Telecom Convergence, 2/E: How to Profit from the Convergence of Technologies, Services, and Companies (Crash Course) - Softcover

Shepard, Steven

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0071387854 ISBN 13: 9780071387859

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, 2002

Synopsis

Telecom Convergence, 2/e: How to Bridge the Gap Between Technologies and Services

About this title

Review:

A trend is underway in which voice and data communications are merging. The irresistible logic is that digitised voice is just another kind of data, after all, so why not carry it on the same data links that handle all our other ones and zeroes? The economies of convergence can be considerable: There is no need to build and support separate voice and data infrastructures when you can have just one. That combination of infrastructures presents the problem that Telecommunications Convergence aims to solve: data people, who haven't worried about voice in the past, have to worry about it now. Similarly, people who used to specialise exclusively in switched voice circuits need to adapt to the new environment.

In this book, Steven Shepard points out that there is more to telecommunications convergence than just moving everything across IP (or ATM, or Frame Relay) networks. He sees convergence of voice and data transport technologies accelerating, yes, but he also points to a blurring of traditional business roles (witness AOL, formerly just an ISP, buying Time-Warner, a content and distribution company). He also sees the convergence of services--meaning that the consumer doesn't care which network delivers his on-demand movies or her faxes--playing a big role in the future of telecoms. Shepard bases well-reasoned arguments on a year's worth of research, including many interviews with experts in a variety of relevant fields. Read this book for pleasure (it's written that well), and profit from the lessons it contains. --David Wall

Review:

"What everyone in a Telecom Marketing Department should know, September 20, 2000 Reviewer: pjones@tyler.net (see more about me) from Dallas, Texas USA This is a good business model for the up and coming CLEC's, while it doesn't go into the other services to set them apart it does offer where the Tel-co world is and is heading, while explaining how things work, good Brief over view of the technologies with out going to deep. Very good lite reading, Everyone in the Marketing department in the telco world should have a copy. One last word, this is not a expensive book. Good writing and great concepts converge in this book, August 15, 2000 Reviewer: Gary Martin from Lebanon, NJ United States Simple to understand, easy to read, always interesting, and most amazingly, often entertaining. This is high praise for a "technical book." It is actually not a technical book, but it is about technical subjects, several relatively complex market concepts, and the big trends in networking. All easy to follow and recall after reading. I like Mr. Shepard's organization and style. It seemed to me that I was often hearing him speak these thoughts, rather than just reading them. I highly recommend this book to Service Providers, Network Equipment manufacturers, and to the component companies that are designing the chips for future networks. This book will jump-start your understanding of how convergence is influencing system and service designs for our future networked world. Enjoy the book, I did.

About this edition

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0071387854
• ISBN 13: 9780071387859
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 420