Introduction to Telecommunications

KCA UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Computing and Information

Management

BIT 4302: Telecommunications

This course describes the developments that have
taken place in telecommunications with the advent of
the computer and is important for those learner who
wish to develop applications that exploit the interface
between information and communication technologies
 COURSE OBJECTIVES

The learner will demonstrate an understanding of the

physical processes which govern the communication of
information and its efficiency
The learner appreciate the knowledge and skills used
in design and implementation of data communication
systems using current technology
The learner will apply the principle and practice of
data communication systems
The learner will describe telecommunications tools,
techniques and technologies
 Course content

Introduction to Communication systems Functions,
Communication systems Functions and Data
transmission system components

Analysis and synthesis of waveforms, Information
bearing signals

Transmission media and their characteristics

Analogue transmission

Digital transmission

Data communication equipment

Data encoding
 Course content

Channel characteristic: bandwidth, data rates,
capacity

Transmission modes: Modulation and modulation
methods

The future of telecommunications

Review of telecommunications organizations

Terminals and codes

Telecommunications standards

Review of communications network architecture

Structure of telecommunications networks

Wireless transmission

Tariffs
 Course content

Switching

Communications in the office

Legal issues in telecommunications

Imperfections in telecommunications
Assessment

• CAT : 30 MARKS: CAT1=15MARKS, CAT2= 15

MARKS
• Assignments: 20 MARKS: ASSIGN1=5 MARKS,
ASSIGN2=5 MARKS, ASSIGN3= 10 MARKS
• Main Examination: 50 MARKS
Recommended Reading

• Title: Telecommunications and the computer, Martin, J:

Prentice International;2001
Topic 1
• Definitions of telecommunications
• Fundamental blocks of communication
• History of telecommunication
What is Communication?
• Communication is the imparting, conveying or exchange
of thoughts, messages, ideas, knowledge or information
by sign and sounds like speech, signals, writing or
behavior
INTRODUCTION
Early Forms of Communication
• Many early forms of communication were;
– Writing and drawing, i.e. on cave walls
– Development of Language and the use of Symbols
– Papyrus and Paper, used to record communication for later use
– Smoke signals of the early American Indians
– Drums of African tribes
– Story tellers around the camp-fire, using animation, gestures
and sound to communicate their message to other members of
the tribe
What is telecommunication?
• The word tele is a Greek word which means distance.
• It is combined with the Latin word communicare, which
means "to share.“
• Hence, Telecommunication means the exchange of
information between two distant places.
• Some take the view that telecommunication deals only
with voice telephony, and the typical provider of this
service is the local telephone company.
What is telecommunication?
• However, with advancement in technology
Telecommunication can be broadly defines as the
electrical communication at a distance of voice, data, and
image information (e.g., TV and video)
• Webster’s dictionary calls it communications at a
distance.
• The IEEE Standard Dictionary defines
telecommunications as the transmission of signals over
long distance, such as by telegraph, radio, or television
Telecommunication
• The information can be in the form of voice, data, text,
images, audio and video
• “Information” might be a page of written text, a
conversation or a TV picture.
• Information usually requires conversion into an electrical
signal in order to be conveyed by telecommunication
means.
Types of telecommunications networks

• The internet is the largest example of a

telecommunications network. On a smaller scale,
examples include the following:
– corporate and academic wide area networks (WANs);
– telephone networks;
– cellular networks;
– police and fire communications systems;
– taxi dispatch networks;
– broadcast networks.
Telecommunications industry and service
providers
• Telecommunications systems are generally run by
telecommunications service providers, also known
as communications service providers. These providers
historically offered telephone and related services and
now offer a variety of data and video, internet and WAN
services, as well as metropolitan area network (MAN) and
global services
• In many countries, telecom service providers were
primarily government-owned and -operated. That is no
longer the case, and many have been privatized.
Cont..
• Large global service providers include the following:
– AT&T
– Verizon
– Comcast
– China Mobile Limited
– Deutsche Telekom AG
– SoftBank Group
– China Telecom
– Telefónica SA
– Vodafone
History of telecommunication
History of telecommunication
Evolution of Modern Communication Systems
• The greatest change occurring at the moment is the move from
analogue to digital communications
• The future:
– 4G Cellular Telephony, (5G ???)
– Personal Area Networks
– Purely Optical Networking
– Virtual Reality: Virtual reality (VR), the use of computer modeling and
simulation that enables a person to interact with an artificial three-
dimensional (3-D) visual or other sensory environment.
– Artificial Intelligence: Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human
intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems
History of telecommunication
History of Telecommunications (2)
History of Telecommunications (3)
Service Proliferation in Telecommunication
QUESTION
• Of what importance is telecommunication in our modern
age?
• State three challenges that may be encountered in
telecommunication system
Uses of Telecommunication Network

