Preface

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At the dawn of the twenty-first century, we are witnessing a revolution that will make the utopia of a "Global Village" a reality. Telecommunications technology is paving the way to a world in which distance is no longer a barrier. Telecommunication is enabling us to interact with one another irrespective of our physical locations, bringing people of different countries, cultures, and races closer to one another.

The revolution we are witnessing is due to the fast pace of the convergence of information, communications, and entertainment (ICE) technologies. These technologies help us to communicate and carry out business, to entertain and educate ourselves, and to share information and knowledge. However, we are at just the beginning of this revolution. To ensure that every individual on this planet is connected and is provided with quality communication services is a gigantic task. This task requires dedicated professionals with a commitment to technological excellence. These professionals will be the architects of the Global Village.

Prospective communications professionals need to have a strong foundation in digital communication and data communication protocols, as well as an exposure to the latest technological innovations. This book aims at providing that foundation to the students of computer science/communication engineering/information technology.

ABOUT THE BOOK

This book lays the foundation for a career in telecommunications and data communications. It can be used as a textbook for the following subjects:

• Digital Communication Systems

• Data Communication and Computer Networks

• Mobile Computing

  Accordingly, the book is divided into three parts.

Part 1 focuses on digital communication systems. This part covers the basic building blocks of digital communications, such as transmission media, multiplexing, multiple access, source coding, error detecting and correcting codes, and modulation techniques. Representative telecommunication systems such as Public Switched Telephone Network, terrestrial radio systems, satellite radio systems, and optical communication systems are also discussed.

Part 2 focuses on data communication protocols and computer networking. The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) protocol architecture and the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) architecture are covered in detail. Representative computer networks based on international standards are covered, including Signaling System No. 7 (SS7), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Frame Relay and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).

Part 3 focuses on mobile computing and convergence technologies. Radio paging, cellular mobile communications, global positioning system, wireless Internet, and wireless personal/home area networks are covered, highlighting the technology ingredients of mobile computing. Multimedia communication over IP networks and Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) are covered in detail, highlighting the technology ingredients of convergence. The architecture of Telecommunications Management Network, which is gaining importance to manage complex telecommunication networks, is presented. The last chapter gives a glimpse of futuristic technologies.

At the end of each chapter, references, questions, exercises, and projects are given. References are books and research papers published in professional journals as well as Web addresses. Needless to say, the Internet continues to be the best platform to obtain the latest information on a specific topic. Just use a search engine and enter the topic of your choice, and you will get millions of references! The Questions help the reader focus on specific topics while reading the book. The Exercise section is exploratory and the reader is urged to do these exercises to enhance his conceptual understanding. Final year students can choose some of the exercises as seminar topics. In the Projects section, brief problem definitions are given based on the requirements of the communications industry. Final year students can select some of these projects in their areas of interest. These projects are long-term projects (of one month to three months duration). Certainly, students need the help of their teachers in converting the project ideas into detailed requirement documents. Of course, the reader is welcome to contact the author at [e-mail] for any additional information.

Appendix A gives a glossary of important terms. Appendix B gives a list of acronyms and abbreviations. Appendix C gives the solutions to selected exercises from various chapters of the book.

Planning a Career in Telecom/Datacom

Telecom/datacom is a very promising field, and those who choose this field will have very bright careers. This field requires software and hardware professionals of almost all skill sets. Software development in communication protocols is generally carried out in C or C++, though Java is picking up fast. Prospective telecom/datacom software professionals need to gain expertise in at least two of the following skill sets:

• Unix/Solaris/Linux with C and C++

• Windows NT/2000/XP with C, C++, and C#

• Real-time operating systems (such as pSOS, VxWorks, OS/9, and RTLinux) and C/C++

• Unix/Solaris/Linux with Java (including RMI, JDBC, CORBA, EJB, Jini, and JMF)

• RDBMS with frontend tools such as VB, VC++, and Java

• Mobile operating systems (such as Win CE, Palm Operating System, and Symbian Operating System) and C/C++

• Markup languages such as XML, WML, XHTML, and VoiceXML and scripting languages such as JavaScript and WMLScript

For those who have an interest in pursuing hardware-cum-software development, the following skill sets are suggested:

• Real-time operating systems (such as pSOS, VxWorks, OS/9 and RTLinux) and C/C++

• VLSI design languages and tools (such as VHDL and Verilog) and C/C++

• Micro-controllers (such as Intel 8051, MC 68HC11 and ARM), associated assembly language, and C/C++

• Digital Signal Processors and C/C++

Along with expertise in the development environment (operating systems, programming languages, etc.), domain expertise in communications is important for a successful career. However, communications is a vast field, and it would be futile to try to gain expertise in every aspect. A very good understanding of the basics of telecommunication systems and communication protocols is mandatory for everyone. After that, one needs to have an exposure to the latest developments and then focus on some specialization. The specialization can be in any of the following areas:

• TCP/IP protocol stack

• Multimedia communication over IP networks

• Wireless Internet

• Telecommunication switching software development

• Telecommunication network management

• Voice and video coding

• Wireless local area networks

• Wireless personal area networks

• Terrestrial radio communication

• Optical communication

• Satellite communication

• Signaling systems

• Computer Telephony Integration

If one has a strong foundation in the basic concepts of telecommunications and data communications, it is not difficult to move from one domain to another during one's career. The sole aim of this book is to cover the fundamentals in detail and also to give an exposure to the latest developments in the application domains listed.

Let us now begin our journey into the exciting world of communications.

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