E xploring T elecommunications

"Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true."
Charles Dickens

"Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand."
Anonymous

Introduction

   Telecommunications is important to study because it is used widely and is an important part of our lives at work and at home.  Like any discipline, telecommunications has its own history, terminology and applications to be learned.

Telecommunications Terminology

• Architectures
• Standards
• The ISO-OSI Model
  1. Physical Link Control Layer
  2. Data Link Control Layer
  3. Network Control Layer
  4. Transport Control Layer
  5. Session Control Layer
  6. Presentation Layer
  7. Application/User Layer

Major Players in Telecommunications

Commercial Providers

• AT&T
• MCI/Worldcom
• Sprint
• Southwestern Bell

Government

History of Telecommunications

1. Pre-regulatory period (<1934)

   	 1910  Mann-Elkins Act
   	 1912  Kingsbury Commitment
   	 1921  Graham Act
   	 1934  Communications Act of 1934

2. Growth of Regulation (1934-1956)
3. Beginning of Deregulation & Divestiture (1956-1983)
   • Hush-a-Phone Case (1948)
   • AT&T Consent Decree (1956)
   • Carterfone Decision (1968)
   • MCI Decision (1969)
   • Computer Inquiry I (1971)
   • Computer Inquiry II (1981)
   • Modified Final Judgment (1982)
4. Open Competition (1983 - present)
   1. Computer Inquiry III (1987)
   2. Telecommunications Act of 1996

   Future of Telecommunications

   References
   Check the following sources for further information:

   Rowe II, Stanford H. (1999)

   Telecommunications for Managers, Prentice Hall, 4^th Edition

   Cole, Marion (1998)

   Telecommunications, Prentice Hall, 1^st Edition

   In this lesson you will use the Internet to research information on telecommunications and then write a résumé on your results.