A local land line phone system based off of Local Loop describes the line between the end user or customer and the central office. The Local Loop works as a full duplex network with the user being able to speak or send information as well as listed or receive information at the same time. The Local Loop is made up of two wires which are typically referred to as twisted pair, because they are twisted together to make a spiral. If we are going from the end user or custom backwards to track the telecommunications system, we would next run into the Central Office or local exchange. The Central Office is a place that services a group of end users, meaning people on the end of the telephone. So the end user connects their call to the Central Office; who then in turn “sorts” the call and routes it to towards its end destination. There are many Central Offices located around the nation here in the U.S. because each central office has a finite number of subscribers or callers that it can handle, and that number is based off of the users telephone number, more specifically, it is based off of the first three digits of the phone number. All of the central offices are interconnected together using trunks. Additionally, the trunk lines also connect the central offices to the local exchange. The local exchange carrier or LEC are localized telephone companies that provide service along with other LEC’s with a designated area on the globe. Additionally, an LEC can serve multiple central offices. An LEC’s geographical service area depends solely on the population size of that particular area. For example, a small population may only be serviced by one or two LEC’s; however, a very large population may be serviced by several LEC’s within its geographical location. LEC’s connect to long distance carriers at a point called the point of presence or POP. A point of presence can also connect two long-distance carriers. The POP provides interconnection to long-distance carriers or interexchange carriers, also referred to as IXC. Long distance service is provided by the interexchange carrier. The IXC’s are used to connect LECs together that are in different local access and transport areas or LATA’s. They can also be used to connect LEC’ within the same LATA. Next we come to fixed line or Local line telephone systems. This term refers to a telephone that uses a metal wire telephone line for data transmission as opposed to a cellular telephone which utilizes radio waves. In the beginning, lines were only able to connect to only one telephone line; but as populations and technology levels increased, we started to see local fixed-line telephones connected through the central office. With technology constantly changing, adapting, and evolving, it was only a matter of time before telephones could be taken with you to communicate to whoever you wanted while on the go and not from the comfort of your own home. This was the birth of the cellular telephone. The cellular or cell phone allows a user to transmit data wirelessly via radio waves that are connected via frequency to a nearby cell phone tower. The system itself is broken into many small geographical areas called cells, which are connected to a mobile telephone switching office or MTSO. The connection from the cell to the MTSO is typically done over telephone lines, which could be made of copper or fiber optics, and in some instances microwaves are used. In a nut shell the cell phone is essentially a two way radio that carries a full duplex conversation. In a normal cellular network setting, the geographical area is kept small to minimize the amount of radio frequency needed for the device to communicate with the tower. Additionally, when it is used in a mobile application it will jump from one tower to the next, as one towers radio signal becomes weaker, the cell connects to the nearest tower with the strongest signal to keep the call intact. This jump from one tower to the next is known as the hand off, and may be done several times over the course of a phone call depending on the distance you are traveling. When cell phones first originated, they utilized an analog format very similar to that of a land line, but again as technology evolved so did the way the devices communicated with one another. The signal shifted from analog to digital which allowed them to be able to not only transmit and receive voice but data as well. Data is the transmission of information from one device to the next that is not voice communications. This would include things like using your cell phone to access the internet or to send pictures via text message to a friend or family member. With new technological advances comes faster and better equipment. For example, todays 4G speed for cell phone data transmission is ten times faster than that of its predecessor 3G. In fact, 4G speeds allow for the cell phone device to access information from the internet as fast as a land-line connection, which in my opinion is pretty darn fast. Telecommunication services would not be possible at all without a network. The network consists of cables, connections, wireless towers, transmitters, receivers, and switches that are designed to distribute, send and receive information to and from consumers all over the globe. Because the network is so expansive, it is broken down into different topologies or segments. The segments are designed to handle each aspect of the information chain depending on where and how far it has to travel. In other words, each segment has a specific job that it has to perform to be able to send the information to its intended destination. In a network, you have several different segments you have to go through, the first is the demarcation point. This refers to the point where the connection terminates, either being the consumer end or business end. It is the point at which the responsibility of the service provider ends. Meaning, if there is a problem with equipment or wiring beyond the demarcation