Understanding Telecommunication Networks (IET Telecommunications Series

After an introductory chapter on telephony the book briefly describes all of today's networks - PSTN, mobile, cable television, the Internet, etc. - and considers how they interconnect. Individual chapters then consider the principles, technologies and network structures relating to transmission, circuit switching, signalling and control, data (including voice-over-IP) networks, and mobile networks. The important subject of numbering and addressing for telephony and IP is then covered. The book concludes with a chapter designed to pull everything together, considering architecture, quality of service and performance, operations and network evolution.

Despite the rapid changes taking place in telecommunications today - covering customer expectations, commercial arrangements, regulation, markets and services, as well as technology - this book's coverage of the basic principles makes it a helpful and enduring reference for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and for professionals working in the industry.