The infrastructural development of the capital intensive telecom sector would require a large number of people. These people would be managers, who need not necessarily be telecom engineers. In fact a large number of them would be from very diverse academic backgrounds, They will have to manage the technology and eventually act as a conduit for the technology to reach the end user. They ought to know more about the manag(~ment and applications of technology rather than the technology itself. Traditionally telecom is a hi-tech subject. Telecom engineers have to study the subject from the technical and mathematical perspectives. This book is for those, who would like to know all about telecommunications, without delving into detailed technical treatment of the subject. At the same time it will be a satisfying update for telecom engineers and professionals. Most books on telecomrnunications have a large technical content. This book deals with concepts which are essential for handling day to day affairs by a large number of decision makers. The technical depth is more than adequate. Its strength lies in the simplicity of appreach and presentation, a non-mathematical treatment of the subject and above all a very wide coverage. The global telecom infrastructure has been presented as a 'seamless system,' one component leading to the other. The structure of the book flows out of this concept. We have strived to present both analog and digital communications, techniques and their aplications in a straight forward manner. More than four hundred diagrams and a number of product photographs have been used as illustrations. Where relevant, live networks and systems from the Indian context have been used as examples for easy understanding. Clear shift from voice to data and now more recendy towards picture and video transmission has been emphasised and has been the overall theme while structuring the entire book as well as each chapter.

The present state of development of communication technology is characterized by two features, namely the digital representation of all signals transrnitted and processed, irrespective of information type - voice, text, data or images - and the integration of systems and services, this integration only being completely possible using digital technology. The boundaries between switching and transmission are shifting, and functions are being redefined and redistributed between terminals and communication networks. Multiservice terminals - unlike telephones, teleprinters, video data terminals - are designed to handle more than one information type. Lastly, the communication network allows voice, text, data and video information to be transmitted on the same circuit; the user obtains access to this network via a non dedicated "communication socket". The essential features of this Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) have been standardized over the last eight years by experts from all over the world under the aegis of the CCITT 1), the international standardizing body of the carriers of public communication networks. All the leading network carriers are working towards ISDN implementation because of the substantial benefits it will offer to users, network carriers and manufacturers alike: Users will obtain additional and advanced services, most of them designated to cater for the growth in non-voice traffic. The ISDN subscriber access will also enable users to operate existing systems more cost-effectively than via various dedicated networks.

For more than 20 years, Network World has been the premier provider of information, intelligence and insight for network and IT executives responsible for the digital nervous systems of large organizations. Readers are responsible for designing, implementing and managing the voice, data and video systems their companies use to support everything from business critical applications to employee collaboration and electronic commerce.

For more than 20 years, Network World has been the premier provider of information, intelligence and insight for network and IT executives responsible for the digital nervous systems of large organizations. Readers are responsible for designing, implementing and managing the voice, data and video systems their companies use to support everything from business critical applications to employee collaboration and electronic commerce.