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Telecom WWW Pointers

Introduction

We used to think of telephony and data communications as two separate technical fields, but in the last 5 years, they have all but merged into one. Everyone I know is working on products that straddle the boundaries.
This merger has been driven from both sides: From the telephone side, voicemail (centralized answering machines) moved onto a PC-based platform, and was joined by systems for supporting in-bound and out-bound call-centers. From the data side, high-performance modems allowed remote access to Local Area Networks (LANs) from home, or from hotel rooms, and with the explosive growth of the Internet, everyone needed to call their Internet Service Providers (ISPs). In the next generation, the equipment for these functions will be practically indistinguishable, although the boxes may still be targeted towards one side or the other.

The History of Telecom

Telephony

Phone Companies

Equipment Manufacturers

Data Communications

In addition to voice telephony, the public network has a long history of carrying "on/off" type signaling. The first signaling of this kind to achieve widespread use was morse code telegraphy, beginning in the 1850's. Later, this was supplemented and eventually supplanted by the TeleType message terminal system, which allowed the keyboard on an electric typewriter at one location to control a printing mechanism at another location. This was invented in the 1930's and when the computer became common around 1960, the TeleType terminal was used for computer operators to type commands to the machines, and for the machines to print the results of their calculations. From there, it was a simple step to allow computers at separate locations to communicate with each other in a setup, where each of them pretended to be a TeleType terminal. Likewise, users at real TeleType terminals could use a remotely located computer.

Around 1970, the telephone and telegraph companies were merging, and instead of operating separate networks, where the TeleType terminals were on a telegraph network, which actually used the opening and closing of switches to do the signaling, new terminal equipment started to use tone signaling, so that the TeleType connections could be using the much larger, more robust and less expensive telephone network.

Computer-Telephony Integration (CTI)

Technical Specifications and Regulations

Technologies

Lars' Interesting Notes


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Revision history:
	$Log: index.htm,v $
	Revision 1.25  2002/01/17 19:11:53  lars
	Rearranged and added links to other websites.
	
	Revision 1.24  2001/01/20 21:10:37  lars
	*** empty log message ***
	
	Revision 1.23  2000/06/21 05:09:58  lars
	Added cross-references, and supporting links.
	Added 25-pair color code.
	Cleaned up the index a bit
	
	Revision 1.20  2000/05/26 22:11:04  lars
	Added new stuff about cat5 wiring.
	Added section about cat5 cables and connectors
	
	Revision 1.17  2000/02/14 06:24:17  lars
	Fix broken link to Clarke site.
	Update Oslin info with obituary.
	
	Revision 1.15  2000/01/31 04:40:33  lars
	Harold Greene obituary.
	Miscellaneous updates.
	Added new file about telephone systems for small business.
	
	Revision 1.11  1999/11/08 16:48:56  lars
	Added links to index.htm files.
	Added pointers to area codes, libraries.
	Moved links from bookmark file to links page adn subject areas.
	
	Revision 1.8  1999/08/22 23:47:31  lars
	Added TelcoMine newsletter.
	Deleted some links that no longer worked.
	Removed obsolete Rockwell links.
	Added pointer to A C Clarke Foundation
	Fixed typo in adding V Poulsen article.
	Added article about Valdemar Poulsen
	Site re-organization.
	
	Revision 1.2  1999/06/01 03:47:27  lars
	Cleanup after move into CVS
	
Updated 97-02-10 by lars@silcom.com