CHAPTER FOUR

TELECOMMUNICATIONS, THE INTERNET,

INTRANETS, AND EXTRANETS

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 Communication technologies

Telecommunications is the exchange of information in

any form (voice, data, text, images, audio, and video)

over networks.
Telecommunications refers to the communication of

information by electronic means over distance.

The Internet is the most widely visible form of

telecommunications in your daily lives.

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 Computer Network

A computer network or data network is a

telecommunications network which
allows computers to exchange data.
In computer networks, networked computing devices

exchange data with each other using a data link. The

connections between nodes are established using either
cable media or wireless media.

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 Wireless Networking

Today we are used to being able to access the Internet

wherever we go.
Our smartphones can access the Internet.

These wireless technologies have made Internet access

more convenient and have made devices such as tablets

and laptops much more functional.
Let’s examine a few of these wireless technologies.

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 Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is a technology that takes an Internet signal and
converts it into radio waves. These radio waves can be
picked up within a radius of approximately 65 feet by
devices with a wireless adapter.
Several Wi-Fi specifications have been developed over the
years, starting with 802.11b (1999), followed by the 802.11g
specification in 2003 and 802.11n in 2009. Each new
specification improved the speed and range of Wi-Fi,
allowing for more uses.
One of the primary places where Wi-Fi is being used is in
the home. Home users are purchasing Wi-Fi routers,
connecting them to their broadband connections, and then
connecting multiple devices via Wi-Fi.
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 Important Telecommunications Services on the Internet
 Most popular Internet applications and uses include:

E-mail
Instant messaging
Browsing the Web
News groups
Chat rooms
Publish opinions, subject matter, creative work
Buy and sell
Downloading (data, software, reports, pictures, music, videos)

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 Business Use of the Internet…
 Headquarters:

 Internet websites enable interactive marketing and electronic

commerce, and collaboration with customers, prospects and business
partners.
 Suppliers:

 Extranets for electronic commerce enable suppliers to assess inventory,

replenish stock, and send comments over secure internet links.

 Business Partners:

 Business partners can use the Internet for e-mail, file transfer,

discussion forums, and extranet to access internet resources.

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 Business Use of the Internet…
 Customers:

 Can check at e-commerce websites for products and services with

interactive service and support.

 Remote Offices:

 Intranet links with remote employee sites connect teams for interactive

communications.

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 Mobile Network

While Internet connections were technically available earlier,

it was really with the release of the 3G networks in 2001

(2002 in the US) that Smartphone and other cellular devices
could access data from the Internet.
This new capability drove the market for new and more

powerful smartphones, such as the iPhone, introduced in

2007. In 2011, wireless carriers began offering 4G data
speeds, giving the cellular networks the same speeds that
customers were used to getting via their home connection.

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 Bluetooth
While Bluetooth is not generally used to connect a device to

the Internet, it is an important wireless technology that has

enabled much functionality that is used every day.
When created in 1994 by Ericsson, it was intended to replace

wired connections between devices. Today, it is the standard

method for connecting nearby devices wirelessly.
Bluetooth has a range of approximately 300 feet and

consumes very little power, making it an excellent choice for

a variety of purposes.

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 Some applications of Bluetooth include:
connecting a printer to a personal computer,

connecting a mobile phone and headset,

connecting a wireless keyboard and

mouse to a computer, and

connecting a remote for a presentation made on a personal

computer.

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 VoIP

A growing class of data being transferred over the

Internet is voice data.

A protocol called voice over IP, or VoIP, enables sounds

to be converted to a digital format for transmission over

the Internet and then re-created at the other end.
By using many existing technologies and software, voice

communication over the Internet is now available to

anyone with a browser (think Skype, Google Hangouts,
Viber, WhatsApp, Messenger etc).
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 Organizational Networking

A local area network, or LAN, consists of a computer network

at a single site, typically an individual office building. A LAN is

very useful for sharing resources, such as data storage and
printers.
LANs can be built with relatively inexpensive hardware, such as

hubs, network adapters and Ethernet cables.

