Information Technology in Business Telecommunication and Network Play-It-Again Arcade Games Inc.

His work with PLAY-IT-AGAIN ARCADE games was exhausting Benjamin Streier. In his 10 years as an information systems consultant, he had never worked with a company so entrenched in its outdated mode of operations. It wasn t just the procedures; it was the people as well. The employees were dedicated, but many did not see the need of change. Streier did. After finally convincing Play-It-Again s CEO Jerry Smith that employees needed computers to do their jobs efficiently, the consultant faced one of his biggest challenges: networking the computers, so the company could start using E-mail for communicating and have access to shared data and information. Getting Connected Networking Play-It-Again was an interesting challenge. It was a multinational company with four locations in the U.S. and Canada and another five in Europe and Asia. In addition, the company operated in a wide range of environments, from a rugged manufacturing floor to clean, carpeted offices. Among the areas of operation that desperately needed telecommunication support was software development. Developers had become so frustrated with having no access to e-mail in their offices that they had started sending codes back and forth from their personal e-mail addresses from home computers Telecommunication in Business Telecommunications is essential to today s smooth business operations, is the transmittal of data and information from one point to another. The Greek work tele, which means distance , is a part of words like telegraph or telephone , and other words referring to technologies that allow communications over the large distances because telecommunication is communications over a distance. Four basic improvements to business processes in Telecommunications  The important to understand how telecommunication affects the way businesses run and how managers can use technology to do better job. y Better business communication y Higher efficiency y Better distribution of data y Instant transactions Better Business Communication y When no physical objects need to be transferred from one place to another telecommunications technology can make geographical distance irrelevant. Higher Efficiency y Telecommunication has made business processes more efficient. Many business processes are serial in nature: one department must have the input of another department before acting and then produce its own information, which in turn serves as input for the department and so on. Better Distribution of Data  Organizations that can quickly transmit vital data from one computer to another no longer need centralized databases.  Business units that need certain data frequently may store it locally, while others can access it remotely. Only fast, reliable transfer of data makes this efficient arrangement possible. Instant Transactions

 The availability of the internet to millions of businesses and consumers has shifted a significant volume of business transactions to the Web. Both business and consumers can shop, purchase, and pay instantly online. Data Communications  The process of transferring digital information between to two or more points.  The exchange of data between two devices via some from information medium. Types of Data Communications y Data can be transmitted in two basic modes: y A whole byte at a time, which is feasible only over very short distances. Or y A single bit at a time, currently the only practical mode for communicating over long disntances. Communication Direction  The three modes of communication between devices: y Simplex y Half-duplex y Full-duplex These are distinguished by whether communication is one-way in one direction, one-way at a time in two directions, or two-way. Simplex  In simplex communication, the direction of the data between two nodes is in one-way only. Half-duplex y In half-duplex mode, allows data to traverse in both directions but only in one direction at a time (not simultaneous), and one device can transmit to the other only when the other device is in reception mode. Full-duplex y In full-duplex communication, either device can transmit to the other device while simultaneously receiving signals from the other device and allows data to go in opposite direction at the time. Synchronization Is the process of aligning the time scales of transmission and switching equipment so equipment operation occurs at the correct time and the correct order. Two types of synchronization: synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous communication The timing devices allow the transmission of several bytes without great overhead of start, stop, parity check bits for each byte. The basic unit is called packets. Packet is a group of bytes transmitted together with no overhead bits added between them. Each of the message s packets is passing through from the source computer to the destination computer, often through nodes. A node is a computer or a communication device in a communication network. At each node, the entire packet is received, stored, and then pass on to the next node, until the packets are reach the destination. Asynchronous communication In asynchronous transmission each character (this is, each byte) is transmitted along with additional special bits, start bit (a 1) indicated the start of the byte, stop bit (a 0) indicated the end, and additional bit for error detection. The start bit signal tells the receiver to realign with the transmitter. Realignment at the beginning of the byte ensure that the sampling gap (Sampling means detecting the signal at time intervals) never becomes so large the receiving device misses an entire bit. Power brownouts or other mishaps may disrupt a connection, resulting to unintended addition or loss of bits. Parity check is an error detection method use to assure that no bits are added or deleted during the transmission. A bit is added to ensure that the total number of 1s received is either even or