• Distant Communication: The days of sending letters are gone. Today, contacting
people from any part of the world is much easier than before with the use of computers,
handsets and the internet. People can communicate through phones, calls, text
messages, e-mails, or social media platforms. Telecommunication has simply made
keeping in touch with loved ones more convenient, efficient, and also cost-effective.
• Entertainment: The growth of telecommunications has completely changed the
entertainment landscape. Nowadays, people can access many TV channels to watch
news, movies, and music. Social media is popularly used for entertainment to share
videos, photos, and also reels.
• Socialization: As more people get busy in their work and careers, it’s hard to find time
for their social life. But the growth of social media platforms has now done much in
filling that gap of today’s generation. Today, anyone can connect and meet new people
and friends through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter while at work. People are also using
Skype, Whatsapp, Google Hangouts, and various other apps to interact live by making
video calls.
Uses of telecommunication networks in banking
sectors
• Customer Service: Today the banks connected with each of their customers through
telecommunication. Customers may have to check on their account balances, inquire about
bank products and services, or present about their bank accounts or transactions. Using
customer care service banks can engage with and resolve customer issues quite
seamlessly. Now the apps are also available of the banks in which the customers can check
their balance history, transactions, etc.
• Mobile Bank Transactions: The growth of technology increasing every day. Today, people
can access their bank accounts, withdraw cash, make deposits, and check balances from
anywhere through their phones. The integration of mobile banking apps has brought
convenience in managing personal bank accounts and making transactions.
• Integrated Voice Response and Call-back Manager: Integrated Voice Response(IVR) and
call-back manager are the two key technologies used by banking institutions. The
Implementation of Integrated Voice Response can particularly help a bank to provide high-
quality and consistent customer support. the use of call-back management also can provide
an excellent boost in streamlining bank operations.
Simple Communication model

• Source: This device generates the data to be transmitted;

examples are telephones and personal computers.
• Transmitter: Usually, the data generated by a source system are
not transmitted directly in the form in which they were generated.
Rather, a transmitter transforms and encodes the information in
such a way as to produce electromagnetic signals that can be
transmitted across some sort of transmission system. For example,
a modem takes a digital bit stream from an attached device such
as a personal computer and transforms that bit stream into an
analog signal that can be handled by the telephone network
Simple communication model
• Transmission System: This can be a single transmission
line or a complex network connecting source and
destination.
• Receiver: The receiver accepts the signal from the
transmission system and converts it into a form that can
be handled by the destination device. For example, a
modem will accept an analog signal coming from a
network or transmission line and convert it into a digital bit
stream.
• Destination: Takes the incoming data from the receiver.
Simple communication model
Telephone conversation
• In this case, the input to the telephone is a message (m)
in the form of sound waves. The sound waves are
converted by the telephone into electrical signals of the
same frequency r(t).
• These signals are transmitted without modification over
the telephone line. At the destination, the signals will be
converted back into a sound wave.
STANDARDISATION
Why standard? Give examples
International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
• The ITU promotes the shared global use of the
international cooperation in assigning satellite and
coordinating worldwide radio spectrum , facilitates orbits ,
assists in developing technical standards , and works to
improve telecommunication infrastructure in the
developing world .
• It is also active in the areas of broadband Internet,
wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime
navigation, radio astronomy , satellite meteorology, TV
broadcasting, amateur radio next-- based , and
generation networks
International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
• The ITU makes the recommendations about various
technologies and publish those recommendations for use
by telecommunication
• ITU is divided into three main sectors: • ITU R • ITU T •
ITU D
International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
• ITU R is the radio communication sector of ITU
responsible for the management of • Radio frequency
(RF) spectrum • Satellite orbits • Finite
telecommunications resources increasingly demanded
from fixed, mobile, broadcasting, space research,
meteorology, GPS, environmental monitoring, and
communication services related to the safety of life at sea
and sky
International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
• ITU D: ITU D is the telecommunications development
sector of the ITU, with the following functions: • To raise
the level of awareness of decision makers concerning the
role of telecommunications in national economic and
social development programs; • Enhance growth of
telecommunications through cooperation with other
relevant organizations;
International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
• ITU T: The ITU Telecommunication Standardization
Sector (ITU-T) is a sector within the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) which coordinates with all
entities involved with creating standards in the
telecommunications industry.
ISO
• The international organization for standardization (ISO) is
a worldwide federation of national standards bodies with
representatives from over 100 countries. It is a non
governmental organization established in 1947.
• ISO established the OSI model which is a set of
communication standards and protocols that aims to
establish an open environment for the movement of data
between devices.
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
• The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is an open
standards organization which develops and promotes
voluntary the technical standards that comprise the
Internet standards particularly TCP/IP related research
activities. It ).
IEEE
• The IEEE is a technical association of industry
professionals with a common interest in advancing all
communication technologies. IEEE 802 is a collection of
networking standards that cover the physical and data link
layer specifications for technologies such as Ethernet and
wireless.
The Future of Mobile Media and Communication

•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FScddkTMlTc&feature=
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