
• Network applications are essential to organizational
success
– List and describe several network applications that
organizations benefit from today

Why Learn About Telecommunications
and Networks?
• Effective communication:
– Essential to the success of every major human
undertaking
• Regardless of your chosen career field:
– You will need the communications capabilities
provided by telecommunications and networks

An Overview of Telecommunications
• Telecommunications:
– Electronic transmission of signals for
communications
• Telecommunications medium:
– Any material substance that carries an electronic
signal to support communications between a
sending and receiving device
• Networking protocol:
– Set of rules, algorithms, messages, and other
mechanisms that enable software and hardware in
networked devices to communicate effectively

(continued)

(continued)
• Synchronous communications:
– Receiver gets message instantaneously
• Asynchronous communications:
– Receiver gets message after some delay

Basic Telecommunications Channel
Characteristics
• Simplex channel:
– Transmits data in only one direction
• Half-duplex channel:
– Transmits data in either direction, but not
simultaneously
• Full-duplex channel:
– Permits data transmission in both directions at the
same time

Characteristics (continued)
• Channel bandwidth:
– Rate at which data is exchanged
• Circuit switching network:
– Sets up a circuit between the sender and receiver
before any communications can occur
• Packet switching network:
– No fixed path is created between the communicating
devices
• Telecommunications media
– Categories: guided transmission media and wireless

• Guided transmission media types:
– Available in many types
• Twisted-pair wire:
– Classified by category: category 2, 3, 5, 5E, and 6
• Coaxial cable:
– Offers cleaner and crisper data transmission (less
noise) than twisted-pair wire
• Fiber-optic cable:
– Transmits signals with light beams

• Broadband over power lines:
– Potential problem: transmitting data over unshielded
power lines can interfere with both amateur (ham)
radio broadcasts and police and fire radios
• Wireless communications options:
– Wireless transmission involves the broadcast of
communications in one of three frequency ranges
• Radio, microwave, or infrared frequencies

Short Range Wireless Options
• Near field communication (NFC)
– Short-range wireless connectivity technology
designed for cell phones and credit cards
• Bluetooth
– Wireless communications specification that
describes how cell phones, computers, personal
digital assistants, etc., can be interconnected
• Ultra wideband (UWB)
– Short-range communications that employs extremely
short electromagnetic pulses lasting just 50 to 1,000
picoseconds

Short Range Wireless Options
(continued)
• Infrared transmission
– Sends signals at a frequency of 300 GHz and above
• Zigbee
– Form of wireless communications frequently used in
security systems and heating and cooling control
systems

Medium-Range Wireless Options
• Wi-Fi:
– Wireless telecommunications technology brand
owned by the Wi-Fi Alliance
• Wireless access point:
– Consists of a transmitter with an antenna
– Receives the signal and decodes it
• Wi-Fi access points:
– Have maximum range of about 300 feet outdoors
and 100 feet within a dry-walled building

Medium-Range Wireless Options
(continued)

Wide Area Wireless Network Types
• Microwave transmission:
– High-frequency (300 MHz–300 GHz) signal sent
through the air
– Common forms of satellite communications:
• Geostationary satellite
• Low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite
• Very small aperture terminal (VSAT)
• Wireless mesh:
– Uses multiple Wi-Fi access points to link a series of
interconnected local area networks

Wide Area Wireless Network Types
(continued)

Wide Area Wireless Network Options
(continued)
• 3G wireless communications:
– Support wireless voice and broadband speed data
communications in a mobile environment
• 4G wireless communications:
– Will provide increased data transmission rates in the
20–40 Mbps range
• Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
(WiMAX):
– Set of IEEE 802.16 wireless metropolitan area
network standards

Networks and Distributed Processing
• Computer network:
– Consists of communications media, devices, and
software needed to connect two or more computer
systems or devices
– Can transmit and receive information to improve
organizational effectiveness and efficiency

Network Types
• Personal area networks:
– Support interconnection of information technology
within a range of about 33 feet
• Local area networks:
– Connect computer systems and devices within a
small area (e.g., office or home)
• Metropolitan area networks:
– Connect users and their devices in a geographical
area that spans a campus or city
• Wide area networks:
– Connect large geographic regions

Basic Processing Alternatives
• Centralized processing:
– All processing occurs in a single location or facility
• Decentralized processing:
– Processing devices are placed at various remote
locations
• Distributed processing:
– Processing devices are placed at remote locations
but are connected to each other via a network
• File server systems:
– Users can share data through file server computing

Basic Processing Alternatives
(continued)

Client/Server Systems
• Client/server architecture:
– Multiple computer platforms are dedicated to special
functions
• Client:
– Any computer that sends messages requesting
services from the servers on the network
• Database server:
– Sends only the data that satisfies a specific query,
not the entire file

Client/Server Systems (continued)

Telecommunications Hardware
• Smartphones
– Combine the functionality of a mobile phone,
camera, Web browser, e-mail tool, MP3 player, and
other devices
– Have their own software operating systems
• Modems
– Modulation/demodulation devices
• Multiplexers
– Combine data from multiple data sources into a
single output signal that carries multiple channels

(continued)

(continued)
• Front-end processors
– Special-purpose computers that manage
communications to and from a computer system
• Private branch exchange (PBX)
– Telephone switching exchange that serves a single
organization

