With a blog that attempts to explain Telecommunication concepts the most logical place to begin is with the word itself, the industry surrounding it and where we are going with this wondrous business.
Like most words Telecommunications is best understood by breaking down the word to its most basic etymological level. Tele comes from the Greek word têle meaning "far". Communicate comes from the Latin word commūnicātus meaning "to make common". Telecommunications is simply put as the exchange of information at a distance. Telephone, telegraph, telemetry, television are all forms of telecommunications.
Telecommunications in the 21st century is an all encompassing term. The "tele" part is simple, it means distance, but the "communications" portion is harder since information can take on so many various forms.
The lines of definition become even more blurred when you add the business term "industry" after the word "telecommunications". Industry comes from the Latin word "industrie" which is the noun form of industrius meaning "diligent". There are eight different meanings of the word industry in the dictionary which does not help us pin down the term with very much clarity. The one thing we can all agree upon is that we are truly an industrious and diligent group.
The best definition of the Telecommunications Industry can be found on www.investopedia. com. "Think of telecommunications as the world's biggest machine. Strung together by complex networks, telephones, mobile phones and internet-linked PCs, the global system touches nearly all of us. It allows us to speak, share thoughts and do business with nearly anyone, regardless of where in the world they might be. Telecom operating companies make all this happen."
So where do we go from here?
In 1990 I was working for AT&T when they presented a video to us on the future of our industry. It showed global videoconferences, people using small wireless telephones to input data to help organize their lives and people in swimsuits on the beach conducting business on computer tablets as if they were in the office. Our mouths dropped to the floor in amazement and it seemed like science fiction. 20 years of hindsight makes me even more amazed at how prophetic this video was.
Telecommunications technology is like an out of control locomotive. 4G wireless will quickly become LTE Advanced. E911 will quickly become NG911. Voice and data will continue to converge at unprecedented levels. Deregulation and global competition are paramount to this growth.
Consequently the key to make this all happen is bandwidth. Though all the hype in the industry today is wireless, our need for more bandwidth seems insatiable. The "build it and they will come" technological mentality is inevitable, just make sure we have the bandwidth to handle it.
To me the future in telecommunications will continue to blur the lines that divide reality from virtual reality. I envision immediate two way, 3D, wireless holographic communications much like they have in the Star Wars movies. Can we make this science fiction happen in 20 years time? I say "why not".
Like most words Telecommunications is best understood by breaking down the word to its most basic etymological level. Tele comes from the Greek word têle meaning "far". Communicate comes from the Latin word commūnicātus meaning "to make common". Telecommunications is simply put as the exchange of information at a distance. Telephone, telegraph, telemetry, television are all forms of telecommunications.
Telecommunications in the 21st century is an all encompassing term. The "tele" part is simple, it means distance, but the "communications" portion is harder since information can take on so many various forms.
The lines of definition become even more blurred when you add the business term "industry" after the word "telecommunications". Industry comes from the Latin word "industrie" which is the noun form of industrius meaning "diligent". There are eight different meanings of the word industry in the dictionary which does not help us pin down the term with very much clarity. The one thing we can all agree upon is that we are truly an industrious and diligent group.
The best definition of the Telecommunications Industry can be found on www.investopedia. com. "Think of telecommunications as the world's biggest machine. Strung together by complex networks, telephones, mobile phones and internet-linked PCs, the global system touches nearly all of us. It allows us to speak, share thoughts and do business with nearly anyone, regardless of where in the world they might be. Telecom operating companies make all this happen."
So where do we go from here?
In 1990 I was working for AT&T when they presented a video to us on the future of our industry. It showed global videoconferences, people using small wireless telephones to input data to help organize their lives and people in swimsuits on the beach conducting business on computer tablets as if they were in the office. Our mouths dropped to the floor in amazement and it seemed like science fiction. 20 years of hindsight makes me even more amazed at how prophetic this video was.
Telecommunications technology is like an out of control locomotive. 4G wireless will quickly become LTE Advanced. E911 will quickly become NG911. Voice and data will continue to converge at unprecedented levels. Deregulation and global competition are paramount to this growth.
Consequently the key to make this all happen is bandwidth. Though all the hype in the industry today is wireless, our need for more bandwidth seems insatiable. The "build it and they will come" technological mentality is inevitable, just make sure we have the bandwidth to handle it.
To me the future in telecommunications will continue to blur the lines that divide reality from virtual reality. I envision immediate two way, 3D, wireless holographic communications much like they have in the Star Wars movies. Can we make this science fiction happen in 20 years time? I say "why not".
