Prof. Raimo Kantola

Networking Laboratory 4.01.2001

S38.001 Telecommunications Forum-2000

 

Possible questions on the book "Telecommunications Convergence"
by Steven Shepard

  1. Describe briefly (max in 5 sentences) the following technologies:
    1. BRI, PRI
    2. AO/DI
    3. H0, H10, H11, H12
    4. ACD
    5. PCM, ADPCM
    6. CVSD
    7. LPC
  1. FDM vs TDM – why is TDM better?
  2. Give a brief history and description of the current state of the CATV industry in the US.
  3. Give a brief description of a typical CATV network in US.
  4. Describe the development of CATV networks and services during 1990's in the US.
  5. Compare traditional CATV and PSTN networks in terms of competitive advantages and weaknesses.
  6. Describe a typical CATV Internet Service offering in the US.
  7. Define briefly ( 1… 3 facts/case) the following:
    1. ADSL
    2. DMT and CAP in ADSL
    3. G.lite
    4. VDSL
    5. RADSL
    6. HDSL
    7. DSLAM
  1. Describe the competiteve offerings from ILECs, CLECs, CATV etc and alliances among the players in broadband Internet Services in the US.
  2. Describe the IAD functionality and discuss how IAD changes the business landscape.
  3. Describe the LMDS technology and give its position on the market.
  4. Compare data and voice in terms of transport volumes and service business revenues.
  5. Define briefly the following: DS0, DS-1, DS-3.
  6. Define briefly the following: OC-1, OC-3, OC-12, OC-48, OC-192.
  7. Describe briefly APS in SONET.
  8. What does EDFA do? What does Bragg Grating Filter do? Describe the business case for WDM.
  9. What are the fundamental disadvantages of point-to-point services (cmp to switched services)?
  10. Describe the Frame Relay service. Compare to ATM.
  11. Advantages and disadvantages of ATM.
  12. Why is IP a compelling network technology for Service Providers?
  13. Give some and discuss the predictions on e-commerce development.
  14. Compare business landscape in industrial age vs now.
  15. What is Enterprise Resource Planning and why is it important for the operators?
  16. Explain alternative corporate models?
  17. Briefly describe the camps of corporations (2…4 facts/attributes/camp) on the communications market in the US.
  18. What are the forces having most impact on the competitive landscape on the US communications market?
  19. Describe QoS from customer point of view and from service provider's point of view.
  20. Describe the Internet Integrated Services approach to QoS.
  21. Describe the Differentiated Services approach to QoS.
  22. How does AIN work? What are the drawbacks of the AIN architecture?
  23. What are the advantages and the drawbacks of ATM in providing QoS for Internet services?
  24. How does Assured Quality Routing work?
  25. Describe how LANs can support QoS.
  26. Describe briefly (3…5 facts/case) signalling alternatives for VOIP. What are the industry trends in this area?
  27. Describe the reasons that are driving the development of VOIP according to the author. Do you agree with him?
  28. What challenges are facing VOIP development?
  29. Describe the potential of IP based call centers.
  30. List and define 10 of the 16 characteristics affecting network development at the moment.