-- Extensive new coverage of optical networking, globalization, digital convergence, speech recognition, and 3G networking.

-- Reader-friendly coverage! Internet, IP networking, wireless, xDSL, cable modems, ATM, frame relay, SONET, DWDM, and more!

Every business decision-maker needs to understand telecommunications: its costs, risks, and breakthrough opportunities for competitive advantage. With The Essential Guide to Telecommunications, Third Edition you can -- even if you have no technical background at all. Leading consultant Annabel Z. Dodd covers all the fundamental concepts you need to understand the industry, and make smarter buying decisions. This new Third Edition has been updated with up to the minute coverage of today's most critical issues, including the rapid globalization of telecommunications, breakthrough optical networking technologies, the latest progress towards digital convergence, speech recognition, next-generation 3G wireless networks, and much more. Dodd covers the powerful new roles played by IP networking in telephony, streaming media, and the state-of-the-art in computer-telephony integration, PBXs, Automatic Call Distributors and other call center technology. Along the way, you'll master all the basics of telecommunications, including: the differences between analog and digital signals; what bandwidth is; why protocols and architectures matter; the role of the public network; the continuing evolution of the Internet; and more.