Telecommunications is the transmissions of information over various communication systems. This can be done over fiber, radio, optic, or electromagnetic. The key is the transmission of data over long distances.
The origins traces back to the early days of humans wanting to communication outside the range of a human voice. Some of the early forms of telecommunications were smoke signals and beacons.
Today, with networks being digital, telecommunications and computers are inseparable. The global system is designed for networks to share data across a wide spectrum. We can see how the Internet has telecommunications as the foundation.
Components
A telecommunications network includes the following components:
Terminals for accessing the network
Computers that process information and are interconnected by the network
Telecommunications links that form a channel through which information is transmitted from a sending device to a receiving device.
Equipment that facilitates the transmission of information.
Software that controls message transmission over the network.
Analog Versus Digital
Communications can either be analog or digital. The latter is a more recent development. Early forms of telecommunications were analog. This includes the use of radio signals along with the old landline telephone systems.
Analog systems sends a continuous stream of information. Digital breaks the information up in 1s and 0s, then sends it in packets. The data is not a continuous stream.
Telecommunication systems constantly battle noise. Analog systems cannot combat noise as well as digital. Packets are used since continuous data draws noise.
Most of the lines in the telephone systems of the world at present are analog. Signals are transmitted as continuous waves. This is a satisfactory way to transmit voice, but digital data sent by computers (sequences of pulses representing 0s and 1s) must be converted into an analog signal for transmission over an analog line. The analog data must then be converted back into digital before entering the memory of the receiving computer. The conversion of data from digital form into analog for transmission and then back into digital at the receiving end is done by a pair of interface devices called modems (modulator-demodulator).
Modem-based telecommunications have created a significant bottleneck in an environment where computer and peripheral speeds have increased dramatically. The solution is end-to-end digital communications, in which signals are sent as streams of on/off pulses. Digital lines are capable of much faster communication and digital circuitry is now cheaper than analog. All the new equipment now installed in telephone networks is indeed digital.
The introduction of Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) changed this throughout the developed countries. All equipment installed since the late 1990s in telephone systems was digital.
Impact On Society
At the microeconomic level, companies has built powerful systems that make them the biggest companies in the world. Amazon is one of the leading corporations in terms of market capitalization which constructed a digital retail network. Even Walmart has seen its business expand due to the enhancement of communications' systems.
On a macro level, many believe that improvement of telecommunications relates to GDP. Those with the most advanced networks have the strongest economies. The transition to digital is transforming the foundation of many countries.
Social interaction is centered around telecommunication networks. Over the last century, the telephone became the main way to converse with friends of families. Of late, features such a texting, messenger services, and social media platforms.
The evolution of communication systems has paralleled our ability to remain in touch with others.