Telecommunications Demystified

Chapter 2

Telecommunication Networks

First, and always first, a definition. A telecommunication network is a telecommunication system that allows many users to share information.

2.1 Telecommunication Network Basics

2.1.1 Connecting People with Telephones

Let’s say I have six people with telephones. I want to connect them together so they can speak to one another. One easy way to connect everyone is to put copper wires everywhere. By that, I mean use a copper wire to connect person 1 to person 2, a wire to connect person 1 to person 3, …, a wire to connect person 1 to person 6, …, and a wire to connect person 5 to person 6. I’ve shown this solution in Figure 2.1. But, ugh, all these wires! In general, I need N(N-1)/2 wires, where N is the ...