odd. In odd parity check the device will add 1 bit if the total number 1s is even, or add 0 if the total number 1s is odd. It s the same for even parity check. The advantage of asynchronous transmission is that it does not require sophisticated and expensive timing hardware. The disadvantage is its high overhead, or time spent transmitting bits that are not part of the primary data. Channels and media A communication channel is the physical medium, such as telephone lines or television cables, through which data can be communicate 1. Transmission rate or capacity is the speed at which the data are communicated. Capacity is measured in bits per seconds (bps); the greater the capacity, the faster the transmission. Communication speed, also called channel capacity and bandwidth, is a limited resource. The greater the speed, the higher the cost. Channels Capacity If the channel is of small capacity, it is said to be narrow band. When it is of great quality it is broad band. When you transmit at a low rate, they will receive a clear message, if you double the speed it will find it difficult to distinguish between the bits. This is for small capacity as for great capacity it allows the transmission of number of signals in the same time period. Media A media is anything through which data are transmitted. Two kinds of media: guided and unguided media. Unguided media are those with no physical channel. Unguided media allows wireless telecommunication. Transmission rate A medium s capacity is determined by the maximum of number of bits per seconds that it can carry. The number of signals per second is not always equal to the number of bits for second. Sometimes a signal can represent two or more bits. Baud is the number of signal per second. The bit rate of any communication should be chosen on the basis of the distance over which it must be carried, because the greater the distance, the less clear the signal. Therefore, the further a signal must travel, the more slowly it must be transmitted in order to be received correctly. Different types of Media Twisted Pair The most commonly available communication network is the telephone network. It is connected either directly to a local telephone company or to a private branch company. Before the line are all made of pair of twisted copper wire that acts as a single communication link, but today the copper has been replace with higher capacity media like optical fibers, only the line from the telephone company s office to the home or office telephone jack is still made of copper. When twisted pair is used for local area network supporting personal computer, the transmission rate may reach 100 mbps. The last mile of copper wires can be enabling to transmit digital signals at speeds up to 8 mbps with a special equipment and software both at the telephone exchange (often called central office) and at the subscribers end. The service is called digital subscriber line or DSL. Coaxial Cable Also known as TV cable. Like the telephone line, it is made of two conductors but is constructed differently to permit operation over a wider range of frequencies. Coaxial cable is significantly expensive that twisted pair, but its transmission rate is greater. In resent years the use of coaxial cable for internet connection has been popular among households. Companies provide cable television service use their networks to link subscribers to the internet. Microwaves Microwaves are high-frequency, short radio-frequency (RF) wave. They are so numerous because microwave communication is effective only if the line of sight between the transmitter and receiver is unobstructed. So you notice microwave antennas are often installed at high building or