(continued)
• Switches, bridges, routers, and gateways
– Switch: uses the physical device address in each
incoming message on the network
– Bridge: connects two LANs together using the same
telecommunications protocol
– Router: forwards data packets across two or more
distinct networks toward their destinations
– Gateway: serves as an entrance to another network

Telecommunications Software
• Network operating system (NOS):
– Systems software that controls the computer
systems and devices on a network
• Network management software:
– Protects software from being copied, modified, or
downloaded illegally
– Locates telecommunications errors and potential
network problems

Securing Data Transmission
• Encryption:
– Converting an original message into a form that can
only be understood by the intended receiver
• Encryption key:
– Variable value that is applied (using an algorithm) to
a set of unencrypted text to produce encrypted text
or to decrypt encrypted text

(continued)

(continued)
• Securing wireless networks:
– Wired equivalent privacy (WEP):
• Used encryption based on 64-bit key, which has been
upgraded to a 128-bit key
– Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA):
• Security protocol that offers significantly improved
protection over WEP
– War driving:
• Involves hackers driving around with a laptop and
antenna trying to detect insecure wireless access
points

Virtual Private Network (VPN)
• Private network that uses a public network (usually
the Internet) to connect multiple remote locations
• Provides network connectivity over a potentially
long physical distance
• Supports secure, encrypted connections between a
company’s private network and remote users

Telecommunications Services and
Network Applications
• Cellular phone services:
– Cellular phones:
• Operate using radio waves to provide two-way
communications
• May be linked to a cordless phone via a Bluetooth
connection
– Picocell:
• Miniature cellular base station designed to serve a
very small area such as part of a floor inside a building

Cellular Phone Services
• Digital subscriber line (DSL) service:
– Telecommunications service that delivers high-
speed Internet access
– Asymmetric DSL (ADSL) line:
• Designed to provide download speed that is three to
four times faster than upload speed
– Symmetric DSL (SDSL):
• Used mainly by small businesses
• Does not allow you to use the phone at the same time
• The speed of receiving and sending data is the same

Linking Personal Computers to
Mainframes and Networks
• Basic way that telecommunications connect users
to information systems:
– Connecting personal computers to mainframe
computers so that data can be downloaded or
uploaded
• Unattended systems:
– Perform functions automatically, without user
intervention

Voice Mail
• Users can send, receive, and store verbal
messages for and from other people around the
world
• Voice mail-to-text services
– Capture voice mail messages, convert them to text,
and send them to an e-mail account
• Reverse 911 service
– Delivers emergency notifications to users in a
selected geographical area

Home and Small Business Networks
• DSL modem:
– Enables each computer in the network to access the
Internet
• Firewall:
– Filters the information coming from the Internet into
your network
• Router:
– Encrypts all wireless communications to keep your
network secure

Electronic Document Distribution
• Lets you send and receive documents in a digital
form without printing them
• Much faster to distribute electronic documents via
networks than to mail printed forms
• Viewing documents on screen instead of printing
– Saves paper and document storage space

Call Centers
• Location where an organization handles customer
and other telephone calls
• Used by:
– Customer service organizations
– Telemarketing companies
– Computer product help desks
– Charitable and political campaign organizations

Telecommuting and Virtual Workers
and Workgroups
• Telecommuting:
– Use of computing devices and networks so that
employees can work effectively away from the office
• Telecommuters:
– Need to be strongly self-motivated, organized,
focused on their tasks with minimal supervision
• Jobs unsuitable for telecommuting:
– Those that require frequent face-to-face interaction,
need much supervision, and have many short-term
deadlines

Electronic Meetings
• Videoconferencing:
– Enables people at multiple locations to communicate
using simultaneous two-way video and audio
transmissions
– Reduces travel expenses and time
– Increases managerial effectiveness through:
• Faster response to problems, access to more people,
and less duplication of effort

Electronic Data Interchange
• Idea behind EDI:
– Connecting corporate computers among
organizations
• EDI:
– Can link the computers of customers,
manufacturers, and suppliers
– Eliminates the need for paper documents and
substantially cuts down on costly errors

(continued)

(continued)
• Electronic funds transfer
– System of transferring money from one bank
account directly to another without any paper money
changing hands
– Used for:
• Credit transfers, such as payroll payments
• Debit transfers, such as mortgage payments
– Benefits:
• Reduced administrative costs
• Increased efficiency
• Simplified bookkeeping and greater security

(continued)

Unified Communications
• Provides a simple and consistent user experience
across all types of communications
• Presence:
– Knowing where one’s desired communication
participants are and if they are available at this
instant
– Goal:
• To reduce the time required to make decisions and
communicate results

Global Positioning System
Applications
• Global navigation satellite system that uses two
dozen satellites roughly 11,000 miles above the
earth
• GPS receivers:
– Have become as small as a cell phone and are
relatively inexpensive
– Are commonly found in automobiles, boats, planes,
laptop computers, and cell phones
• GPS tracking technology:
– Has become the standard by which fleet managers
monitor the movement of their cars

Summary
• Networking protocol:
– Defines the set of rules that govern the exchange of
information over a telecommunications channel
• Channel bandwidth:
– Refers to the rate at which data is exchanged,
usually expressed in bits per second
• Geographic area covered by a network:
– Determines whether it is called PAN, LAN, WAN

Summary (continued)
• Telecommunications and networks:
– Creating profound changes in business because
they remove the barriers of time and distance
• Networks:
– Let users share hardware, programs, and databases
across the organization
– Can transmit and receive information to improve
organizational effectiveness and efficiency

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