On the other hand, a wide area network, or WAN, occupies a

very large area, such as an entire country or the entire world.

A WAN can contain multiple smaller networks, such as LANs.

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The Internet is the best-known example of a public WAN.
 Intranet

Just as organizations set up web sites to provide global access

to information about their business, they also set up internal

web pages to provide information about the organization to the
employees.
This internal set of web pages is called an intranet.

Web pages on the intranet are not accessible to those outside

the company; in fact, those pages would come up as “not

found” if an employee tried to access them from outside the
company’s network.
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 Extranet
Sometimes an organization wants to be able to collaborate

with its customers or suppliers while at the same time

maintaining the security of being inside its own network.
In cases like this, a company may want to create an extranet,

which is a part of the company’s network that can be made

available securely to those outside of the company.
Extranets can be used to allow customers to log in and check

the status of their orders, or for suppliers to check their

customers’ inventory levels.
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 Scope of business networks

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 FUTURE TRENDS IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
 Information systems have evolved at a rapid pace ever

since their introduction in the 1950s.

Today, devices that we can hold in one hand are more

powerful than the computers used to land a man on the

moon.
The Internet has made the entire world accessible to us,

allowing us to communicate and collaborate with each

other like never before.

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 Global
The first trend to note is the continuing expansion of

globalization.
The use of the Internet is growing all over the world, and

with it the use of digital devices.

The growth is coming from some unexpected places;

countries such as Indonesia and Iran are leading the way in

Internet growth.

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Social
Social media growth is another trend that continues. Facebook now has over

two billion users! In 2013, 80% of Facebook users were outside of the US
and Canada. Countries where Facebook is growing rapidly include
Indonesia, Mexico, and the Philippines. 
Besides Facebook, other social media sites are also seeing tremendous

growth. Over 70% of YouTube’s users are outside the US, with the UK,
India, Germany, Canada, France, South Korea, and Russia leading the way.
 Pinterest gets over 50% of its users from outside the US, with over 9% from

India.  Twitter now has over 330 million active users.  Social media sites not
based in the US are also growing. China’s QQ instant-messaging service is
the eighth most-visited site in the world.
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Mobile
Beginning with the simple cell-phone in the 1990s and
evolving into the Smartphones and tablets of today, the
growth of mobile has been overwhelming. Here are some
key indicators of this trend:
Mobile device sales: In 2011, Smartphone began outselling
personal computers.
The number of Smartphone subscribers grew at 31% in
2013, with China leading the way at 354 million
Smartphone users.
Internet access via mobile: In May of 2013, mobile
accounted for 15% of all Internet traffic. In China, 75% of
Internet users used their Smartphone to access it. Facebook
reported that 68% of its active users used their mobile
21 platform to access the social network.
 The rise of tablets. While Apple defined the Smartphone with

the iPhone, the iPad sold more than three times as many units
in its first twelve months as the iPhone did in its first twelve
months.
Tablet shipments now outpace notebook PCs and desktop

PCs.
The research firm IDC predicts that 87% of all connected

devices will be either Smartphones or tablets by 2017.

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 Wearable
The average Smartphone user looks at his or her

Smartphone 150 times a day for functions such as

messaging (23 times), phone calls (22), listening to music
(13), and social media (9). 
Many of these functions would be much better served if

the technology was worn on, or even physically integrated

into, our bodies. This technology is known as a
“wearable.”
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 Wearables have been around for a long time, with

technologies such as hearing aids and, later, bluetooth

earpieces. But now, we are seeing an explosion of new
wearable technologies.
Perhaps the best known of these is Google Glass, an