point, then it is usually up to the building owner or end user to fix it. Everyone knows that you cannot have a network without equipment or hardware. Equipment is the stuff that can create and run the network. It is your wiring, your modems, you switches, etc. that allow the end users to have connectivity in the first place. Such as access networks. The access network is the part of the network that connects the end users or business to the telecommunications system. Essentially, it is the opened gateway to telephone communications, internet, data, and video. It is the service that is offered by telecommunications providers. The access network can be broken down into smaller networks called Regional or Metro Networks. A metro network or MAN is responsible for controlling information flow from the local exchanges, and sending them to the regional and long haul core network. They are networks that in most cases cover the area of a certain city; whereas, a regional network more commonly known as a WAN or wide area network is a larger version of a MAN, and is responsible for control of information from the metro networks. The regional network is the last point before information traffic is put onto the core network. In most cases regional networks provide communications between banks, schools, and large corporations within its geographical location. Within the spectrum of cable television, a user can be limited to its choice of provider or they can have an abundance of choices to choose from based off of where they live. The earliest form of television was called Broadcast TV and was done though sending information to users via radio waves. TV stations would broadcast the black and white signal from large antennas which would be received by the end user by an antenna that was connected to their TV set. This system is still utilized today; but not as heavily as when it was introduced. One major drawbacks to this system is the range of it, if you live far away from an antenna then chances are your picture will not come in very well because your signal is weak. One of the solutions to this issue was known as community antenna television, more commonly referred to today as Cable TV. At its earliest form it was similar to that of broadcast TV; with one exception, it would carry signals from the antenna to the user via a copper cable. And as the technology evolved, amplifiers were added to increase the distance the signal would travel. Over the years this system has evolved to a massive amount of copper and fiber optic cabling as well as wireless technologies that bring programming to the everyday man. To bring these programs to its users, company’s setup network access points or NAP. NAP’s are terminals that serve as a connection point for drop cables. The drop cable runs from the NAP to the network interface device or NID. It is typically found mounted to the outside of the house or building. It is an all plastic enclosure designed to house the electronics that support the network. Lastly, we will talk about telecommunication services and the various services they offer. First we will talk about what a regional bell operation company or RBOC is. In a nutshell, an RBOC is a branch company if you will of a much larger company, for example, AT&T at one time was monopoly of the telecom industry when the U.S. government filed a suit against the company which as a result forced AT&T to branch off its local exchange carriers into these RBOCs. Over the years many of the companies have merged and rebranded themselves into today’s leading providers. As a result of these RBOC’s bring created, the telecommunications act of 1996 stated that the ILECs or incumbent LEC local companies that came from the breakout of AT&T’s local LECs had to allow other telecom service providers access to consumers without actually owning the local loop infrastructure that connects the consumers to the network. This was referred to as unbundling the network. This was done to increase competition amongst competitors. Another type of Telecommunication Company is an MSO or multiple system operator. Examples of MSOs are Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Charter Communications and Cox Communications. These are companies we recognize today as the Cable Company. In addition to cable TV a lot of these companies also offer Internet services which makes them an ISP or Internet Service provider. The ISP is a company that does just that provide internet services to the general public, at various speeds and methods. There are packages you can get from these providers that offer consumers deals based off of what package you can get. For example, if you get High speed internet service, and local and long distance phone service, as well as cable television all in the same package, they refer to that is the triple play. You have three different services through the same provider. This is also the most common package available. It is available at different speeds and costs as well. In the world of wireless internet also known as WiFi, comes a technology that has been utilized for a long time but just recently has made a huge surge into the general public, and that is cloud computing. Cloud computing refers to a way to increase the capabilities of a device or add new capacities or services without making any hardware changes to the device. In addition to that, it usually allows the user access to these capabilities from anywhere in the world via Wireless internet access. One of the most popular examples of cloud computing that are being utilized today are secured data storage, which allows a user to store data on the cloud with high levels of security acting as insurance in case their computer is compromised.

Resources Cited:
Oliviero, Andrew / Woodward, Bill, 2012 – Bonus Appendix: Telecommunications to Accompany Cabling: The Complete Guide to Copper and Fiber-Optic Networking, fourth edition, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.