
Communications
Electronic data interchange
Increasingly, computers of different organizations are being linked
directly over the telephone line, so that ordering and invoicing can
be done entirely electronically rather than by sending paper
documents through the post. The technology that enables this is
called
electronic
data
interchange
(EDI). The significance of this for
business and manufacturing is described in Chapter 9.
EDI requires the provision of what's called value-added data
network services
(VADS). These are services which are added to the
basic telecommunications network, and include:
# speed conversion, enabling terminals wit