mountain top. Microwaves communication requires fewer repeaters and amplifiers than coaxial cable and optical fibers, for the same distance. Terrestrial Microwave Terrestrial microwave communication are send from and receive by stations in the ground. It s good for long-distance telecommunication. It is commonly used for voice and television communication. Satellite Microwave Signals are transmitted using microwaves via satellite technology. Two major types of satellite: geostationary (GEO) and low earth orbit (LEO). Microwave transceiver dishes are aimed at the satellite. The satellite receives a signal, amplifies it, and retransmits it to the destination. GEO satellite are placed 35,784 km above earth, because they orbit at great distance 3 GEO satellites can provide service for every point on earth by relaying signals among themselves before transmitting them back to its destination. These satellites are useful for television broadcasting and transmitting large data files. Because of its great distance from earth it causes a delay which makes it less effective for video conferencing. LEO satellites overcome this shortcoming. These satellites are place about 500-600 miles above earth. The signals round trip is short enough for cellular telephoning and interactive computer application. LEO satellites revolve around the globe every few hours. Multiple LEO s are required to maintain continues coverage for uninterrupted communication. Communication satellites are launched not only by private enterprises but also by national government. Optical Fiber Fiber optic technology uses light instead of electricity to represent bits. A transmitter sends a burst of light using a laser or a light-emitting diode device. The receiver detects the light and sample the line to receive the data bits. Because light is not susceptible to EMI (electromagnetic interference) and RFI (radio-frequency interference), fiver optic communication is much less error-prone than twisted pair and radio transmission. Optical fibers compare favorably with coaxial cable network in providing a fast, reliable medium of telecommunications. As a result, they are rapidly replacing both twisted-pair and coaxial cable telephone lines. Modulation y Analog vs Digital Analog is a continuous series of waves. It transmits voice communication well; these signals are not limited to one high pitch and one low pitch but can reproduce all variations of voice, with an infinite number of pitches and sound levels over a wide continuous range. Digital signal is a series of short lines of two different heights. It consists of a series of discrete bits represented by only two different states and nothing in between. The modification of a digital signal (from the computer) into an analog signal (from the phone line to transmit) is called modulation. The transformation an analog signal (from the phone line) into a digital signal (so the computer can understand it) is called demodulation. Amplitude Modulation Amplitude modulation (AM) uses differences in amplitude to express digital signals. The 0 bits are transformed into an analog signal whose amplitude is either 0 (flat) or very low. The 1 bit is transformed into a higher wave of fixed amplitude. The two amplitudes represent the 0s and 1s of digital transmission. Frequency Modulation

In frequency modulation (FM), the amplitude of the wave remains constant, but variations in frequency are used to represent digital signals. Frequency is the number of waves per second. Whenever a 0 bit is transmitted, the frequency is low. Whenever a 1 bit is transmitted, the frequency is higher. The two frequencies represent the two 0s and 1s. Phase Modulation In phase modulation, transmission always starts with a certain bit, 0 or 1. When the wave abruptly stops and immediately continues at another phase, it indicated a shift from the previously transmitted bit to the other bit such as from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0. Modems Because the telephone company s signaling is already a setup for analog wave transmission, it is easier for the company to use analog rather than digital signals to send information back and forth between your telephone and the telephone company. A bridge is a device that connects the similar networks into a seamless network. A DSL bridge enables the smooth flow of the digital signals between the computer and the last mile wires. Multiplexers are communications devices that allows several telephones or computers to transmit voice or digital data through a single line. Frequency-division Multiplexing If the bandwidth of a carrier channel that is, the range of frequencies it can carry is large enough, it can be divided into several narrower bandwidths. This allows for frequency-division multiplexing, whereby several computers transmit data, each at its own assigned frequency to the host computer. Time-division Multiplexing Some multiplexers allocated specified equal amounts of time to each connected terminal receiving a part of each terminal s signal at a time, in a round robin fashion, and piecing the signals together again. This is called time-division multiplexing and is most commonly used by terminals interacting with a host computer. Networks The key to fast and efficient telecommunications is networks. In the context of a data communications, a network is a combination of devices (at least two computers) connected to each other through one of the communication channels just discussed. LAN Local Area Network A computer network within a network or among adjacent buildings is called LAN. No specific distance classifies in a network as local, but usually as long as it is confined into a radius of 3 to 4 miles it is called a LAN. WAN Wide Area Network A network that crosses organizational boundaries or in the case of a multisite organization, reaches outside the immediate environment of local offices and factory facilities is called WAN. Provides enhanced network services such as protocol conversion and error detection and correction.

