Telecommunication & Computer Networking

Much progress has been made in the way of communications in the last several decades.  From smoke signals to handwritten letters and then email, technological advances have increased the speed in which information is transferred and received.  Two special ways in which information can be shared are telecommunications and computer networking.  

Telecommunications

Telecommunication is when information is transferred over significant distances for the purpose of communication.  Examples of devices used for telecommunication include telegraphs, telephones, radio communications and communications aided by fiber optic cables.  All telecommunication systems are composed of three parts.  The first part is the transmitter, which takes the information to be shared and changes it to a signal that can be sent through the second part, known as a transmission medium.  The last part of the process is the receiver, which is where the information ends up and is changed from a signal back information that can be understood.

Computer Networks

Computer networks are groups of two or more computers, which are connected to share information or resources.  Examples include sharing of data and sharing of printing resources.  Computer networking is type of telecommunication.  There are both wired and wireless types of computer networks.

Wired computer networks have computers which are physically connected.  These may be connected by Ethernet cables, coaxial cables or fiber optic cables. Wireless computer networks share information through a variety of wavelengths.  These may utilize microwaves, satellite signals, cellular signals, infrared signals, wireless LAN (Local Area Network) signals or GAN (Global Area Network) signals or a combination of these to achieve the data sharing necessary for business.