Telecommunications and Data Communications Handbook

by Ray Horak

Publisher: Wiley-Interscience
ISBN: 0470396075

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Book Description

A practical, accessible survey of telecommunications and data communications services and technologies

Finally, there is a commonsense guide to telecommunications and data communications that non-engineers can understand. Popular author Ray Horak provides comprehensive, up-to-date information in plain English, instead of confusing technotalk. Recent developments covered include:

• 802.16 and WiMAX
• Passive Optical Network (PON)
• 802.11g/n
• Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)
• Broadband over Power Line (BPL)
• Instant Messaging
• ZigBee

In addition, Telecommunications and Data Communications Handbook expands on topics of increasing interest, including:

• Fiber Optics
• Storage Area Networks (SANs)
• Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
• CATV Networks
• Wireless, including Bluetooth
• Cellular, including 2.5G and 3G, photos, video, and ring tones and ring-back tones
• Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), including IP PBX and IP Centrex
• Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) vs. H.323

Complete with a discussion of the current regulatory and business environments, including divestiture and revestiture as well as mergers and acquisitions, this is the ideal reference for non-engineering professionals in the end-user, carrier, content or service provider, manufacturing, regulatory, or financial communities.

Book Reviews

There is finally a guide to telecommunications and data communications that non-engineers can understand. Popular author Ray Horak provides comprehensive, up-to-date information in plain English, instead of confusing technotalk….Complete with a discussion of the current regulatory and business environments, including divestiture and revestiture as well as mergers and acquisitions, this is the ideal reference for non-engineering professionals in the end-user, carrier, content or service provider, manufacturing, regulatory, or financial communities. (IEEE Communications Society, August 2008)

"…a thoroughly researched and comprehensive survey of telecom and datacom technologies and services, from the most basic to the most complex. Horak sets the technologies in context, providing an excellent level of detail on the origin and evolution of fiber optics, cellular radio, digital carrier systems, TCP/IP, and the Internet, as examples…. We think that anyone with a compelling need for a complete and accurate understanding of telecommunications can benefit from it." (ASCDI News)

We recently received a copy from Ray Horak of his "Telecommunications and Data Communications Handbook" This (literally) weighty tome contains almost 800 pages of current technology, and, maybe more importantly, the historical basis for how we got to where we are today. From frequency division multiplexing to the invention of the Strowger switch by a disgruntled undertaker to the origin of wire "gauge," the book is a great trip down memory lane for us old-timers and a necessary piece of technology background for neophytes. However, the book isn't just history. It's more of an encyclopedia that includes current topics as of the publication date in 2007. As such, is serves as a great foundation for topics like application delivery and virtualization. As we move forward with new ideas, this historical context is mandatory to making sure that the mistakes of the past aren't repeated. And this book is a great resource for providing that context. - Steve Taylor, Columnist (Network World)

The Handbook is the sort of thing one either has to, or should, read at the beginning of a career in communications. That applies to just about any segment: wireless or wired telecom company, cable TV, satellite or data communications. The Handbook reminds me of the James Martin books I once pored over. More than once, I'd add. - Gary Kim, founder and CEO Dagda Mor Media and Contributing Editor (Cable.TMCnet.com, July 14, 2008)

Customer Reviews

Most network managers are strong in either voice or data, but may not have as much experience in the other discipline. To further complicate this challenge, expertise is required in a number of specific areas, including LANs and WANs, legacy and emerging technologies, and new applications. If you have any of these educational gaps (and most of us do) pick up a copy of this book. Ray Horak provides the most comprehensive review of communication technologies that I have seen, and you will do yourself a favor to have this text in your personal library.

The "Telecommunications and Data Communications Handbook" by Ray Horak provides a detailed tour of electronic and optical communications technology, from basic principles to the latest telephone, cellular, internet, and satellite-based standards. Rather than just explaining how these technologies function (which Horak does well with his characteristically engaging prose), this Handbook also illuminates the historical contexts of new standards and technologies, exploring economic pressures, social drives, and political considerations influencing their development. This volume is a must-have for both the student and working professional. An excellent companion reference for this book is Horak's "Webster's New World Telecom Dictionary".

I've been looking for years; getting various telco for dummies or telco crash course, or telecom essentials, etc.

Finally, this one has it all and explained clearly; and easily understood. Some of the other telecom essentials books were too technical and hard to follow. Thank you, Ray Horak!

Telecommunications and Data Communications Handbook contains fifteen chapters and covers a wide variety of topics. The book can be recommended for different audiences, starting from students, which decided to become Electrical Engineers, as well as for engineers and managers, and technicians who need always to have a reliable source of information. It is a timely encyclopedic work and will remain so for many years! It also is a perfect companion to Horak's other excellent work, Webster's New World Telecom Dictionary, also published by Wiley in 2007.

Horak is an independent telecom consultant. He is active in litigation support as a consulting expert and testifying expert, often in cases involving intellectual property such as patent, copyright, and trademark and service infringement. He has authored five telecom books and written of hundreds of technical articles, white papers, case studies, and solution briefs.

Vladimir Kaminsky, PhD is a President of Practel, Inc, a consulting company that is specializing in advanced communications technologies and network design.