augmented reality device that you wear over your eyes like
a pair of eyeglasses. Visible only to you, Google Glass will
project images into your field of vision based on your
context and voice commands.
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 Printable
One of the most amazing innovations to be developed recently is
the 3-D printer.
A 3-D printer allows you to print virtually any 3-D object based
on a model of that object designed on a computer.
3-D printers work by creating layer upon layer of the model using
malleable materials, such as different types of glass, metals, or
even wax.
3-D printing is quite useful for prototyping the designs of products
to determine their feasibility and marketability. 3-D printing has
also been used to create working prosthetic legs, handguns, and
even an ear that can hear beyond the range of normal hearing. The
US Air Force now uses 3-D printed parts on the F-18 fighter jet.
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Findable (Internet of Things)
The “Internet of Things” refers to the idea of physical objects being

connected to the Internet. Advances in wireless technologies and sensors

will allow physical objects to send and receive data about themselves.
It is a web of hardware devices, home appliances, vehicles and other

products embedded with electronics, sensors, connectivity, etc. which

empowers these things to connect and exchange information.
Many of the technologies to enable this are already available – it is just a

matter of integrating them together.

The internet of things is the concept of basically connecting any device

with an on and off switch to the internet (and/ or to each other).

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 This includes everything from cell phones, coffee makers washing

machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices and almost anything

else you can think of.
 The relationship will be between people to people, people to things

and things to things.

There are many examples for such applications:

 You are on the way to a meeting; your car could have access to your

calendar and already know the best route to take, if the traffic is heavy
your car might send a text to the other party notifying them that you
will be late.
 What if your alarm clock wakes up you at 6 a.m. and then notifies
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your coffee maker to start brewing coffee for you? etc
 Autonomous
A final trend that is emerging is an extension of the Internet

of Things: autonomous robots and vehicles.

By combining software, sensors, and location technologies,

devices that can operate themselves to perform specific

functions are being developed.
These take the form of creations such as medical

nanotechnology robots (nanobots), self-driving cars, or

unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
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 A nanobot is a robot whose components are on the scale of
about a nanometer, which is one-billionth of a meter. While
still an emerging field, it is showing promise for applications
in the medical field. For example, a set of nanobots could be
introduced into the human body to combat cancer or a
specific disease.
In March of 2012, Google introduced the world to their
driverless car by releasing a video on YouTube showing a
blind man driving the car around the San Francisco area.
The car combines several technologies, including a laser
radar system, worth about $150,000. While the car is not
available commercially yet, three US states (Nevada, Florida,
and California) have already passed legislation making
driverless cars legal.
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 Autonomous cars bring numerous advantages to the
drivers: they’ve an increased level of safety, a lower level
of emissions and are changing models of transportation. 
Tech companies like Google and Uber are currently
working on self-driving cars.
But respondents predict that it will be 2026 before the 10%
of all cars are driverless in the US.

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 A UAV, often referred to as a “drone,” is a small airplane

or helicopter that can fly without a pilot. Instead of a pilot,

they are either run autonomously by computers in the
vehicle or operated by a person using a remote control.
While most drones today are used for military or civil
applications, there is a growing market for personal
drones.

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Artificial Intelligence
According to the father of Artificial Intelligence, John McCarthy,
it is “The science and engineering of making intelligent
machines, especially intelligent computer programs”.
Basically, artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a machine
or a computer program to think and learn.
The concept of AI is based on the idea of building machines
capable of thinking, acting, and learning like humans.
Its present day tasks of enabling computers to read (studying
messages and reports), see (through facial recognition), listen (by
enabling Amazon Echo to answer your command), speak ( Siri
being able to give you an answer) and even record emotions
(through affective computing) will help AI become a technology
that no longer needs human intervention to aid its learning.

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 Artificial intelligence will increasingly play a more important

role in the business world as a decision making tool. 

AI can learn from previous situations, it can provide insight

and automate complex decision process based on data and

past experiences, enabling robots to replace humans not
only ..  low-wage, low-income jobs, but also doing white-
collar jobs.
The technology will get so advanced that the first AI machine

will become part of a corporate board of directors by 2026!!

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