1. Compare and contrast at least five technologies that are readily available for in-home internet access. You should consider practical as well as technical differences in your comparison. Do not include Frame Relay or ATM as these are primarily larger scale business solutions.
802.11N Higher-speed standards up to 300+ Mbps 802.11n uses (MIMO) technology and a wider radio frequency channel. It provides a mechanism called frame aggregation to decrease time between transmissions Channels operating at 40 MHz are another feature incorporated into 802.11n The transmitter and receiver use pre-coding & post-coding techniques to achieve the capacity of a MIMO link
Video Conferencing A video conference is a set of interactive telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously ITU H.320 is known as the standard for video conferencing over integrated services digital networks H.264 SVC is compression standard that enables video conferencing systems to achieve highly error resilient The components within a Conferencing System layers: User Interface, Conference Control, Control or Signal Plane and Media Plane The RTP and UDP normally carry information such the payload type which is the type of codec, frame rate, video size and many others
Browser A browser is an application program that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web. Web browser is a client program that uses HTTP to make requests of Web servers throughout the Internet on behalf of the browser user Web browsers use many other protocols like HTTPS, asp, java script, VB script to display and run script in web page Browsers include additional components to support e-mail, Usenet news, and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) There are many web browsers are available like Internet explorer, chrome, Firefox and safari
VoIP VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is simply the transmission of voice traffic over IP-based networks VoIP has become popular largely because of the cost advantages to consumers over traditional telephone networks In the VoIP world, codec’s are used to encode voice for transmission across IP networks There are many codec’s are used in VoIP like ITU G.711 ITU G.722 ITU G.723 ITU G.726 ITU G.727 G.728

There are many Internet telephony applications available. Like CoolTalk and NetMeeting & Google voice
Bit Torrent BitTorrent is a content distribution protocol that enables efficient software distribution and peer-to-peer sharing of very large files To share a file or group of files, a peer first creates a small file called a "torrent" This file contains metadata about the files to be shared and about the tracker, the computer that coordinates the file distribution BitTorrent makes many small data requests over different TCP connections to different machines, while classic downloading is typically made via a single TCP connection to a single machine. distributed nature of BitTorrent leads to a flood like spreading of a file throughout peers. As more peers join the swarm, the likelihood of a successful download increases The peer creates a hash for each piece, using the SHA-1 hash function, and records it in the torrent file

2. Explain the similarities and differences between Frame Relay and Asynchronous Transfer Mode.
 ATM and frame relay are two of the most common used methods for telecommunications between networks today. ATM, which stands for Asynchronous Transfer Mode, is a technology that arose from international standards relating to the transmission of data, voice, and video simultaneously over a network at speeds far faster than has been possible without the standards. ATM is also known for transporting communications at hundreds of megabits per second, which results in speedier service than Ethernet on local area networks. ATM has also ascended into being a standard for fixed-length cell switching. Cells that originate from various sources or from various destinations are asynchronously multiplexed between multiple packet switches. The Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) and Virtual Circuit Identifier (VCI) are the unique integer fields that identify each circuit on each link of the network.
Frame Relay implements no error or flow control. The simplified handling of frames leads to reduced latency, and measures taken to avoid frame build-up at intermediate switches help reduce jitter. Frame Relay offers data rates up to 4 Mb/s, with some providers offering even higher rates. Frame Relay VCs are uniquely identified by a DLCI, which ensures bidirectional communication from one DTE device to another. Most Frame Relay connections are PVCs rather than SVCs.
Frame Relay provides permanent, shared, medium-bandwidth connectivity that carries both voice and data traffic. Frame Relay is ideal for connecting enterprise LANs. The router on the LAN needs only a single interface, even when multiple VCs are used.