The Downside y Pressuring Telecommuters y No Additional Compensation y Miscommunication LAN Protocols y In a communications processor a special device or a host computer conducts a continuous rollcall of the nodes. It sends an electrical pulse to each node in the network in a sequence. A node that has a message to send responds to the call. The communications processor then instructs the node to send the message. When the communication is over, polling resumes. This protocol is used in star networks. y In contention, each node has to contend for the line. When node has a message to send it checks the line. If the line is not in use, the message will be sent. Obviously, two or more nodes may start sending messages, at the same time, and the messages could be garbled. To prevent this problem, a protocol called CSMA/CD (carrier sense multiple access with collision detection) is used. The contention approach was first introduced by Xerox. In token passing, a special signal is transmitted on the line by the communications processor. Usually, the signal or token is a byte that is not used for any other purpose. Token passing is used in both bus and ring LANs. The token may be empty , or it may contain a message. If an empty token is received and the node wishes to transmit data, it holds the token and adds to it the destination address, its own address, and the message itself. WAN Protocols y Wide are network protocols are significantly more complex than LAN networks. WANs are often made up of incompatible lines, communications processers, and nodes. Use, because of the long distance between nodes, signals may deteriorate and gambled. y Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO), has emerged as the dominant standard. Seven Layers of OSI Models y Physical y Data link y Network y Transport y Session y Presentation y Application Switching Techniques y Switching Techniques is a mechanism to allow your message to be routed through any number of paths: if one is busy then another can be used. Two Major Switching Techniques: 1. Circuit Switching 2. Packet Switching Circuit Switching A dedicated channel (a circuit) is established for the duration of the transmission. The sending node signals the receiving nodes that it is going to send a message. The receiver must acknowledge the signal. The receiving node then receives the entire message. Packet Switching

A message is divided into packets, each of which is a fixed number of bytes or a frame of variable number of bytes. On their way to their final destination, the packets are transmitted separately to intermediate nodes. Variety of Services Integrated Services Data Networks (ISDN) transmits data at speeds up to 128kbps. The signal travelling in ISDN lines are digital, but the connection are circuit-switched. Cable links are provided by television cable firms. The medium is the same as for television receptions, but the firms connect the cable to an Internet Server. T1 and T3 Lines T1 line is a point-to-point dedicated digital circuit provided by telephone companies. It is made up of 24 channels (group of wires) of 64 Kbps each T3 lines are similar to T1 lines but made up of 672 channels of 64 Kbps. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) With normal telephone service, the telephone company filters information that arrives in digital form and then transform it to analog form, thus, it requires a modem to transform the signal back to digital form. This conversion contrains the capacity of the link between your telephone (or computer) and the telephone company switching center to a low speed of 56kbps (or 128kbps with ISDN service). Two Categories of DSL Asymmetric DSL allows reception at a much faster rate than transmission, or in professional lingo they are faster downstream (download) than upstream (upload) . Symmetric DSL is designed for short distance connections that require high speed in both directions. Satellite Households in rural areas and other regions that cannot obtain the preceding services may be able to obtain satellite services. Satellite connection may reach a speed of 45 Mbps. Fixed Wireless Is point-to-point transmission between two stationary devices, as opposed to mobile wireless, in which a people carry mobile devices. Companies such as WorldCom, Sprint and AT&T offer the services. They install microwave transceivers on rooftops instead of laying physical wires or cables. Subscriber can communicate at speed up to 2 Mbps. Fixed wireless is highly modular-telephone company can add as many transceiver as it needs to serve a growing number of subscribers. Gigabit Ethernet The latest development in high-speed internet access for businesses is Gigabit Ethernet, a communication standard that until recently was used only for the backbones of networks, including the internet and LANs. With this technology, Telecommunications Company connects an existing office network directly to a fiber-optic line outside the office at a speed of 1 Gbps. Changing Business Environment 1. Facsimile 2. Web-based Electronic Commerce Facsimile (From the Latin word for Duplicate) or fax, is the transmission and reception of images over telephone lines. A fax machine digitizes an image and transmits the representative bits to a receiving fax machine. The receiving machine converts the digitized codes back into an image.

Web-based Electronic Commerce Fast digital communication enables millions of organization to conduct business using the Web. Whole industries, such as online exchanges and auctions, have been created to the Webs. Some technologies, such as electronic data interchange, are migrating to the Web. Saving Time and Money y Organizations like telecommuting because it saves the cost of office space and studies have shown that productivity is higher among telecommuters than employees who work in the office. Telecommuters like their arrangement because they save the time and money they would spend on commuting.