The difference, first, frame relay uses variable packet sizes. The packet size varies, depending on the amount of data that is being sent. ATM uses a fixed packet size, which is the 53 byte cell that was depicted earlier. Next, frame relay, while although is useful to connect different local area networks, it cannot actually work within one. ATM cannot only work within a local area network, but they can also work within a wide area network. Third, frame relay is easy and inexpensive to install, and is readily supported in software. For a lot of users, it simply means a software upgrade on existing equipment, which minimizes network investment. ATM more often requires a more complex installation, and is not readily supported in some software. Also, while frame relay does have a varied packet size, it is the variance that can often mean a low overhead within the packet, which makes it a more efficient method for transmitting data. ATM’s fixed packet size, while optimized for handling multimedia traffic at high speeds, can sometimes leave a lot of overhead within the packet, especially in short transactions, where cells are often not full. - [1] [2]
3. Technological advances are only one of many factors that play into how technology infrastructure develops. The social decision to break-up AT&T had a significant impact on the telephone infrastructure. Describe how the infrastructure changed due to this event.
 AT&T's voluntary breakup marks the end of the bigger-is-better era. For much of the 20th century, business strategy was relatively simple - scale up operations and expand market share. The greatest opportunities lay in providing standardized products, with incremental improvements, to a middle-class market. But the simple pursuit of scale and market share lost its effectiveness as the 20th century ended. Another prime example of this is what is happening to Microsoft. Even though they have different legal problems, their days of gobbling up any and all businesses that got in their way is over. Smaller firms - particularly those with innovative, customer-centric business designs became the most profitable. This is evident with the popularity of the dot.com's and how well they are doing in the market.
Shortly after announcing on October 25th that AT&T was going to split into four units, Michael Armstrong, the company's chairman, was asked in an interview if anything good would be lost as a result of the overhaul. He considered the question for at least 10 seconds, and then responded, "I can't think of anything." But in fact, AT&T may be losing something that if not necessarily good, has been a powerful force in its favour for more than 100 years: the fear that its size and power has inspired in competitors. This will hopefully weaken the level of competition that AT&T has faced in the past. The AT&T-brand companies that remain after the breakup plan is completed by 2002 will be smaller than the AT&T the communications the world has known. And the competitive landscape will change accordingly. The local phone companies, already formidable in wireless and eager to expand into long distance while continuing to roll out high-speed Internet services, will be countering AT&T region-by-region and business-by-business.
On January 30, 2005, AT&T agreed to be sold to an RBOC, Southwestern Bell (which had bought Pacific Bell earlier). This acquisition was finalized in October, 2005. Then SBC assumed the name "AT&T" and introduce a new logo. The new AT&T then absorbed Bellsouth.
It is interesting to note the political change since 1997, when Reed Hundt, then the FCC chairman, said South western Bell acquiring AT&T would be "unthinkable" since it would thwart competition. Since that time, SBC purchased AT&T, Verizon purchased MCI, Sprint purchased Nextel, and the new AT&T purchased Bellsouth. – [3] [4]
4. For the network that you have chosen to characterize, identify the connection to the internet WAN. Identify the media, devices, and service providers involved in establishing this connection. Describe what protocols/services are being implemented over this connection. In addition, describe at least one alternative ISP service available for this network.
 The home network that is chosen to characterize has DSL internet connection technology, In DSL internet connection it has many flavours and for home use my home network is ADSL internet connection. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is one form of the Digital Subscriber Line technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voice band modem can provide. It does this by utilizing frequencies that are not used by a voice telephone call. A splitter, or DSL filter, allows a single telephone connection to be used for both ADSL service and voice calls at the same time. ADSL can generally only be distributed over short distances from the central office, typically less than 4 kilometres (2 mi) but has been known to exceed 8 kilometres (5 mi) if the originally laid wire gauge allows for farther distribution.
At the telephone exchange the line generally terminates at a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) where another frequency splitter separates the voice band signal for the conventional phone network. Data carried by the ADSL are typically routed over the telephone company's data network and eventually reach a conventional Internet Protocol network.
Currently, most ADSL communication is full-duplex. Full-duplex ADSL communication is usually achieved on a wire pair by either frequency-division duplex (FDD), echo-cancelling duplex (ECD), or time-division duplex (TDD). FDD uses two separate frequency bands, referred to as the upstream and downstream bands. The upstream band is used for communication from the end user to the telephone central office. The downstream band is used for communicating from the central office to the end user. – [5] [6]
ITU-T Spec Description
G.998.1 ATM-based multi-pair bonding: A method for bonding of multiple DSL lines to transport an ATM payload beyond the rate/reach capability of a single DSL loop. This protocol allows the bonding of 2 to 32 pairs and supports dynamic removal and restoration of pairs without human intervention.
G.998.2 Ethernet-based multi-pair bonding: Provides a method for bonding of multiple DSL lines for Ethernet transport. This recommendation builds on the IEEE 802.3ah-2004 methods and extends Ethernet transport over other xDSL technologies, including ADSL.
G.998.3 Multi-pair bonding using time-division inverse multiplexing: Details a method for bonding DSL lines using time-division inverse multiplexing (TDIM). This recommendation uses IEEE 802.3ah handshake for pair discovery, parameter negotiation, and setup. It also allows the hitless addition and removal of pairs an the fast removal of a pair upon pair failure.
There many other ISP’s in telecommunication industry who provide DSL Internet connections mainly as,
[i] Verizon high speed internet - http://www22.verizon.com/Residential/HighSpeedInternet#plans
[ii] Qwest DSL - http://www.qwest.com/residential/internet/broadbandlanding/
References:
1. http://www.exampleessays.com/viewpaper/93331.html
2. http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/itanswers/what-is-the-difference-between-atm-and-frame-relay-networks/
3. http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/43194.html
4. http://som.csudh.edu/cis/lpress/471/hout/telecomhistory/
5. http://webopedia.internet.com/TERM/A/ADSL.html
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymmetric_Digital_Subscriber_Line
7. http://www22.verizon.com/Residential/HighSpeedInternet#plans
8. http://www.qwest.com/residential/internet/broadbandlanding/